A few days ago, the Juno probe completed the closest flyby of Jupiter's infamous Great Red Spot ever conducted by a spacecraft. After an agonizing wait the photos are now in… and they are absolutely incredible.
NASA has posted all the raw images images from JunoCam online and is inviting the general public to apply their own image processing effects. The JunoCam acquires its images by capturing four separate "strips": red, green, blue and near-infrared. A final image is then generally constructed by an internal team that stitches together all these strips, but in this instance NASA is inviting the public to experiment with their own processing techniques.
This open-source project is already delivering an exciting array of gorgeous images that reveal Jupiter in ways we have never seen before.
The mysterious Great Red Spot is a 10,000-mile-wide (16,000 km) storm that was first identified in 1830, and scientists hope these images will provide new insights into this long-marveled-at phenomenon.
How such a giant storm has persisted for so many years is still a mystery to scientists. It will be some time before the scientific data Juno has obtained can be deciphered, but in the meantime we can revel in the beauty of these magnificent images.
Take a closer look at the array of stunning images already created by the general public in our gallery.
Source: NASA