With all the attention seemingly focused on Mars lately, another planet where a spacecraft will further explore will be Jupiter - "King" of all the planets. The current mission is named "Juno" after Jupiter's wife in Greek & Roman mythology. Juno the goddess was able to "peer through" her husband's "clouds of deception" to reveal his true nature. Juno the spacecraft will be able to study Jupiter's gravitational & magnetic fields to figure out what the planet is made of & how it formed (watch NASA video). The spacecraft was launched in August, 2011 but will begin to orbit Jupiter in October, 2016 - after a gravity-assist fly-by of Earth in 2013. Juno is part of NASA's New Horizons mission which also includes a fly-by of Pluto in 2015.
Jupiter currently can be seen in the night sky as one of the brightest "stars." The planet is now in planetary "opposition" with Earth which happens about once an Earth-year. Features such as the Great Red Spot can be seen through a small telescope - with patience. Soon Jupiter will go into "retrograde motion" as appears from Earth - starting in February, 2014.
Jupiter currently can be seen in the night sky as one of the brightest "stars." The planet is now in planetary "opposition" with Earth which happens about once an Earth-year. Features such as the Great Red Spot can be seen through a small telescope - with patience. Soon Jupiter will go into "retrograde motion" as appears from Earth - starting in February, 2014.
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