Juno Perijove 63, July 16, 2024 Options

[mcaplinger]

The first part of the PJ63 imaging, including an underwhelming image of Amalthea, has been posted to missionjuno.

If you can find Amalthea without knowing where it is, you are better at it than I am. Hint: sample 593, line 4878 in image 13.

[volcanopele]

There are more pixels on Europa and Ganymede...

I joke, but this image can still be useful for photometric studies of the small satellites.

[mcaplinger]

This was a good time to have my nose rubbed in the fact that Amalthea is very dark and red compared to the Galileans.

And the phase angle was pretty unfavorable this time also. There are at least somewhat closer approaches later (PJ66 is the next one.)

[Antdoghalo]

Which one will be the closest to Amalthea?

[mcaplinger]

Which one will be the closest to Amalthea?

PJ66 is the best one at a little under 60,000 km range. 68 is a little better than 65 at 95,000 km. None are very good.

[Brian Swift]

Hmm. Latest SPICE SCLKSCET is 170 from 2024-06-17 09:36, which seems a little "old" to me.

[Brian Swift]

PJ63 Preliminary processing of initial downlinked images. Exaggerated color/contrast. Image size scaled for UMSF (which hides a bit).

[StargazeInWonder]

FYI, I just did the math and neither Europa Clipper nor Juice will be able to take images of Amalthea that would upgrade what we already have, unless something in an extended mission got much closer than the minimum distance between Europa and Amalthea.

[Explorer1]

So it's all up to Juno, in that case!
(and the same would go for any other irregulars, right?)

[StargazeInWonder]

It's certainly true of any of the irregulars that are interior to Io.

Whether or not there are imaging opportunities for the exterior irregular satellites would depend on possible encounters between the 2030s orbiters while they're further out than Callisto. Each orbiter will at some point cross the orbital distances of the exterior irregular satellites, but the probability of a close encounter that would allow good imaging just by chance would be very low on a satellite-by-satellite basis.

[Explorer1]

Yes, once you get passed Callisto, it's a lot of empty space in that sphere of influence (perhaps Cassini spoiled us with the chance Phoebe encounter back in 2004?)

[Brian Swift]

Crop of PJ63_32, exaggerated color/contrast

[Antdoghalo]

How far was Amalthea in this one?

[Bjorn Jonsson]

A bit late - images PJ63_18 and PJ63_37 in approximately true color/contrast and enhanced versions:


North is up.

And below is a PJ63_37 polar map from the red channel only. The quality of the red data is better than the quality of the green and blue data in the dimly lit regions near the terminator. In particular, the blue channel images show almost no small scale details very close to the terminator. Many details can be seen in the central north polar cyclone, for example the exact center of the cyclone is obvious. The appearance of the central cyclone reminds me a bit of Saturn's north polar vortex. This is the best view I have seen of the central cyclone. The contrast has been increased.

[Antdoghalo]

These storms are beautiful!!! Do you plan to make a map with only Juno imagery at some point? (no Cassini)