NASA Scientists Cook Up Jupiter's Atmosphere on Earth

Close-up of Jupiter's Great Red Spot as seen by a Voyager spacecraft.
CREDIT: NASA/JPL-Caltech

On a rooftop in downtown Atlanta, a group of scientists are cooking up alien atmospheres.

Their results will help astronomers understand the data that NASA's Juno spacecraft will send back from Jupiter in 2016.

Jupiter's cloudy bands and great red spot are visible with an amateur telescope but the elements that compose them are more challenging to detect.

The Juno spacecraft launched on Aug. 5, will spend the next five years journeying to Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system.

Using myriad instruments, the craft is expected to help scientists come to a greater understanding of the origins and composition of the gas giant.

Photos: NASA's Juno Mission to Jupiter