NASA’s Juno Probe captured a cloud formation on Jupiter resembling a dolphin, seen by Brian Swift and Sean Doran. This phenomenon, called pareidolia, is the brain’s tendency to recognize familiar patterns. Juno’s mission, launched in 2011, aims to study Jupiter’s atmosphere, composition, and massive storms, providing new insights into the gas giant’s mysteries. No dolphins, no whales, and no living beings (that we know of) at the moment are present on the planet. Unlike Earth, Jupiter does not have a hard surface. It’s made mostly of hydrogen and helium and has 95 moons revolving around it. It is the largest and most massive body in our solar system. To try to get some idea of just how huge Jupiter is, take Earth to be the size of a marble and Jupiter will then be similar to a soccer ball having enough room inside its enormous volume for 1,300 Earths. The planet is a guardian of the solar system by pulling asteroids and comets out of the way that could otherwise hit Earth, acting as our cosmic big brother. The most special thing about this probe is that it functions and is solar-powered, despite being so far from the sun. It will keep working through 2025, providing us with two eyes in this far-off world.
