Voyager 2 returned this view of Saturn and its ring system Aug. 11, when the spacecraft was 13.9 million kilometers (8.6 million miles) away and approaching the large, gaseous planet at about l million km. (620,000 mi.) a day. The ring system's shadow is clearly cast in the equatorial region. Storm clouds and small-scale spots in the mid-latitudes are apparent. The so-called "ribbonlike" feature in the white cloud band marks a high-speed jet at about 47 north; there, the westerly wind speeds are about 150 meters-per-second (330 mph). The banding on this large, gaseous planet extends toward both poles.
The Voyager Project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Name | Value | Additional Values |
---|---|---|
Target | Saturn | Saturn Rings |
System | Saturn | |
Target Type | Planet | Ring |
Mission | Voyager | |
Instrument Host | Cassini Orbiter | Voyager 2 |
Host Type | Orbiter | Flyby Spacecraft |
Instrument | Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) | |
Detector | ||
Extra Keywords | Atmosphere, Color, Disk, Shadow, Storm | |
Acquisition Date | ||
Release Date | 1999-05-06 | |
Date in Caption | ||
Image Credit | NASA/JPL | |
Source | photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01966 | |
Identifier | PIA01966 |