Planetary Picture of the Day
Week of June 03, 2024
This week we present amazing views of tornadoes on the Sun, rocks on Mars, a hurricane on Earth, clouds on Jupiter, and craters on Saturn's moon Mimas.
Monday, 03 June 2024
Martian Mosaic
TThis scene is a mosaic of two Right Mastcam-Z camera images taken by NASA's Perseverance rover on 27 May 2024 at a local time of 3:15 pm. The color approximates natural human vision. Most boulders are largely basaltic, with evidence of being rounded by wind. We can't wait to learn the composition of the lighter-toned one in the middle of the scene, though, as it appears to be something different.
Tuesday, 04 June 2024
Solar Tornadoes
Some of the incredible solar activity was captured last month by spacecraft near the Sun, including these plasma tornadoes. These walls of plasma are higher than the Earth is in diameter. And, of course, all this solar activity has provided us with stunning aurorae. With solar maximum approaching, chances are high that we'll see more incredible views like this one!
Wednesday, 05 June 2024
Mimas Close Encounter
This detailed image came from Cassini's close encounter with Mimas, one of Saturn's moons. Mimas is less than 400 kilometers in diameter, creating ripples in Saturn's rings with its gravity. This disruption separates the A and B rings with the Cassini Division.
Thursday, 06 June 2024
Hurricane Season Begins
An external high-definition camera on the International Space Station captured this image of Hurricane Idalia at 11:35 a.m. Eastern Time on Aug. 29, 2023. Idalia was a category 1 storm over the Gulf of Mexico with sustained winds of 140 kilometers (85 miles) per hour, according to the National Hurricane Center. June 1 marked the beginning of the 2024 hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean.
Friday, 07 June 2024
Jupiter from Juno on Perijove 23
Let's end the week looking back at this picture of Jupiter, which was created by Kevin Gill using images captured by NASA’s Juno spacecraft during its 23rd close flyby of Jupiter back in 2019.
