NASA releases Juno probe’s first photograph of Jupiter

NASA has released the first photos captured by their Juno probe that recently got inserted into the giant planet’s orbit.

The probe is still a distance away from the planet (about 4.3 million kilometers, on the outbound leg of its initial 53.5-day capture orbit,) so this is only the first of what will be a series of photos of the giant in our solar system.

Take a peek! First pic from @NASAJuno in #Jupiter’s orbit! Close views still few weeks away: https://t.co/UjJr3xjhS9 pic.twitter.com/XMLN0O9qQg

— NASA (@NASA) July 12, 2016

At left is Jupiter with its famous ‘red spot’ clearly visible, followed by the three dots depicting three of its four largest moons: Io, Europa and, to the far right, Ganymede.

The photograph was captured by the aptly-named ‘JunoCam’, which is a visible-light camera on board the probe. The good news is that this photo--despite being comparable to many photos of the planet to date--proves that the probe’s photographic equipment is up and running, and is apparently withstanding the effects of Jupiter’s especially powerful magnetosphere.

Over the next several months, NASA will be bringing higher resolution cameras online, which are expected to deliver far higher-resolution photos, with the added benefit of being at closer vantage points to the planet. The incoming photos are expected to be hosted on a bespoke website that will be available for public consumption in due course.