APOD
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.
Juno Flyby of Ganymede and Jupiter
Explanation: What would it be like to fly over the largest moon in the Solar System ? In 2021, the robotic Juno spacecraft flew past Jupiter 's huge moon Ganymede and took images that have been digitally constructed into a detailed flyby. As the featured video begins, Juno swoops over the two-toned surface of the 5,000-km wide moon, revealing an icy alien landscape filled with grooves and craters. The grooves are likely caused by shifting surface plates, while the craters are caused by violent impacts . Continuing on in its orbit, Juno then performed its 34th close pass over Jupiter's clouds. The digitally-constructed video shows numerous swirling clouds in the north, colorful planet-circling zones and bands across the middle -- featuring several white-oval cloud s from the String of Pearls , and finally more swirling clouds in the south.
| Date | December 14, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Credit |
Video Credit: NASA , JPL-Caltech , SWRI , MSSS ; Animation: Koji Kuramura , Gerald Eichstädt , Mike Stetson; Music: Vangelis |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |


