Jupiter Infrared Glow

This still from an animation of four images shows Jupiter in infrared light as seen by NASA InfraRed Telescope Facility, or IRTF, on May 16, 2015. The observations were obtained in support of NASA's Juno mission by a team headed by Juno scientist Glenn Orton. Observations like these are helping to provide spatial and temporal context for what the science instruments on board Juno will see once the spacecraft arrives at the giant planet in mid-2016. Juno will pass very close to the planet -- coming within just a few thousand miles (or kilometers) of the cloud tops every two weeks. That up-close vantage point will be balanced by distant views of the planet that show how different features move and change over time in relation to each other. The IRTF is a three-meter telescope, optimized for infrared observations, and located at the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii. The observatory is operated and managed for NASA by the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy, Honolulu. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19640