- This ghostly image was captured during the Juno probe’s 54th close flyby of Jupiter
- NASA said it would release it on what would have been Picasso’s 142nd birthday
With Halloween fast approaching, NASA has joined the spooky shenanigans by releasing a new image of a creepy-looking ‘face’ on Jupiter.
The photo was taken last month by the US space agency’s Juno probe during its 54th close flyby of the gas giant.
It captures Jupiter’s moody clouds, forming a rather unusual pattern that gives the impression of distorted eyes, nose and mouth.
Half of the image is in darkness on the nightside of the planet, which NASA says only adds to the creepiness because it makes it look like the face is peering out from behind a door.
“Just in time for Halloween, NASA’s Juno mission spots a spooky ‘sight’ on Jupiter,” the space agency added.
Creepy: With Halloween fast approaching, NASA has joined the spooky shenanigans by releasing a new image of a creepy-looking ‘face’ on Jupiter
It captures Jupiter’s moody clouds, forming a rather unusual pattern that gives the impression of distorted eyes, nose and mouth
It is not the first time that Juno has made such an image.
The images we get of Jupiter’s clouds as they orbit high above the largest planet in our solar system often lead to the so-called phenomenon of pareidolia.
This is where the human brain wants to give meaning to what the eyes see and thus creates a meaning that is not real.
An example is perceiving faces in largely random patterns.
These particular despondent “facial features” were noticed by citizen scientist Vladimir Tarasov, who noticed the unusual shapes in Jupiter’s storm clouds.
Elongated dark eyes are framed by clouds that resemble an eyebrow and a scrunched nose, complete with nostrils and a sad smile.
NASA said it resembled a cubist portrait with “multiple perspectives of a face.”
The space agency released the image on October 25 to coincide with what would have been there Picasso’s 142nd birthday.
Tarasov took the photo using raw data from the spacecraft’s JunoCam instrument.
It captures the gas giant’s turbulent clouds and storms along its terminator – the dividing line between the planet’s day and night sides.
At the time the raw image was taken, the Juno probe was about 4,800 miles (about 7,700 km) above Jupiter’s cloud tops.
The goal of its mission is to study Jupiter’s composition and simultaneously assess its polar magnetosphere, gravitational field and magnetic field.
In addition, Juno monitored the gas giant’s turbulent atmosphere, weather and aspects of the planet’s moons.
Orbiter: It’s not the first time NASA’s Juno spacecraft (shown in an artist’s impression) has produced such an image. The images it gets of Jupiter’s clouds as they orbit high above the largest planet in our solar system often lead to the so-called phenomenon of pareidolia
The mission was originally scheduled to end in July 2021, but was then extended until September 2025 – or until the end of the spacecraft’s lifespan, whichever comes first.
Juno reached Jupiter on July 4, 2016, after a five-year journey of 1.7 billion miles from Earth.
After a successful braking maneuver, it entered a long polar orbit, flying within 5,000 km of the planet’s swirling cloud tops.
No previous spacecraft has orbited so close to Jupiter, but two others have been sent through the atmosphere to their destruction.
When Juno’s mission ends, the probe will be guided into the gas giant’s atmosphere until it disintegrates.
But until then, the hope is that it can keep churning out weird and wonderful photos like this.