[Text on screen] NASA’s Juno spacecraft has shed new light on an old mystery.
For centuries, scientists have debated the origin of the Zodiacal Light...
which appears above the horizon after dusk and before dawn.
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The Zodiacal Light is sunlight, scattered by an interplanetary cloud of dust.
Scientists thought that the dust comes from asteroids or comets.
(Launch commentary by George Diller) And liftoff of the Atlas V with Juno on a trek to Jupiter!
In 2011, Juno launched and spent five years traveling to Jupiter.
During its journey, Juno was repeatedly struck.
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Dust grains pelted the solar arrays, excavating debris.
Cameras on Juno saw the debris, providing data on the impacts.
Juno had flown through the dust cloud that causes the Zodiacal Light...
allowing scientists to map its distribution for the first time.
The map pointed to an unexpected source for the dust - Mars.
Mars could be ejecting the dust during global dust storms.
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Juno’s findings will help to protect future missions...
that will pass through this dusty region of space.
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