In clear skies, the planet Jupiter will be visible as a brilliant "star" in the east after sunset. With binoculars, the planet's largest moons can be seen as points of light nearby. One of those points is Europa. Within hours, our #JunoMission will be there.🧵 1/6 That little dot is actually a complex, intriguing world. Europa is about size of Earth's Moon. Beneath its cold outer shell of ice, scientists think it hides a global ocean of liquid water. The evidence came from several NASA spacecraft that flew by Jupiter over the years... 2/6

Did you catch bright Jupiter in the eastern sky tonight? If not, don't worry, it will be brilliant for days to come. go.nasa.gov/3QVyxNv

https://twitter.com/NASASolarSystem/status/1573368966625591296

To the naked eye, Jupiter will appear as a very bright "star." Here's what it looked like earlier this week as seen through a skylight in a lava tube at Craters of the Moon National Monument.

It's 2/2/22! For this day of 2️⃣s, here are some iconic pairs in our solar system. Some asteroids come in twos, such as Ida & Dactyl, as seen by the Galileo spacecraft. This year, our #DARTMission will perform its test at another pair, Didymos & Dimorphos: go.nasa.gov/3ofmhes Two small moons of Saturn, Janus & Epimetheus, share very similar orbits around the planet, and they regularly swap positions. This series of images was captured by Cassini. go.nasa.gov/3giKM6T

Luck favors the prepared! The #DARTMission has lifted off to begin its journey to a double asteroid, where it will test techniques to deflect an asteroid if someday one presents a hazard to Earth. Ride along here and at nasa.gov/dart The #DARTMission spacecraft has separated from the @SpaceX rocket, and is on its way to the Didymos double asteroid system, where it is expected to arrive late next year.

There was a flurry of activity on the surface of the Sun this week, including large solar flares and storms. Here, @NASASun’s Solar Dynamics Observatory in Earth orbit captured an especially active solar region on Nov. 2.
1/4 The Sun launched multiple coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that sent waves of charged particles toward Earth. The SOHO spacecraft caught one as it blasted out into the solar system.
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At this very moment, our #JunoMission is approaching Jupiter’s giant moon Ganymede. Learn more about this historic flyby: missionjuno.swri.edu/news/nasas-jun…

Track Juno’s position in real time with our 3D solar system simulation: go.nasa.gov/3x1a5kU The Juno spacecraft continues its approach on the night side of Ganymede.

Current distance to Ganymede: about 16,000 miles (26,000 kilometers).

Speed relative to Ganymede: about 41,000 MPH (66,000 kilometers per hour).

Congratulations to the Ingenuity #MarsHelicopter team on the first powered flight on another planet!

How far could robotic rotorcraft like Ingenuity take us in space exploration? Far. Very far.

Let’s talk about titans and dragonflies. 1/4 Saturn’s moon Titan is bigger than Mercury! With a soupy atmosphere thicker than Earth's and only 1/7th the gravity, it’s the perfect place to explore with a flying rover. 2/4