Munch's 'The Scream' Resembling Large Cloud on Jupiter Sparks Interest

Juno Probe Captures Jupiter's Swirling Clouds
Expression Similar to the Protagonist in Munch's 'The Scream'

A cloud resembling the face of the protagonist in Norwegian painter Edvard Munch's iconic work 'The Scream' has been captured on Jupiter, drawing attention.

On the 29th (local time), American science media Live Science and others cited a NASA announcement, reporting that a large swirling cloud with an unusual appearance was observed in the northern region of Jupiter, called 'Jet N7.'

Looking at this photo taken by NASA's Jupiter probe 'Juno' on September 7 from space 7,700 km away from Jupiter, it is not difficult to imagine a human face. Two eyes with black pupils, along with the shapes of a nose and lips, are clearly visible. The overall expression is strongly distorted. It resembles the human expression in Edvard Munch's painting 'The Scream'.
[Photo by NASA]

Looking at the photo taken by NASA's Jupiter probe 'Juno' on September 7th from space 7,700 km away from Jupiter, it is not difficult to imagine a human face. Two eyes with black pupils, along with the shapes of a nose and lips, are clearly visible. The expression is overall strongly distorted. It resembles the facial expression of the person in Munch's 'The Scream.'

This photo was taken at the boundary between day and night on Jupiter. Because of this, the strong contrast between light and shadow creates a gloomy atmosphere.

NASA explained, "The reason people see a human face in the photo taken this time is due to a phenomenon called 'pareidolia.'" Pareidolia is a psychological phenomenon where the human brain extracts certain patterns or shapes when viewing specific images. For example, seeing shapes of animals like dogs or birds in clouds.

NASA explained that "the reason people think of human faces when looking at the recently taken photos is due to a phenomenon called 'pareidolia'."
[Photo by NASA]

This is not the first time Juno's photos of Jupiter have contained shapes resembling a human face. A photo taken on May 19, 2017, also captured clouds resembling eyes and a mouth.

Juno Has Sent Numerous Shocking Photos and Data So Far

Juno was launched from Earth in 2011 and entered Jupiter's orbit in 2016. The name Juno comes from Jupiter's English name, which is derived from Zeus's wife Hera (Juno). Since Jupiter was known as a notorious womanizer in mythology, the name Juno signifies a thorough observation and exploration of Jupiter through his wife.

Starting on July 12, 2016, Juno began taking and transmitting the first photos from within Jupiter's orbit, focusing on investigating the gravitational and magnetic fields around Jupiter's polar regions. It also started investigating the amount of water present in Jupiter's atmosphere. Orbiting about 5,000 km above Jupiter, Juno has sent back various shocking photos and data so far.

The view of Jupiter's north pole photographed by Juno [Photo by NASA]

First, Jupiter's polar regions were very different from what humans had imagined. There were no distinctive shapes unique to Jupiter, nor the expected belts of Jupiter. However, several massive storms, each thousands of kilometers in diameter, surrounded Jupiter's north and south poles respectively.

Meanwhile, Juno's primary mission ended in July 2021. It is currently on an extended mission. Among Juno's upcoming missions, the most anticipated are explorations of Jupiter's moons Ganymede, Io, and Europa.

In particular, the scientific community's attention is focused on what observational results Juno will obtain from Europa. Europa is a moon of Jupiter believed to have a large underground ocean. Jupiter's strong gravity squeezes Europa, generating frictional heat that melts the ice inside the moon, creating an underground ocean. There has been cautious speculation that life might exist there.

The scientific community expects Juno to continue its mission until 2025. There are no plans for it to return to Earth. NASA has disposed of completed Jupiter probes by plunging them into Jupiter's atmosphere to burn up. This is to prevent unexpected contamination of extraterrestrial environments if the probe were to orbit Jupiter and accidentally crash into surrounding moons.

Illustration of the Juno probe settled in Jupiter's orbit
[Photo by NASA]

Meanwhile, after Juno completes its mission, a probe specialized in observing Jupiter's moons will arrive. The expected arrival date is 2031, with the probe 'JUICE' launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) in April of this year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.