• Last week, during Juno’s latest Jupiter flyby, the spacecraft captured stunning images of Io’s shadow streaking across the gas giant during an eclipse.
  • Juno has orbited Jupiter for more than three years, and provided incredible insight into the planet’s processes.
  • Io’s proximity to Jupiter means the shadow it casts across the surface of the planet is large and sharp.

Last week, Jupiter's moon, Io, slipped between the gas giant and our sun. Luckily, NASA's Juno spacecraft was there to capture all the action.

Juno has been monitoring the gas giant for roughly three years, and sweeps close to the planet every 53 days. During its latest flyby on September 12, it captured images of the solar eclipse. Thanks to software engineer Kevin Gill of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, who processed the image, we get to see the photos in all their glory.

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Jupiter has 79 moons (53 have officially been named by NASA); four of which—Io, Ganymede, Europa, and Calisto—are of particular interest to the agency. Io has a highly volatile environment, and is home to some of the solar system’s most mysterious features, including a massive volcano named Loki.

Io is also the largest moon, and therefore, casts the widest shadow across Jupiter’s surface. This is also why the shadow looks so sharp compared to the shadow cast by the moon during a solar eclipse here on Earth, according to astrophysicist Katie Mack.

Gill also posted a 360-degree “horizon-to-horizon” composite shot of the eclipse. Take a look here: