The Juno spacecraft captured a group of clouds on Jupiter that looked like a face distorted with horror and screaming. NASA compared it to paintings by Pablo Picasso. Such surreal pictures are seen on the surface of a giant planet all the time.
Congratulations on the Halloween from Juno
Scientists working with the Juno probe received a picture from it, with which they welcomed all astronomy enthusiasts to Halloween. The spacecraft, swirling around Jupiter, has been photographing a creepy, distorted face on its surface for several years.
The picture was taken on August 7, therefore it was named Jet N7. At the time of receipt, the probe was on its 54th flyby near the giant planet. It is located 7700 km from its atmosphere at 69 degrees north latitude.
At the same time, the spacecraft was found near the line of demarcation between day and night on Jupiter. Therefore, half of the “face” in the picture seems to be hiding behind the corner of the house or the door. In fact, it is simply immersed in darkness. NASA compared it with the works of the artist Pablo Picasso, whose 142-year birthday was celebrated on October 25.
Face from the clouds
In fact, clouds are all in Juno’s amazing image. Jupiter has a powerful atmosphere with winds that reach speeds of up to 600 km/h. They twist the clouds into spirals and vortices, interacting with each other all the time. Therefore, various surreal paintings are constantly being explored through the lens of the spacecraft.
“The low angle of sunlight highlights the complex topography of features in this region, which scientists have studied to better understand the processes playing out in Jupiter’s atmosphere,” NASA representatives said in the image description.
And then the effect known as pareidolia will work. It has nothing to do with astronomy, but with how we think. For people, the social interaction of trying to recognize a face is important.
We are able to recognize them even where they definitely cannot be. In this way, the “face of the Martian sphinx” appeared, which did not give rest to people until it turned out that these were just rocks on which the light fell unsuccessfully. So the same story came out with the clouds on Jupiter.
According to phys.org
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