This is a fantastic recap of everything Juno discovered and the value of this kind of mission - there’s multiple discoveries in here that are at odds with our theoretical understanding of planetary formation, physics, and chemistry that can inform new science moving forward. One that stuck out to me in particular was that Jupiter’s massive magnetic field isn’t generated by a metallic core like we expected, but rather Hydrogen under pressures sufficient to tear free electrons.
Combine that with the fact that the Juno probe has now more than doubled its expected life, and this whole mission serves as as good of an argument for continuing to fund NASA as you’re going to see.
OT: So if Jupiter is something of a "failed star", how much bigger would it have to be to be a successful star, and what would be the effect (if any) on other planets' orbits, and would it boil away a lot of Saturn ?
I do hope that Juno gets another extension. It's obviously worth it. Its mission is an impressive demonstration that no sooner do we take a closer look at something than we realize we knew nothing and don't understand what we find.
9 comments
[ 3.2 ms ] story [ 35.1 ms ] thread1: https://www.sciencealert.com/nasa-probe-could-intercept-inte...
Now I feel the urge to dispute this!
https://science.nasa.gov/gallery/junocam-images/
Combine that with the fact that the Juno probe has now more than doubled its expected life, and this whole mission serves as as good of an argument for continuing to fund NASA as you’re going to see.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter#Size_and_mass