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Search Results: All Fields similar to 'Galileo' and What equal to 'Jupiter'
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Changes around Marduk betwee
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PIA01066
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Changes around Marduk between Voyager, and Galileo's first two orbits |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Detail of changes around Marduk on Jupiter's moon Io as seen by Voyager 1 in 1979 (upper left) and NASA's Galileo spacecraft between June 1996 (lower left) and September 1996 (upper and lower right). The new dark red linear feature extending southeast from Marduk is about 250 kilometers long and may be a volcanic fissure. The flow-like feature at the bottom of the images is distinct in the Voyager data, indistinct in the June Galileo data, but distinct again in the September Galileo data. This may be due to the different lighting conditions rather than volcanic activity. The Voyager 1 image uses the green, blue, and violet filters. The upper right September 1996 image from Galileo uses the violet and green filters of the solid state imaging system aboard the Galileo spacecraft and a synthetic blue to simulate Voyager colors. The lower June and September, 1996 Galileo images use the imaging system's near-infrared (756 nm), green, and violet filters. North is to the top in all frames. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. JPL is an operating division of California Institute of Technology (Caltech). This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo |
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Highest Resolution mosaic of
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PIA01663
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Highest Resolution mosaic of Io |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This global mosaic shows the highest resolution Galileo images available of Jupiter's moon, Io. North is to the top of the picture. The images, obtained at low sun illumination angles (high sun-target-spacecraft angles)which emphasize topographic shadows, were taken by the Solid State Imaging(SSI) system on NASA's Galileo spacecraft over the course of several orbits. The grid identifies the names and locations of several of Io's main features. Several active but as yet unnamed volcanic features are indicated by arrows. While volcanic centers are rather evenly distributed, almost all of the active plumes and long-lived hot spots seen over the span of NASA's Galileo mission at Jupiter or during the flyby's of NASA's Voyager spacecraft in 1979 are within 30 degrees of the equator. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URLhttp://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov [ http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov ]. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URLhttp://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo ]. |
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Stereo View of Ganymede's Ga
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PIA00521
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Stereo View of Ganymede's Galileo Region |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Topographic detail is seen in this stereoscopic view of the Galileo Regio region of Jupiter's moon Ganymede. The picture is a computer reconstruction from two images taken by NASA's Galileo spacecraft this summer. One image of the Galileo Regio region was taken June 27, 1996, at a range of 9,515 kilometers (about 5,685 miles) with a resolution of 76 meters. The other was taken September 6, 1996 at a range of 10,220 kilometers (about 6,350 miles) with a resolution of 86 meters. The topographic nature of the deep furrows and impact craters that cover this portion of Ganymede is apparent. The blue-sky horizon is artificial. The Galileo mission is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the Galileo mission home page on the World Wide Web at http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo |
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Galileo Regio Mosaic - Galil
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PIA00492
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Galileo Regio Mosaic - Galileo over Voyager Data |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
A mosaic of four Galileo images of the Galileo Regio region on Ganymede (Latitude 18 N, Longitude: 149 W) is shown overlayed on the data obtained by the Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1979. North is to the top of the picture, and the sun illuminates the surface from the lower left, about 58 degrees above the horizon. The smallest features that can be discerned are about 80 meters (262 feet) in size in the Galileo images. These Galileo images show fine details of the dark terrain that makes up about half of the surface of the planet-sized moon. Ancient impact craters of various sizes and states of degradation testify to the great age of the terrain, dating back several billion years. The images reveal distinctive variations in albedo from the brighter rims, knobs, and furrow walls to a possible accumulation of dark material on the lower slopes, and crater floors. High photometric activity (large light contrast at high spatial frequencies) of this ice-rich surface was such that the Galileo camera's hardware data compressor was pushed into truncating lines. The north-south running gap between the left and right halves of the mosaic is a result of line truncation from the normal 800 samples per line to about 540. The images were taken on 27 June, 1996 Universal Time at a range of 7,580 kilometers (4,738 miles) through the clear filter of the Galileo spacecraft's imaging system. Launched in October 1989, Galileo entered orbit around Jupiter on December 7, 1995. The spacecraft's mission is to conduct detailed studies of the giant planet, its largest moons and the Jovian magnetic environment. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo |
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Parachutes - Galileo Spacecr
