PIA00052: Neptune Great Dark Spot in High Resolution


Neptune Great Dark Spot in High Resolution

Caption:

This photograph shows the last face on view of the Great Dark Spot that Voyager will make with the narrow angle camera. The image was shuttered 45 hours before closest approach at a distance of 2.8 million kilometers (1.7 million miles). The smallest structures that can be seen are of an order of 50 kilometers (31 miles). The image shows feathery white clouds that overlie the boundary of the dark and light blue regions. The pinwheel (spiral) structure of both the dark boundary and the white cirrus suggest a storm system rotating counterclockwise. Periodic small scale patterns in the white cloud, possibly waves, are short lived and do not persist from one Neptunian rotation to the next. This color composite was made from the clear and green filters of the narrow-angle camera.

Background Info:

The Voyager Mission is conducted by JPL for NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications.

Cataloging Keywords:

Name Value Additional Values
Target Neptune
System Neptune
Target Type Planet
Mission Voyager
Instrument Host Cassini Orbiter Voyager 2
Host Type Orbiter Flyby Spacecraft
Instrument Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS)
Detector Narrow Angle Camera
Extra Keywords Atmosphere, Color, Rotation, Storm, Visual
Acquisition Date
Release Date 1999-08-30
Date in Caption
Image Credit NASA/JPL
Source photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00052
Identifier PIA00052