PHOENIX (AZ Family) — The Juno spacecraft has been orbiting Jupiter for some time now, collecting some of the most surprising images of the largest planet in the solar system.

Juno has just completed its 66th trip around Jupiter. The latest batch of photos released were processed by so-called “citizen scientists” to reveal the highest-resolution images of the giant planet we’ve ever seen.

The idea here is to bring out and highlight colors and details. Just because of its proximity Juno to JupiterThe images have been great for years. But some people are calling this latest batch “mind-blowing.” And they are absolutely gorgeous.

They show that Jupiter’s atmosphere is much more turbulent than thought. New data shows that the planet’s core is not solid and is much larger than originally suggested. We also observed that Jupiter’s famous red spot is decreasing in size.

The Juno spacecraft, which is expected to operate only until 2017, will continue its operations until 2025, when it will fall into Jupiter’s atmosphere and burn up.

The self-destruct maneuver will ensure that any microbes that may have arrived on Juno from Earth will not be destroyed and spread to a potential new home. It’s a bit like the fictional “Prime Directive” from Star Trek.

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? To report this please click here.

Do you have a photo or video of breaking news? To send us here with a brief explanation.

Copyright 2024 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.