An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

A → NASA → space mission devoted to the study of the planet → Jupiter. Juno was launched on August 5, 2011 and traveled over a total distance of roughly 2.8 billion km (1.8 → astronomical units) to reach Jupiter on July 4, 2016, after a journey of about five years. Two years after its launch Juno used a → gravity assist through an Earth → flyby in October 2013. The spacecraft will make 37 turns around Jupiter in a → polar orbit over the course of 20 months, until February 2018. Juno has nine different instruments to achieve its scientific goals. Its main goal is to understand the origin and evolution of Jupiter. Among Juno’s scientific objectives, it will:

1. Determine how much water is in Jupiter’s atmosphere, which helps find out which planet formation theory is correct (or if new theories are needed);
   

2. Look deep into Jupiter’s atmosphere to measure composition, temperature, cloud motions and other properties;
   

3. Map Jupiter’s magnetic and gravity fields, revealing the planet’s deep structure;
   

4. Explore and study Jupiter’s → magnetosphere near the planet’s poles, especially the auroras, providing new insights about how the planet’s enormous → magnetic field

affects its atmosphere.

See also: The spacecraft’s name comes from Greco-Roman mythology. The god Jupiter drew a veil of clouds around himself to hide his mischief, but his wife, the goddess Juno, was able to peer through the clouds and see Jupiter’s true nature.