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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

A large swirling cloud on Jupiter is shown with a bright green spot near its top. The cloud is surrounded by other less descript parts of Jupiter's upper atmosphere. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

Lightning on Jupiter

Explanation: Does lightning occur only on Earth? No. Spacecraft in our Solar System have detected lightning on other planets, including Mars , Jupiter and Saturn , and lightning is likely on Venus , Uranus, and Neptune . Lightning is a sudden rush of electrically charged particles from one location to another. On Earth , drafts of colliding ice and water droplets usually create lightning-generating charge separation, but what happens on Jupiter ? Images and data from NASA's Jupiter-orbiting Juno spacecraft bolster previous speculation that Jovian lightning is also created in clouds containing water and ice. In the featured Juno photograph , an optical flash was captured in a large cloud vortex near Jupiter's north pole . During the next few months, Juno will perform several close sweeps over Jupiter's night side, likely allowing the robotic probe to capture more data and images of Jovian lightning .

Date June 25, 2023
Credit Image Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS ; Processing & License : Kevin M. Gill
Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.