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| Title |
Parachutes - Galileo Spacecraft |
| Full Description |
A parachute for the Galileo spacecraft is tested in a wind tunnel. Galileo consisted of an orbiter and an atmosphere probe that descended into Jupiter's atmosphere on a parachute after being braked by a heat shield. |
| Date |
4/18/1983 |
| NASA Center |
Langley Research Center |
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Callisto Crater Chain Mosaic
This mosaic of three images
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2/10/97
| Date |
2/10/97 |
| Description |
This mosaic of three images shows an area within the Valhalla region on Jupiter's moon, Callisto. North is to the top of the mosaic and the Sun illuminates the surface from the left. The smallest details that can be discerned in this picture are knobs and small impact craters about 160 meters (175 yards) across. The mosaic covers an area approximately 45 kilometers (28 miles) across. It shows part of a prominent crater chain located on the northern part of the Valhalla ring structure. Crater chains can form from the impact of material ejected from large impacts (forming secondary chains) or by the impact of a fragmented projectile, perhaps similar to the Shoemaker-Levy 9 cometary impacts into Jupiter in July 1994. It is believed this crater chain was formed by the impact of a fragmented projectile. The images which form this mosaic were obtained by the solid state imaging system aboard NASA's Galileo spacecraft on Nov. 4, 1996 (Universal Time). Launched in October 1989, Galileo entered orbit around Jupiter on December 7, 1995. The spacecraft's mission is to conduct detailed studies of the giant planet, its largest moons and the Jovian magnetic environment. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web Galileo mission home page at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo. ##### |
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Unusual Volcanic Pyroclastic
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PIA00711
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Unusual Volcanic Pyroclastic Deposits on Io |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Four views of Euboea Fluctus on Jupiter's moon Io showing changes seen on June 27th, 1996 by the Galileo spacecraft as compared to views seen by the Voyager spacecraft during the 1979 flybys. Clockwise from upper left is a Voyager 1 high resolution image, a Galileo enhanced color image, a Galileo image with simulated Voyager colors, and a Voyager 2 color image. North is to the top of the picture. The Galileo images show new diffuse deposits which have an unusual morphology for plume deposits. A diffuse yellowish deposit with a radius of 285 km extends to the northwest, whereas an intense reddish deposit marks a curving fallout margin to the southeast. This morphology may have resulted from the presence of a topographic obstruction to southeast of the vent. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo |
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Three Surface Changes on Io
PIA00714
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Three Surface Changes on Io |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Two views of three areas on Jupiter's moon Io showing changes seen on June 27th, 1996 by the Galileo spacecraft as compared to views seen by the Voyager spacecraft during the 1979 flybys. Galileo images are on the right, Voyager 2 images are on the left. North is to the top. At top (latitude +33, longitude 20) is a new volcanic feature consisting of a dark spot, perhaps a caldera floor, surrounded by a diffuse circular ring of reddish material, perhaps a plume deposit. The region in the middle corresponds to a hotspot observed by Earth-based observers on June 2nd, 1996. The Galileo image reveals new dark features, perhaps lava flows, within a field of lava flows (latitude +13, longitude 359). At bottom is the region near Sengen Patera (lower dark feature in the Voyager image, latitude -32, longitude 305). The dark materials have brightened or have been buried by new bright deposits by the time of the Galileo encounter. Earth-based observations indicated a hotspot in the Sengen Patera region also on June 2, 1996. Images are all 500 km wide. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo |
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Detail of Ganymede's Uruk Su
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PIA00705
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Detail of Ganymede's Uruk Sulcus Region as Viewed by Galileo and Voyager |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
View of the region of Ganymede's Uruk Sulcus placed on a lower resolution Voyager view taken 17 years earlier. North is to the top of the picture and the sun illuminates the surface from almost overhead in the Galileo view. The finest details that can be discerned in the Galileo picture are about 80 meters across. The four boxes outlined in white show the extent of Galileo's initial look at this area. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo |
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Pele Comparisons Since 1979
PIA00717
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Pele Comparisons Since 1979 |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
These frames detail the changes around Pele on Jupiter's moon Io, as seen by Voyager 1 (left), Voyager 2 (middle), and Galileo (right). The Voyager frames were taken in 1979 when the two spacecraft flew past Jupiter and it's moon Io. The Galileo view was obtained in June, 1996. Note the changes in the shape of the deposits further from the vent while the radial dark features closer to the vent show little change. The Voyager images use orange, blue, and violet filters. The Galileo image uses the green and violet filters of the Solid State Imaging system aboard the Galileo spacecraft and a synthetic blue. All three images are in a simple cylindrical projection and are approximately 1700 km x 1500 km. North is to the top. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA'is Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo |
