Thebe from Juno

NASA�s Juno spacecraft captured this view of Thebe, the second largest of Jupiter�s inner moons, during a close pass on May 1, 2026. The spacecraft�s Stellar Reference Unit (SRU) captured this image from a distance of approximately 3,100 miles (5,000 kilometers) at a resolution of about 1.9 miles (3 kilometers) per pixel.

Thebe resides at the outer edge of Jupiter�s faint ring system and is believed to play a role in the formation of the planet�s �gossamer� ring through the shedding of dust.

While the SRU�s primary function is to image star fields for navigation, its high sensitivity in low-light conditions makes it a powerful secondary science instrument. The SRU has previously been used to discover �shallow lightning� in Jupiter�s atmosphere and to image the planet�s ring system.