The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has released a new image of Thebe, the second-largest inner moon of Jupiter, captured by the Juno spacecraft during a close flyby on May 1, 2026.
The image was taken by Juno’s Stellar Reference Unit (SRU) from a distance of nearly 3,100 miles (5,000 kilometers). The captured view offers a resolution of approximately 1.9 miles (3 kilometers) per pixel, providing a detailed look at the small Jovian moon.
Thebe is located near the outer edge of Jupiter’s faint ring system and is believed to contribute material to the planet’s “gossamer” ring through the continuous shedding of dust particles.
Although the SRU was primarily designed to capture star fields for spacecraft navigation, its ability to operate in extremely low-light conditions has also made it an important scientific instrument for the mission.
NASA noted that the SRU has previously helped scientists discover “shallow lightning” within Jupiter’s atmosphere and has also been used to image the planet’s ring system.
The Juno mission is managed by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of California Institute of Technology, for principal investigator Scott J. Bolton of the Southwest Research Institute.
Juno operates under NASA’s New Frontiers Program, which is managed by NASA Marshall Space Flight Center for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
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