Jupiter dazzles for Juno as it flaunts its precious 'pearls'!

Image courtesy: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS

New Delhi: After it's launch in August 2011, NASA's space probe Juno entered Jupiter's polar orbit in July 2016, thus beginning its 20-month investigation of the planet.

Ever since, Juno has been beaming back some amazing data on the planet as well as giving space enthusiasts spectacular visual treats from time to time.

Now, in another image delivered by the spacecraft, Juno has captured the seventh of eight features forming a ‘string of pearls’ on Jupiter – massive counterclockwise rotating storms that appear as white ovals in the gas giant's southern hemisphere.

Taken on December 11, 2016, at 9:27 am PST (12:27 EST) as Juno performed its third close flyby of Jupiter, the spacecraft was at the time, about 15,300 miles (24,600 kilometers) from the planet.

NASA shared the colour image that was clicked by Juno's visible-light camera designed to capture remarkable pictures of Jupiter's poles and cloud tops.