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Saturnian Atmospheric Storm
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Caption:
A vortex, or large atmospheric storm, is visible at 74` north latitude in this color composite of Voyager 2 Saturn images obtained Aug. 25, 1979 from a range of 1 million kilometers (620,000 miles). Three wide-angle-camera images taken through green, orange and blue filters were used. This particular storm system seems to be one of the few large-scale structures in Saturn's polar region, which otherwise is dominated by much smaller-scale features suggesting convection. The darker, bluish structure (upper right) oriented east to west strongly suggests the presence of a jet stream at these high latitudes. The appearance of a strong east-west flow in the polar-region could have a major influence on models of Saturn's atmospheric circulation, if the existence of such a flow can be substantiated in time sequences of Voyager images. The smallest features visible in this photograph are about 20 km. (12 mi.) across.
Background Info:
The Voyager Project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Cataloging Keywords:
| Name | Value | Additional Values |
|---|---|---|
| Target | Saturn | |
| System | Saturn | |
| Target Type | Planet | |
| Mission | Voyager | |
| Instrument Host | Cassini Orbiter | Voyager 2 |
| Host Type | Orbiter | Flyby Spacecraft |
| Instrument | Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) | |
| Detector | Wide Angle Camera | |
| Extra Keywords | Atmosphere, Color, Storm, Visual | |
| Acquisition Date | ||
| Release Date | 1998-11-17 | |
| Date in Caption | 1979-08-25 | |
| Image Credit | NASA/JPL | |
| Source | photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01379 | |
| Identifier | PIA01379 | |
