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Jupiter’s aurora: the most powerful Northern lights display in the solar system!
During Juno’s time at Jupiter, we will have the fantastic opportunity to study the most powerful aurora in the solar system. An aurora is light emitted by atoms and molecules that have been excited...
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Observing Jupiter’s fierce weather from the ground
In late April 2016, I had the privilege of spending a few weeks in Hawaii, observing on the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility, using a spectrograph called TEXES. This is an instrument that can measure...
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Glowing Jupiter awaits Juno
This article was released by the European Southern Observatory, Royal Astronomical Society and University of Leicester press office on Monday June 27th to coincide with the UK National Astronomy...
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Observing Jupiter’s auroras with Hubble
Unfortunately, they don’t let you take observing trips to the Hubble Space Telescope; perhaps the only downside to using the veteran observatory. It is a strange feeling, knowing that this...
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Observing Jupiter’s aurora from the top of a Volcano
As part of the ground based support for the Juno mission, I visited the Mauna Kea Observatories, Hawaii, in February through to the beginning of March this year. I was observing Jupiter’s Northern...
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When it Rains…
Water, water, everywhere. Dr. Leigh Fletcher appeared on this month’s episode of BBC Sky at Night to discuss Juno’s goals at Jupiter, and describes the importance of Jupiter’s water in this new...
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The Birth of Giants
Dr. Leigh Fletcher discusses how Juno could revolutionise our understanding of the origins of Jupiter via gravitational mapping of its internal structure. The presence of Jupiter has had a profound...
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Hot hot hot, above the Great Red Spot
One of the largest remaining questions in understanding the upper atmosphere of Jupiter, the outmost layer of the atmosphere, is: ‘Why is this region so very hot?’. Out where Jupiter orbits the Sun,...
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Podcast: Pythagoras’ Trousers
Juno has just passed a major milestone in its first wide orbit around the giant planet, having passed by its apojove, the furtherest distance to Jupiter (8.1 million km). It will now fall back down...
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The Jupiter Time Capsule
Given that we don’t yet know whether a planetary core exists within Jupiter, much of our understanding of giant planet formation comes from a different line of investigation: the bulk composition of...
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First, wonderful, glimpse of Jupiter
Wow! The Juno spacecraft did not disappoint! The images released after Juno’s first science perijove are absolutely stunning. The one that grabbed me was this one: Jupiter’s southern infrared aurora...
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What’s happening in Jupiter’s upper atomosphere down at the equator?
The northern and southern lights of Jupiter are a vibrant and dynamic phenomena, generated by a complex array of mechanisms that create the most powerful aurora in the solar system. There are many...
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The spacecraft that came before Juno
The Juno spacecraft is not the first to visit Jupiter – this honour goes to the Pioneer 10 spacecraft back in December of 1973. The planet has been visited by a total of eight spacecraft prior to the...
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Juno’s first observations of Jupiter are revealing a giant world that is...
[This is an extended version of an article that first appeared on the Conversation] Last month, planetary scientists from around the world met at the European Geophysical Union (EGU) conference in...
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Earth-based observations prepare Juno for the Great Red Spot Encounter
In just a few days time, on July 11th 2017, NASA’s Juno spacecraft will perform the closest-ever views of the swirling maelstrom known as Jupiter’s Great Red Spot. It was always hoped that the...
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Ten Facts about Jupiter’s Great Red Spot
In honour of Juno’s close encounter with Jupiter’s Great Red Spot (GRS) on July 11th 2017, here are some quick facts about the Solar System’s most famous storm system: The Great Red Spot is a very...
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Farewell to Cassini
Seven days left until we say farewell to @CassiniSaturn @CassiniNooo pic.twitter.com/Sx7ACHeKDa — Leigh Fletcher (@LeighFletcher) September 8, 2017 After almost twenty years in space, the Cassini...
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Hot hot hot, above the Great Red Spot
One of the largest remaining questions in understanding the upper atmosphere of Jupiter, the outmost layer of the atmosphere, is: ‘Why is this region so very hot?’. Out where Jupiter orbits the Sun,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Podcast: Pythagoras’ Trousers
Juno has just passed a major milestone in its first wide orbit around the giant planet, having passed by its apojove, the furtherest distance to Jupiter (8.1 million km). It will now fall back down...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Jupiter Time Capsule
Given that we don’t yet know whether a planetary core exists within Jupiter, much of our understanding of giant planet formation comes from a different line of investigation: the bulk composition of...
View Article