This breathtaking image of Jupiter was captured on October 27, 2024, during the Juno spacecraft’s 66th close approach—also called a perijove—to the gas giant.

The raw data collected by Juno was transformed into this stunning visual by dedicated citizen scientists, who processed and enhanced the imagery to reveal the planet’s mesmerizing swirls and storm systems. By adjusting contrast and blending various wavelengths of light, they unveiled incredible atmospheric detail far beyond what’s visible in natural color—turning Jupiter’s usual cappuccino tones into a dramatic display of swirling clouds.

In this image, you can spot a mix of large and small atmospheric vortices—some spinning solo, others merging and interacting in complex patterns. These dynamic features reflect the ever-shifting nature of Jupiter’s turbulent atmosphere.

Beyond their beauty, these visuals are scientifically powerful. Juno’s mission is to explore Jupiter’s atmosphere in greater depth than ever before—uncovering the mechanisms behind its fierce storms, jet streams, and immense weather systems.

Credit: NASA / JPL / SwRI / MSSS / Gerald Eichstädt / Thomas Thomopoulos © CC BY 3.0

On October 15, 2023, NASA’s Juno spacecraft captured stunning new images of Io’s north pole—a region barely seen in detail before. Thanks to the powerful JunoCam, three towering volcanic peaks near the day-night boundary were revealed for the first time, expanding our understanding of this fiery Jovian moon.

At just 7,270 miles (11,700 km) above Io’s surface, Juno’s eye caught features that earlier missions like Voyager and Galileo missed. Citizen scientist Ted Stryk then enhanced the raw data, bringing these volcanic giants into sharp focus.

This fresh glimpse of Io’s volcanic activity offers exciting clues about one of the most geologically active worlds in our solar system!

Image data: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS
Image processing by: Ted Stryk

Fuka Hanasaki 花咲楓香

An international team of physicists led by Professor Enrique Gaztañaga of the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation at the University of Portsmouth has questioned the idea that the Universe began with the Big Bang.

This new theory challenges the traditional Big Bang model by proposing that our universe was born inside a black hole from a previous universe.

Published in Physical Review D, the model uses Einstein–Cartan theory, which includes quantum "torsion" to prevent singularities. Instead of a singular beginning, the universe undergoes a "bounce" inside the black hole, expanding outward to become a new cosmos.

This bounce naturally explains both the early rapid expansion (inflation) and the current accelerated expansion (dark energy), without needing exotic new particles or fields.

The model also predicts a slightly curved, closed universe—something future space missions like ESA’s ARRAKIHS or NASA’s SPHEREx may be able to detect.

One of the most compelling predictions is that our universe could carry the spin of the parent black hole, potentially explaining why two-thirds of galaxies seem to rotate in the same direction.

If confirmed by future observations, this cosmic spin could be a key signature supporting the theory.

In essence, this bold idea reimagines our universe not as the beginning of everything, but as part of a cosmic cycle, where each black hole could spawn a new universe—each with its own evolution.

At the edge of our solar system lies a turbulent boundary called the heliopause—the region where the solar wind (a stream of charged particles from the Sun) is stopped by the interstellar medium.

When NASA’s Voyager 1 crossed this boundary in 2012, and Voyager 2 followed in 2018, both spacecraft made a remarkable discovery: a region where the temperature of interstellar plasma spikes dramatically, reaching an estimated 30,000 to 50,000 Kelvin.

This phenomenon has sometimes been described as encountering a “wall of fire” or a “50,000 Kelvin wall,” though these terms are metaphorical.

The high temperature doesn’t mean it’s a literal, fiery wall. Rather, it refers to the kinetic energy of the sparse plasma particles found beyond the heliopause.

Despite the extremely high temperatures, the density of particles in this region is extraordinarily low, meaning that the heat doesn’t transfer in a way that would damage spacecraft or feel "hot" by human standards.

The heating is likely due to magnetic reconnection—an energetic process where magnetic fields from the Sun and the interstellar medium interact and release energy, compressing and heating the plasma.

This "hot wall" marks the boundary where the Sun’s influence ends and true interstellar space begins.

Voyager’s instruments were able to detect this change using a combination of plasma wave sensors, cosmic ray detectors, and magnetometers.

These tools confirmed the change in environment—particularly noting an increase in cosmic ray activity and changes in magnetic field orientation—which further validated the spacecraft had entered a new domain of space.

In summary, while the phrase “50,000 Kelvin wall” sounds dramatic, it is scientifically grounded in real data from the Voyager missions.

It refers to a heated, ionized region just beyond the heliosphere, offering critical insights into how our solar system interacts with the larger galactic environment.

The finding not only helped define the solar system’s outermost limits but also provided invaluable clues about the nature of interstellar space.