OT: Juno Jupiter Probe

[dgauthier]

The Juno probe goes into orbit around Jupiter tonight at 11:18 PM ET (around the time the dinner plates get cleared here in California).

Is anybody else following this? I am thrilled. As if seeing the surface of Pluto wasn't enough, now we get to see beneath the clouds of Jupiter.

The only thing I wish I could do that I probably never will is go into space. Even if it was guaranteed I would die, I'd go in a heartbeat.

[54ny77]

And here I thought you were talking about visiting Florida.

:bike:

[makoti]

More info:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/juno/main/index.html

[seric]

On a related note, there currently exists a shortcut for walking on Mars. For anyone who owns or knows the owner of a Virtual Reality headset, Valve has released a Mars experience stitched together using photogrammetry from the Curiosity Rover.

[RFC]

I'm watching. This is great stuff!

[Louis]

http://sjmj91.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/2001space037.jpg

[dave thompson]

I was a Sci-Fi geek when I was a kid. It's so cool that's it's now Sci-Fact!

[dgauthier]

And here I thought you were talking about visiting Florida.

Yeah, I thought the "Sagan Is Awesome" thread was about Carl... :D

[gasman]

Yep, I've been following it. NASA nerd here also. Very cool science and engineering.

[ultraman6970]

I'm just waiting for the aliens to land half DC mall, and let us know what we were engineered by them. :P

[Louis]

I'm just waiting for the aliens to land half DC mall, and let us know what we were engineered by them. :P

Just say "Klaatu barada nikto" and you'll be fine.

[Cicli]

Just say "Klaatu barada nikto" and you'll be fine.

Damn, I have peen practicing the wrong line.

nano nano shazbot

[saab2000]

http://sjmj91.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/2001space037.jpg

POTD

Yes, this thing is wicked cool. If the information is 10% as cool as we got from Pluto (and if it's successful I'll bet we get 10x more information) it will be the scientific event of the year I expect. Jupiter is certainly the most interesting planet in our system.

[Louis]

Jupiter is certainly the most interesting planet in our system.

And Europa may be one of the most interesting moons out there, with Enceladus a close second.

[gasman]

POTD

Yes, this thing is wicked cool. If the information is 10% as cool as we got from Pluto (and if it's successful I'll bet we get 10x more information) it will be the scientific event of the year I expect. Jupiter is certainly the most interesting planet in our system.

Actually I think Earth is pretty cool:rolleyes:

[saab2000]

Actually I think Earth is pretty cool:rolleyes:

We've learned everything there is to know here. There is nothing we don't know about Earth. :rolleyes: Science here is done! Time to push the boundaries!

PS - I've read that many scientists speculate that if life could exist anywhere else in our solar system, it's likely to be on a moon of Jupiter. I've also read but I can't cite a source, that Jupiter radiates more energy than it absorbs, meaning there are elemental reactions taking place at the core of the gaseous planet. Good stuff.

[Louis]

Actually I think Earth is pretty cool:rolleyes:

Sure, compared to Mercury, but not as cool as Neptune. ;)

[FlashUNC]

Just remember the instructions and we'll be fine.

http://scienceblogs.com/universe/files/2013/07/vostok5.jpg

[gasman]

Sure, compared to Mercury, but not as cool as Neptune. ;)

Rim shot !

[Louis]

Just remember the instructions and we'll be fine.


And I believe that after 20 months orbiting Jupiter that's exactly why Juno will self-destruct by plunging down into the planet's atmosphere - so it doesn't accidentally contaminate Europa (although I would think that the chances of something from Earth surviving all that time in/on Juno are pretty slim).

[saab2000]

Pluto is one of the neatest planets we've seen yet and it's not even considered a planet..... Mountain ranges of frozen nitrogen? An atmosphere? Tectonic evolution still thought to be taking place and a warm core?

How wild is that?

Surely a planet like Jupiter will be magnitudes of order more interesting!

[FlashUNC]

Depends on how you look at Jupiter. Its either a complex planet or a failed star.

[Louis]

Surely a planet like Jupiter will be magnitudes of order more interesting!

They aren't even sure if it has a rocky / solid core. Unfortunately, unlike Pluto, you can't just fly by and take pictures.

Edit: well, you can fly by, but all you'll see is gases. No observable geological processes to tell you what's been happening over time.

[saab2000]

They aren't even sure if it has a rocky / solid core. Unfortunately, unlike Pluto, you can't just fly by and take pictures.

We may never know. But maybe we'll find out. And the Pluto flyby was just that, a flyby. Juno will be orbiting for a while (if successful...) and hopefully we learn a ton about our solar system and the formation of them and of planets themselves.

They're all interesting in their own way.

Yes, I've been fascinated by this since I was a kid...... Meganerd here.....

[gasman]

I was reading that Juno will be bombarded continuously by high energy electrons and all the electronics are shielded inside titanium. It certainly is a really interesting planet and Juno will tell us if it has a solid core that gravitationally held onto it's atmosphere or if it's accreted gas that didn't ignite.
Or something along these lines. I'm excited for what they find.

[cadence90]

Launched: Aug. 5, 2011
Arrival at Jupiter: July 4, 2016

It took awhile, but it sure looks like Juno won that Strava KOM.

[Cicli]

Launched: Aug. 5, 2011
Arrival at Jupiter: July 4, 2016

It took awhile, but it sure looks like Juno won that Strava KOM.

Probably motorpacing.

[gasman]

Probably motorpacing.

Yep, a slingshot acceleration off the earth.

[cadence90]

Probably motorpacing.

Agree.
I always thought Juno was a doper.

https://c.o0bg.com/rf/image_460w/Boston/2011-2020/2012/04/07/BostonGlobe.com/Arts/Images/0406classics.jpg

[Joxster]

I don't get it?????? Why do we need to know about Jupiter?? It's not remotely habital, so wouldn't the money be better spent on something that benefits mankind say Wireless EPS, a cure for Cancer, Parkinsons and AIDS

[MadRocketSci]

Proudly made in Colorado!

[oldpotatoe]

I don't get it?????? Why do we need to know about Jupiter?? It's not remotely habital, so wouldn't the money be better spent on something that benefits mankind say Wireless EPS, a cure for Cancer, Parkinsons and AIDS

Lud·dite
ˈlədˌīt/
noun
a member of any of the bands of English workers who destroyed machinery, especially in cotton and woolen mills, that they believed was threatening their jobs (1811–16).
a person opposed to increased industrialization or new technology.

I know you aren't English but....:rolleyes::D:cool:

[Joxster]

Lud·dite
ˈlədˌīt/
noun
a member of any of the bands of English workers who destroyed machinery, especially in cotton and woolen mills, that they believed was threatening their jobs (1811–16).
a person opposed to increased industrialization or new technology.

I know you aren't English but....:rolleyes::D:cool:


Wireless EPS is IMPORTANT Damn it!!! ;)

[verticaldoug]

Joke about it now, but wait till the Protomolecule shows up and turns all of our biomass into something mushy.

[dancinkozmo]

no "uranus probe" jokes in this thread yet ?
you guys are slipping

[fuzzalow]

I don't get it?????? Why do we need to know about Jupiter?? It's not remotely habital, so wouldn't the money be better spent on something that benefits mankind say Wireless EPS, a cure for Cancer, Parkinsons and AIDS

The money? Dontworryboudit. Unless you are a US-expat living in Scotland, it isn't your taxdollar at work/being spent anyway. The US Federal budget burns through lotsa cash on lotsa everything - what's spent on space exploration is a drop in an ocean.