Juno came to Perijove-48 on 2023 Jan.22, crossing the equator at L3 = 215.

Unfortunately, most of the images were lost as JunoCam experienced an issue similar to that at PJ47, i.e. an anomalous temperature rise was detected after the camera was powered on in preparation for the flyby.  However, on this occasion the issue persisted for 23 hours, and all the images were unusable until the spacecraft was ascending over the southern temperate regions, when the camera returned to normal operation. (The JunoCam team hope to avoid this problem in future by keeping the camera powered on.)

Images 216 onwards were usable, covering the high southern latitudes and the usual (lo-res) outbound sequence.  Gerald Eichstädt has produced global cylindrical maps and south polar projection maps from these images, in RGB and CH4; Figures 1 & 2 present the RGB maps.  They confirm the continued existence of some ovals that are now hard to resolve in late-apparition ground-based images (e.g. S2-AWO-A2 and S4-LRS-1), and they continue JunoCam’s coverage of the south polar region, although only one or two of the circumpolar cyclones are partially discernible as the south pole is in shadow.

[Because of the reduced coverage, this is the whole of our report on this perijove; a PDF is attached as usual here:]

Report-on-PJ48