Citizens produce stunning images of Jupiter from Juno spacecraft

Here are some of the most stunning images of Jupiter to come from NASA's Juno spacecraft, which has been in orbit around the giant of our solar system since July — and they've been processed by ordinary citizens.

NASA/SwRI/MSSS/Gerald Eichstädt/Seán Doran

Swirling eddies.

NASA's Juno mission team has provided a site where those familiar with astrophotography can process images obtained by Juno. They can pull out detail like this eddy of clouds high up in Jupiter's atmosphere.

NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Björn Jónsson

Waves of clouds.

The Juno mission team has also asked astrophotographers to provide their own images of Jupiter and to suggest areas towards which Juno can turn its lens. People such as renowned photographer Damian Peach most often use CCD cameras affixed to telescopes to obtain high-quality images from space. 

NASA/JPL/MSSS/Gerald Eichstädt

Hues of blue.

Those processing the images can adjust hue, saturation and more to pull out various colours, such as the blues in this photograph. However, the Juno team requests that an unprocessed image also be supplied.

NASA/JPL/SwRI/MSSS/Gerald Eichstädt/Alexis Tranchandon/Solaris

Spotted storms.

In this photograph, storms — the light-coloured dots across the cloud tops — cross the planet. These storms are similar to Jupiter's famed Great Red Spot, only smaller.

NASA/SwRI/MSSS/Bert Scheuneman

Raised cloud tops.

Here, the image processor manages to highlight the small cloud tops above the larger storms.

NASA/SwRI/MSSS/Gerald Eichstädt/Seán Doran

Eyes of Jupiter.

Various shades of blues and browns illustrate the turbulence of Jupiter's atmosphere. With Juno so early into its mission, we can expect more awe-inspiring photographs such as these.

NASA/SwRI/MSSS/Gerald Eichstädt/Seán Doran