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| Juno probe captures movie of Earth-Moon 'dance' | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The US space agency (Nasa) has released an extraordinary new movie of Earth and the Moon moving through space together. | The US space agency (Nasa) has released an extraordinary new movie of Earth and the Moon moving through space together. |
| The images that make up the sequence were acquired by the Jupiter-bound Juno satellite when it passed by our home planet in October. | The images that make up the sequence were acquired by the Jupiter-bound Juno satellite when it passed by our home planet in October. |
| Earth is observed spinning on its axis with the Moon passing behind and heading off to the right of the scene. | Earth is observed spinning on its axis with the Moon passing behind and heading off to the right of the scene. |
| Juno's chief scientist Scott Bolton says the images should make people think about our place in the Universe. | Juno's chief scientist Scott Bolton says the images should make people think about our place in the Universe. |
| "Humans can see the Earth and the Moon in motion, doing their cosmic dance. And I think it puts everything into perspective," he told BBC News. | |
| "You may remember some years ago that Carl Sagan took a picture he called the Pale Blue Dot, and made a lot of very important points about the fact that everything we know is on this little dot. And I think our movie does the same thing but with a moving image rather than just a still one." | "You may remember some years ago that Carl Sagan took a picture he called the Pale Blue Dot, and made a lot of very important points about the fact that everything we know is on this little dot. And I think our movie does the same thing but with a moving image rather than just a still one." |
| Dr Bolton was speaking in San Francisco at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting, the largest annual gathering of Earth and planetary scientists. | Dr Bolton was speaking in San Francisco at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting, the largest annual gathering of Earth and planetary scientists. |
| There have been other sequences that capture the Earth-Moon system in motion, but not quite from the distance seen in the Juno production. | |
| The flyby movie is available on YouTube. The accompanying music is scored by the renowned film composer Vangelis. | |
| Juno was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on 5 August 2011. | Juno was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on 5 August 2011. |
| The trajectory chosen to send it out to Jupiter required the spacecraft to fly back around the Earth on 9 October this year. | The trajectory chosen to send it out to Jupiter required the spacecraft to fly back around the Earth on 9 October this year. |
| This gave the satellite a gravitational boost that will hurl it towards the gas giant with a rendezvous set for 2016. | This gave the satellite a gravitational boost that will hurl it towards the gas giant with a rendezvous set for 2016. |
| But the mission scientists realised that the Earth flyby could also provide a unique photo opportunity. | But the mission scientists realised that the Earth flyby could also provide a unique photo opportunity. |
| They programmed a camera system on Juno to compile a series of images during the approach. | They programmed a camera system on Juno to compile a series of images during the approach. |
| This was not the main camera system onboard, but rather the equipment normally employed to track stars for navigation purposes. | This was not the main camera system onboard, but rather the equipment normally employed to track stars for navigation purposes. |
| But it had the advantage, says the team, of having a low-enough resolution that only a manageable volume of data would be produced to make the movie. | But it had the advantage, says the team, of having a low-enough resolution that only a manageable volume of data would be produced to make the movie. |
| The result is slightly surreal, but unquestionably familiar. | The result is slightly surreal, but unquestionably familiar. |
| Earth and the Moon enter the field of view at left, when Juno is about 1,000,000km away - about three times the Earth-Moon separation. | Earth and the Moon enter the field of view at left, when Juno is about 1,000,000km away - about three times the Earth-Moon separation. |
| Then, with the Moon gradually drifting off to the right, the Earth comes closer and closer as Juno prepares to swing around for its slingshot. | Then, with the Moon gradually drifting off to the right, the Earth comes closer and closer as Juno prepares to swing around for its slingshot. |
| "The big trick for a low-light camera like this was to tune it in a way that we were able to get images of a very bright object," explained participating scientist John Jorgensen of the Danish Technical University, near Copenhagen. | "The big trick for a low-light camera like this was to tune it in a way that we were able to get images of a very bright object," explained participating scientist John Jorgensen of the Danish Technical University, near Copenhagen. |
| "The camera was designed for operating at the Jupiter system where light is a hundred times fainter than what we can see in this movie." | "The camera was designed for operating at the Jupiter system where light is a hundred times fainter than what we can see in this movie." |
| Juno's mission once it gets to Jupiter will be to explain the Solar System by investigating the origin and evolution of its biggest planetary member. | Juno's mission once it gets to Jupiter will be to explain the Solar System by investigating the origin and evolution of its biggest planetary member. |
| The spacecraft's remote sensing instruments will look down into the giant through its many layers and measure their composition, temperature, motion and other properties. | The spacecraft's remote sensing instruments will look down into the giant through its many layers and measure their composition, temperature, motion and other properties. |
| This should yield some remarkable new insights into the coloured bands that wrap around the planet, and give us a new perspective on the famous Great Red Spot - the colossal storm that has raged on Jupiter for hundreds of years. Juno will tell us how deep its roots go. | This should yield some remarkable new insights into the coloured bands that wrap around the planet, and give us a new perspective on the famous Great Red Spot - the colossal storm that has raged on Jupiter for hundreds of years. Juno will tell us how deep its roots go. |
| A key quest is to measure the abundance of water in the atmosphere - an indicator of how much oxygen was present in Jupiter's region of the Solar System when it formed. | A key quest is to measure the abundance of water in the atmosphere - an indicator of how much oxygen was present in Jupiter's region of the Solar System when it formed. |
| The probe will also try to settle old arguments over whether the planet hosts a rocky core or whether its gases go all the way down to the centre in an ever more compressed state. | The probe will also try to settle old arguments over whether the planet hosts a rocky core or whether its gases go all the way down to the centre in an ever more compressed state. |
| All this information bears down strongly on the competing theories for how the eight worlds we now call planets came into being. | All this information bears down strongly on the competing theories for how the eight worlds we now call planets came into being. |
| Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos | Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos |