This image is one of seven from the narrow-angle camera on NASA's Cassini spacecraft assembled as a brief movie of high-altitude cloud movements on Jupiter. It was taken in early October 2000.
The images were taken at a wavelength that is absorbed by methane, one chemical in Jupiter's lower clouds. So, dark areas are relatively free of high clouds, and the camera sees through to the methane in a lower level. Bright areas are places with high, thick clouds that shield the methane below.
The area shown covers latitudes from 50 degrees north to 50 degrees south and a 100-degree sweep of longitude.
Cassini is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C.
Name | Value | Additional Values |
---|---|---|
Target | Jupiter | |
System | Jupiter | |
Target Type | Planet | |
Mission | Cassini-Huygens | |
Instrument Host | Cassini Orbiter | |
Host Type | Orbiter | |
Instrument | Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) | |
Detector | Narrow Angle Camera | |
Extra Keywords | Grayscale, Methane, Visual | |
Acquisition Date | ||
Release Date | 2000-12-12 | |
Date in Caption | ||
Image Credit | NASA/JPL/University of Arizona | |
Source | photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA02851 | |
Identifier | PIA02851 |