406 years ago, Galileo Galilei was on his balcony using the telescope for several years had perfected his fingers and neurons. It was the month of January and strange -to the Italian and scientists of his time- happened near Jupiter, the largest planet ever seen from Earth. Galileo was puzzled because the stars around Jupiter moved.
In 1610, Galileo was only a teacher of mathematics and mathematicians were seen underhand by philosophers who controlled any intellectual and scientific mainstream. Any sign that the Earth was not the center of the universe was mocked. The same was true when someone insinuated that had moons apart from ours. Galileo did not tell anyone about his hunch and repeated the exercise the next day
He spent equal. The stars moved, and the stars do not move. Were they moons? If so, Nicolaus Copernicus was right: the sun-not the Earth was the center of the solar system. And nobody liked to think that Copernicus was a reason having even remote possibility. One week it took Galileo verify that those stars are, indeed, moons, though he never mentioned the name of Copernicus, perhaps for fear of repercussions. A mathematical challenge us like that? Impossible, unacceptable.
When Galileo published a pamphlet with the findings of its observation, skepticism gained during the first months, but by the end of 1610 our whole conception of outer space , the solar system and our place in the universe began to be transformed completely. “It was the beginning of modern knowledge about the universe,” said university professor David Wootton at Washington Post .
Toma of the four large moons of Jupiter captured by the camera while Juno was approaching to orbit the giant planet. // Photo: NASA / JPL-Caltech / AFP
While the revelation of Jupiter was the foundation. curiosity spatial data has added fuel our understanding of the universe for four centuries, the great planet still retains its dose of enigmas. After eight missions to Jupiter-and one, called Juno, in course-, we have yet to discover its secrets, which in turn are the mysteries of the solar system, Jupiter being the first planet to form after the Sun.
Meanwhile, Galileo returned once more to Jupiter this week, when the Juno spacecraft in orbit coincided, aluminum carrying three figures compiled by Lego brand toys: one of Galileo, another of the god Jupiter and his wife Juno, in honor of Roman mythology that gave name to the colossal celestial body. They say those who have studied that Galilei, a man of little modesty, would be pleased that he is still remembered as a pillar of space exploration.
a for answers.
on July 4 were fulfilled 240 years from the firmament of the letter of American independence from the British Empire. Shortly before the end of the day, Juno managed to orbit with Jupiter, after nearly five years of interstellar travel.
The -first ship to arrive so far at the point of solar cells and the fastest has traveled through space in history was launched by the US space agency NASA, with a central engine made in the UK.
“We just make a of the hardest things you have done the NASA “he said after the arrival of the probe Scott Bolton, principal investigator and head of Juno. However, the mistake tiniest can still bring the mission, or even extreme radiation from Jupiter down could undermine parts of the ship, as happened with Galileo, the probe reached Jupiter in 1995 and destroyed in 2003, after completing the 70% of their goals.
Dr. Scott Bolton is the principal investigator and head of the Juno mission. // . Photo: The New York Times
No bigger and harmful planet Jupiter, Bolton said before the achievement of this week. “It’s the monster in the solar system. It is the most extreme in every way possible planet. It has the strongest magnetic and gravitational field, the most severe radiation and is rotating super fast, “he said.
The ideas that eventually became Juno surfaced at the beginning of the millennium, when the Galileo probe still rotating around Jupiter. The first proposal presented it to NASA Bolton and a team of scientists in 2004 and the first designs of hardware began in 2006. In August 2011 the launch of the small tank was shielded radiation, which at some point of the journey had to come back to Earth to gain momentum
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missions Juno.
One of its most important components of Juno is a magnetometer, with which scientists aim to capture the magnetic map of Jupiter. This is perhaps the most important task of the probe, as this information will allow more accurate and detailed the magnetic field of Jupiter data, lifting the skirts suckers covering its atmosphere to reveal details of its composition.
the plan is to achieve 37 Juno orbits (Galileo completed 34) destroyed before colliding with Jupiter’s atmosphere in February 2018. in addition to knowing the magnetic map, NASA scientists hope to understand the internal structure the planet, because not currently know if you have a rocky or gaseous core.
Three metallic Lego figures traveling within the Juno probe. Representing the Roman god Jupiter, his wife Juno and the Italian mathematician Galileo Galilei (from right to left). // . Photo: NASA / JPL-Caltech / KSC / New York Times
Another objective is to quantify the size and the volume of water in the Great Red Spot, that gigantic storm that characterizes the atlas of global titan. The entire experiment could explain the formation of the pioneer planet and, successively, the other planets in the solar system.
Millions of years ago, after the birth of the Sun, appeared Jupiter, a body that was formed by the accumulation of excess gases of the Sun as are helium and hydrogen. But scientists wonder, why are carbon and nitrogen in Jupiter, two essential elements for life on Earth?
“Something happened between the formation of the Sun and Jupiter that allowed the planet to be enriched by these heavy elements, but still do not know why, “Bolton said.
what we know and imagine Jupiter.
the probe Galileo is responsible for most information we have today Jupiter and the best pictures of the planet to date. Thanks to Galileo we know that the storms that are above the atmosphere are ammoniac and powerful. We never heard of ammonia clouds in the atmosphere of another planet.
This mission also revealed that Io, one of the 60 moons orbiting Jupiter, has a volcanic activity 100 times the Earth. Europe, one of the moons, icy surface has liquid oceans covering. In fact, the Galileo probe left wanting to explore more deeply Europe, but projects were not successful.
Sketch of Juno probe traveling on the orbit of Jupiter, facilitated by NASA to help illustrate the scope of the mission. // . Photo: NASA / JPL-Caltech / EFE
Astronomers believe it is possible that Jupiter was a land before the Sun was born, able to collect the stuff that wandered through space after that. Hence, the union has the expectation to solve the mystery of whether its core is rocky or gaseous; if the second option, the formation of Jupiter would be the result of a collision between a cloud of gas and dust, a similar process like stars occur.
“We know this is important because things that Jupiter has more, the heavy elements are what make life itself, “Bolton said. “Understanding how Jupiter did so, how it was formed, how it began its process of enrichment is the infallible evidence of how we all came here.”
Juno has already yielded scientific data to pending the analysis of scientists and transmitted shots of the approach to the orbit and extracts a sound captured by the planet, which they have called “roar of Jupiter.” But now the scientific computer is off, in order to protect against radiation, which is expected to be until late August when sending more data on schedule.
when appropriate, the images of a public camera (the JunoCam ) in the branches of Jupiter will be publicly accessible through the Internet. There will be spectacular images never before seen on the planet. Perhaps better and closer to the poles and other sights to see. Moreover, they might even discover new moons. It will be the adrenaline trip ever done, but nothing can fail.
alessandro.solis@nacion.com
Journalist Entertainment and culture
Journalist Sunday Magazine of the Nation. Bachelor of Journalism at the Latin University of Costa Rica. Writes about social, international issues, younger generations, chronicles, cultural issues
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