Myth, mystery and measurement onboard Juno
By Peder Halseide
After traveling for five
years, three Lego minfigs
from Earth reached the
planet Jupiter this summer.
Traveling onboard a spacecraft named Juno, these
are the first Lego minifigs to
visit the largest planet in
our solar system. Specially
made from aluminum, they
are designed be able to
withstand the volatile conditions for 37 planned orbits
around Jupiter.
The three minifigs represent the god Jupiter, his wife
Juno, and the great scientist Galileo, who observed
moons orbiting Jupiter over 400 years ago.
What is the significance of these three particular ambassadors, and what secrets do they hold in their little
Lego claw hands?
The first Lego minifig is a likeness of the god Jupiter, the
Romans’ mythical king of the gods. Indeed, Jupiter the
planet is massive. Jupiter has two and half times more
mass than all the other planets in our solar system. It is so
massive that the center of gravity between the Sun and
Jupiter (known as the barycenter) lies outside the Sun,
causing the Sun to wobble slightly. Jupiter’s magnetosphere is so large the Sun could easily fit inside it. Jupiter
the planet is an imposing place. It is one of the most extreme environments in our solar system, a cauldron with
dangerous radiation, powerful gravity, massive clouds,
and awesome ancient storms and aurorae.
Jupiter, the god, was also known as the Norse god Thor
from which we get the name Thursday. The Greek name
for Jupiter was Zeus, the god of sky and thunder. This designation is fitting since Jupiter, after our own Sun, Moon
and Venus, is the brightest object in the sky. Well known
to the ancients, Jupiter was described as wandering
star (planetai in Greek), which is where we get the word
planet. Jupiter, the planet, contains within it the secrets of
the formation of our solar system. Jupiter, the Lego minifig
onboard Juno, has a long thick god-like beard, and he
holds in his right hand bolts of lightning, threatening to
annihilate anyone who dares approach.
The second minifig onboard the Juno spacecraft is a
likeness of a balding old man, holding in his right hand a
model of the planet Jupiter, and in his left hand, a new
instrument that had been invented only two years before
by Hans Lippershey. The instrument is called a telescope
and the old man of course is Galileo Galilei, who at the
age of 56 revolutionized religion and science by observing that Jupiter had moons orbiting around it, validating the heliocentric model of the solar system. Galileo’s
discovery was earth-shattering, in that it replaced the
idea of Earth being the center of all things. For the first
time, humans had the means to observe objects orbiting
64
64
a body outside of the Earth or
Sun. The telescope in the Galileo minifig’s left hand signifies
the human quest for knowledge, while his right hand balances the mysterious planet
Jupiter. The telescope was not
only a technical advancement,
but an essential tool that when
turned to the heavens “made
measurable what is not so.”
The third and final Lego minifig on board the Juno spacecraft is the likeness of the
goddess Juno herself. She had the power to peer into her
wayward husband Jupiter’s shenanigans, which he kept
from Juno’s sight by obscuring himself in clouds. Juno
used her power to peer through the clouds, and gained
knowledge and insight about Jupiter. Juno, the Lego
minifig holds in her right hand a magnifying glass, symbolizing her ability to look closely at what was once obscure.
The Lego Jupiter minifig holds lightning to symbolize the
power and mysteries of the planet Jupiter. The Lego Galileo minifig casts his eye upon Jupiter from far away, and
from 400 years ago through a telescope. Now, Juno the
spacecraft, standing on the success of science and innovation, brings us closer to Jupiter than we could have
imagined not that long ago. The minifig Juno’s magnifying glass symbolizes the array of advanced and sensitive
instruments onboard the Juno spacecraft, which will help
us answer some of the important questions about the
nature and formation of Jupiter. Juno represents the best
of human kind, of looking carefully and closely at something. Quoting Galileo, “Facts which at first seem improbable will, even on scant explanation, drop the cloak
which has hidden them and stand forth in naked and
simple beauty.” This is the cloud that that the Lego Juno
promises to unveil with her magnifying glass.
“All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.” -Galileo
The Lego figures onboard the Juno spacecraft are a
nod to our humanity, using both myth and science as a
way to name, explain and understand phenomena. The
instruments they hold are a symbol of the methods and
tools we use to discover the truth about ourselves. Just as
a telescope was an instrument used by Galileo to radically revolutionize our understanding of our place in the
universe, so the scientific instruments held by the Juno
spacecraft are a modern-day equivalent of expanding
our knowledge. Galileo holds in his hand a telescope, to
give us a radical new view from far away, and to plant in
our minds the idea of deeper knowledge as we search
for Truth. Juno holds in her hand the instruments for us to
see up close how Jupiter was formed, and by extension,
insight on how our own home planet came to be. These
Lego ambassadors tell the story of our journey from myth,
to insight, and ultimately, to understanding.
www.Rocke