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Topography of Io (color)
PIA00740
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Topography of Io (color) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
The images used to create this color composite of Io were acquired by Galileo during its ninth orbit (C9) of Jupiter and are part of a sequence of images designed to map the topography or relief on Io and to monitor changes in the surface color due to volcanic activity. Obtaining images at low illumination angles is like taking a picture from a high altitude around sunrise or sunset. Such lighting conditions emphasize the topography of the volcanic satellite. Several mountains up to a few miles high can be seen in this view, especially near the upper right. Some of these mountains appear to be tilted crustal blocks. Most of the dark spots correspond to active volcanic centers. North is to the top of the picture which merges images obtained with the clear, red, green, and violet filters of the solid state imaging (CCD) system on NASA's Galileo spacecraft. . The resolution is 8.3 kilometers per picture element. The image was taken on June 27, 1997 at a range of 817,000 kilometers by the solid state imaging (CCD) system on NASA's Galileo spacecraft. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. JPL is an operating division of California Institute of Technology (Caltech). This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo |
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Lack of visible change aroun
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PIA01065
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Lack of visible change around active hotspots on Io |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Detail of changes around two hotspots on Jupiter's moon Io as seen by Voyager 1 in April 1979 (left) and NASA's Galileo spacecraft on September 7th, 1996 (middle and right). The right frame was created with images from the Galileo Solid State Imaging system's near-infrared (756 nm), green, and violet filters. For better comparison, the middle frame mimics Voyager colors. The calderas at the top and at the lower right of the images correspond to the locations of hotspots detected by the Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer aboard the Galileo spacecraft during its second orbit. There are no significant morphologic changes around these hot calderas, however, the diffuse red deposits, which are simply dark in the Voyager colors, appear to be associated with recent and/or ongoing volcanic activity. The three calderas range in size from approximately 100 kilometers to approximately 150 kilometers in diameter. The caldera in the lower right of each frame is named Malik. North is to the top of all frames. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. JPL is an operating division of California Institute of Technology (Caltech). This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo |
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Changes east of Pele between
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PIA01068
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Changes east of Pele between Galileo's first two orbits |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Detail of changes east of Pele on Jupiter's moon Io as seen by NASA's Galileo spacecraft between June (left) and September (right) 1996. The caldera at the center of the images that changes from bright to dark is approximately 80 kilometers in diameter. Some scientists speculate that this brightness (albedo) change might be due to flooding of the crater floor by lava. The left frame was reprojected and stretched to match the geometry and average colors of the right frame. Before this stretch, the earlier image (left) was significantly redder than the later image (right), this may be due to variations in lighting. Both frames were created with images from the Galileo Solid State Imaging system's near-infrared (756 nm), green, and violet filters. North is to the top of both frames. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. JPL is an operating division of California Institute of Technology (Caltech). This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo |
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Galileo and Cassini Image: T
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Two Giant Plumes on Io ,Two
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3/29/01
| Date |
3/29/01 |
| Description |
Two Giant Plumes on Io ,Two tall volcanic plumes and the rings of red material they have deposited onto surrounding surface areas appear in images taken of Jupiter's moon Io by NASA's Galileo and Cassini spacecraft in late December 2000 and early January 2001. One plume, from the volcano Pele, shoots upward nearly 400 kilometers (250 miles) from the surface near Io's equator. The plume has been active for at least four years and, until now, had been far larger than any other plume seen on Io. The images also show a second plume about the same size, closer to Io's north pole. This plume had never been seen before. It is associated with a fresh eruption from the Tvashtar Catena volcanic area. The observations were made during joint studies of the Jupiter system while Cassini was passing Jupiter on its way to Saturn. Galileo passed closer to Io for higher-resolution images, and Cassini acquired images at ultraviolet wavelengths, better for detecting active volcanic plumes. The Cassini ultraviolet images, upper right, reveal two gigantic, actively erupting plumes of gas and dust. Near the equator, just the top of Pele's plume is visible where it projects into sunlight. None of it would be illuminated if it were less than 240 kilometers (150 miles) high. These images indicate a total height for Pele of 390 kilometers (242 miles). The Cassini image at far right shows a bright spot over Pele's vent. Although the Pele hot spot has a high temperature, silicate lava cannot be hot enough to explain