A new NASA citizen science project, Jovian Vortex Hunter, seeks your help in identifying vortices – patterns of the wind – and other events in images of the planet Jupiter.
Another NASA citizen science project, Junocam, seeks help from public members who are processing images at NASA’s Juno Mission and targeted spacecraft selection. However, the new Jovian Vortex Hunter project provides images that have already been processed by a scientific team, making it easier and faster for anyone to lend a hand. Separating images will help scientists understand the fluctuations of fluid and cloud chemistry in Jupiter, creating brilliant features such as bands, sports, and “brown boats.”
In this 2019 photo, resident scientist Kevin M. Gill created this image using data from the JunoCam image of the spacecraft. This spectacular view of the hurricane in the atmosphere of Jupiter was captured during its 23rd flight of the planet (also called the “perijove 23”). Juno saw this volcano in the Jupiter region called “the northern hemisphere belt,” or NNNNTB, one of the many solar bands of the giant gaseous planet. These bands are formed by the winds that exist in different places. The vortex seen here is about 1,200 miles (2,000 km) wide.
