Images 59611603 © Yorgy67 and 128706493 © Elen33 | Dreamstime.com
Forget the Man in the Moon; NASA’s new figure is a lot more riveting.
The vast expanse of space is no stranger to mysteries, but every once in a while, the universe throws us a bone that’s just too intriguing to ignore. This time, the spotlight is on Jupiter, our solar system’s gas giant. As NASA’s Juno spacecraft took a leisurely flyby of the colossal planet during its 54th close approach, it snapped an image that’s nothing short of, well, haunting.
The captured view is of an area named Jet N7, nestled in Jupiter’s far northern terrains. The image provides an uncanny depiction of turbulent clouds and storms at the terminator—the boundary separating the day and night sides of Jupiter.
As one often observes with Juno’s shots, the clouds in the frame tend to stir the imagination, causing pareidolia—the psychological phenomenon where we spot familiar patterns, like faces, in random stimuli. And this image is no exception. Using the raw data from the JunoCam instrument, citizen scientist Vladimir Tarasov transformed the original capture into an eerily mesmerizing portrayal of an unconventional face.
Leveraging the spooky vibe, NASA decided to showcase this peculiar artwork just in time for Halloween and to mark the 142nd birthday of legendary artist Pablo Picasso on October 25.
OK. I like it. Picasso!
The #JunoMission captured this view in Jupiter’s far north that resembles a Cubist portrait displaying multiple perspectives.
We present the @NASASolarSystem image to you on Oct. 25—what would have been Picasso’s 142nd birthday: https://t.co/2WChdpAycc pic.twitter.com/fJkdlb974R
— NASA (@NASA) October 25, 2023
The space agency even drew a connection to Picasso’s renowned Cubist style, remarking, “The Juno Mission captured this view in Jupiter’s far north that resembles a Cubist portrait displaying multiple perspectives. We present the @NASASolarSystem image to you on Oct. 25—what would have been Picasso’s 142nd birthday.” A nod to the very essence of Cubism, which showcases subjects from multiple angles in a single frame.
And there you have it, a fusion of space, art, and a touch of the supernatural—making the cosmos a lot more mysterious than it already is.
[via Space.com, SciTechDaily, Juno Mission, images via various sources]
by rrollins
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