PIA01512: Jupiter's Great Red Spot and White Ovals


Jupiter’s Great Red Spot and White Ovals

Caption:

This photo of Jupiter was taken by Voyager 1 on the evening of March 1, 1979, from a distance of 2.7 million miles (4.3 million kilometers). The photo shows Jupiter's Great Red Spot (top) and one of the white ovals than can be seen in Jupiter's atmosphere from Earth. The white ovals were seen to form in 1939, and 1940, and have remained more or less constant ever since. None of the structure and detail evident in these features have ever been seen from Earth. The Great Red Spot is three times as large as Earth. Also evident in the picture is a great deal of atmospheric detail that will require further study for interpretation. The smallest details that can be seen in this picture are about 45 miles (80 kilometers~ across.

Background Info:

JPL manages and controls the Voyager project for NASA's Office of Space Science.

Cataloging Keywords:

Name Value Additional Values
Target Jupiter
System Jupiter
Target Type Planet
Mission Voyager
Instrument Host Cassini Orbiter Voyager 1
Host Type Orbiter Flyby Spacecraft
Instrument Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS)
Detector
Extra Keywords Atmosphere, Color, Storm
Acquisition Date
Release Date 1999-03-13
Date in Caption 1979-03-01
Image Credit NASA/JPL
Source photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01512
Identifier PIA01512