The New Horizons space probe provided amazing images of Jupiter and one of the planet's moons
During a long journey towards Pluto, the NASA New Horizons space probe took images of Jupiter and one of Jupiter's moons. The probe revealed that small moons around Jupiter use their gravity to keep dust and assorted debris in Jupiter's rings, according to NASA scientists. The U.S. space agency also collected a "very diverse and rich data set through this encounter," said Alan Stern, chief scientist on the New Horizons mission.
New Horizons also gave scientists the closest look they have had at Jupiter's "Little Red Spot" storm, which reportedly has the diameter of Earth and wind speeds up to 400 m.p.h. Little Red Spot formed after three smaller storms merged together.
The New Horizons also took photographs of Io, one of Jupiter's largest moons. Scientists believe Io is currently the most geologically active body in the Earth's solar system. The probe recorded data of bright, glowing lava all over the moon's surface, along with spots of bright gas. The Tvashtar volcano also was launching dust 200 miles above the moon's surface, which the New Horizons was able to photograph.
The piano-sized probe went within 1.4 million miles of Jupiter on Feb. 28. The New Horizons used its seven cameras and sensors to help store more than 700 observations on digital recorders. Researchers on Earth have received almost 75 percent of the 34 gigabits of information.
"We'll be analyzing this data for months to come," said Alan Stern, New Horizons Principal Investigator.
New Horizons, the fastest spacecraft ever launched, is still on its long journey to Pluto, with the craft arriving around 2015. Researchers reported that using Jupiter's gravity helped save around three years of travel time to Pluto.
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