Jupiter’s Frosted Clouds

New 3D renderings of Jovian clouds show textured swirls akin to a cupcake’s sculpted frosting. The images are based on flyby data from the JunoCam instrument. Because illumination of the clouds is generally brightest for the highest clouds, the team has rendered elevation based on brightest. While this is somewhat physical, it’s not exactly what Jupiter looks like. For that, Juno scientists are working on a calibration that will translate these initial renderings into a truer physical model. Nevertheless, the results are stunning, especially the flyover video embedded over here! (Image credit: 3D renders – NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS / G. Eichstädt, image pair – G. Eichstädt et al.; via phys.org; submitted by Kam-Yung Soh)