                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2023 June 25
     A large swirling cloud on Jupiter is shown with a bright green spot
    near its top. The cloud is surrounded by other less descript parts of
       Jupiter's upper atmosphere. Please see the explanation for more
                            detailed information.

                            Lightning on Jupiter
    Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS; Processing & License: Kevin
                                   M. Gill

   Explanation: Does lightning occur only on Earth? No. Spacecraft in our
   Solar System have detected lightning on other planets, including Mars,
   Jupiter and Saturn, and lightning is likely on Venus, Uranus, and
   Neptune. Lightning is a sudden rush of electrically charged particles
   from one location to another. On Earth, drafts of colliding ice and
   water droplets usually create lightning-generating charge separation,
   but what happens on Jupiter? Images and data from NASA's
   Jupiter-orbiting Juno spacecraft bolster previous speculation that
   Jovian lightning is also created in clouds containing water and ice. In
   the featured Juno photograph, an optical flash was captured in a large
   cloud vortex near Jupiter's north pole. During the next few months,
   Juno will perform several close sweeps over Jupiter's night side,
   likely allowing the robotic probe to capture more data and images of
   Jovian lightning.

                  Tomorrow's picture: mountains below venus
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                             & Michigan Tech. U.

