A Nasa spacecraft bound for Jupiter will swing by Earth to get the boost it needs to arrive at the giant gas planet in 2016. <\/p>\n
Using Earth as a gravitational slingshot is a common trick since there is not a rocket powerful enough to catapult a spacecraft directly to the outer solar system. <\/p>\n
Launched in 2011, the Juno spacecraft first zipped past Mars, Earth's closest planetary neighbour. <\/p>\n
It looped back and will make a quick pass by Earth on Wednesday to gather momentum for its trip to Jupiter, located 484 million miles from the sun. <\/p>\n
During the manoeuvre, the solar-powered, windmill-shaped Juno will briefly pass into Earth's shadow and emerge over India's east coast. <\/p>\n
At closest approach, Juno will fly within 350 miles of the Earth's surface, passing over the ocean off the coast of South Africa. <\/p>\n
The rendezvous was designed to bump Juno's speed from 78,000 mph relative to the sun to 87,000 mph - enough power to cruise beyond the asteroid belt toward its destination. <\/p>\n
During the gravity assist, the spacecraft's JunoCam, a wide-angle colour camera, will snap pictures of the Earth and moon. <\/p>\n
Weather permitting, skywatchers in India and South Africa with binoculars or a small telescope may see Juno streak across the sky. <\/p>\n
Ham radio operators around the globe were encouraged to say \"Hi\" in Morse code - a message that may be detected by Juno's radio. <\/p>\n
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Nasa's Juno Zips Past Earth On Way To Jupiter<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A Nasa spacecraft bound for Jupiter will swing by Earth to get the boost it needs to arrive at the giant gas planet in 2016. Using Earth as a gravitational slingshot is a common trick since there is not a rocket powerful enough to catapult a spacecraft directly to the outer solar system. Launched in 2011, the Juno spacecraft first zipped past Mars, Earth's closest planetary neighbour Continue reading