a bright spot in the ultraviolet, so the origin of this bright spot is a mystery, but it may indicate that Pele was unusually active when the picture was taken. Also visible is a plume near Io's north pole. Although 15 active plumes over Io's equatorial regions have been detected in hundreds of images from NASA's Voyager and Galileo spacecraft, this is the first image ever acquired of an active plume over a polar region of Io. The plume projects about 150 kilometers (about 90 miles) over the limb, the edge of the globe. If it were erupting from a point on the limb, it would be only slightly larger than a typical Ionian plume, but the image does not reveal whether the source is actually at the limb or beyond it, out of view. A distinctive feature in Galileo images since 1997 has been a giant red ring of Pele plume deposits about 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) in diameter. The Pele ring is seen again in one of the new Galileo images, lower left. When the new Galileo images were returned this month, scientists were astonished to see a second giant red ring on Io, centered around Tvashtar Catena at 63 degrees north latitude. (To see a comparison from before the ring was deposited, see images PIA-01604 or PIA-02309.) Tvashtar was the site of an active curtain of high-temperature silicate lava imaged by Galileo in November 1999 and February 2000 (image PIA- 02584). The new ring shows that Tvashtar must be the vent for the north polar plume imaged by Cassini from the other side of Io. This means the plume is actually about 385 kilometers (239 miles) high, just like Pele. The uncertainty in estimating the height is about 30 kilometers (19 miles), so the plume could be anywhere from 355 to 415 kilometers (221 to 259 miles) high. If this new plume deposit is just one millimeter (four one- hundredths of an inch) thick, then the eruption produced more ash than the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington. NASA recently approved a third extension of the Galileo mission, including a pass over Io's north pole in August 2001. The spacecraft's trajectory will pass directly over Tvashtar at an altitude of 200 kilometers (124 miles). Will Galileo fly through an active plume? That depends on whether this eruption is long- lived like Pele or brief, and it also depends on how high the plume is next August. Two Pele-sized plumes are inferred to have erupted in 1979 during the four months between Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 flybys, as indicated by new Pele-sized rings in Voyager 2 images. Those eruptions, both from high-latitude locations, were shorter-lived than Pele, but their actual durations are unknown. In May, Galileo will get another, more distant look at Tvashtar. It has been said that Io is the heartbeat of the jovian magnetosphere. The two giant plumes evidenced in these images may have had significant effects on the types, density and distribution of neutral and charged particles in the Jupiter system during the joint observations of the system by Galileo and Cassini from November 2000 to March 2001. These Cassini images were acquired on Jan. 2, 2001, except for the frame at the far right, which was acquired a day earlier. The Galileo images were acquired on Dec. 30 and 31, 2000. Cassini was about 10 million kilometers (6 million miles) from Io, 10 times farther than Galileo. More information about the Cassini and Galileo joint observations of the Jupiter system is available online at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/jupiterflyby . 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 Galileo and Cassini missions for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. |
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High Latitude "Bright" and "
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PIA01608
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
High Latitude "Bright" and "Dark" Terrains on Ganymede |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
During Galileo's second orbit, a series of images were obtained within the northern polar cap of Jupiter's moon, Ganymede, across a north-south trending boundary between the grooved terrain of Philae Sulcus and the dark terrain of Galileo Regio. The blurry appearing background of this scene is the best Voyager image of the area, at a resolution of about 1.4 kilometers per picture element. The Voyager data shows that the grooved terrain of Philae Sulcus to the west (left) is bright, and the older terrain of Galileo Regio to the east (right) is dark, however, this brightness difference is not at all apparent in the high resolution Galileo images. Instead, bright and dark patches occur in both Philae Sulcus and in Galileo Regio. The bright patches occur mostly on the north and east facing slopes of craters and ridges [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00496 ], which are expected to be colder, and therefore to collect frost in this high latitude region. The principal way that Ganymede's terrain types can be distinguished in the high resolution Galileo images is by their texture: the "bright" grooved terrain shows north-south trending ridges and grooves, and the ancient "dark" terrain shows a rolling appearance and is more heavily cratered. North is to the top of the picture and the sun illuminates the surface from the lower right. The image, centered at 63 degrees latitude and 168 degrees longitude, covers an area approximately 94 by 64 kilometers. The finest details that can discerned in this picture are about 92 meters across. The images were taken on September 6, 1996 beginning at 18 hours, 52 minutes, 46 seconds Universal Time at a range of 2266 kilometers by the Solid State Imaging (SSI) system on NASA's Galileo spacecraft. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http:// galileo.jpl.nasa.gov [ http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov ]. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo ] |
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Io's Tupan Caldera in Infrar
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PIA03601
Jupiter
Near Infrared Mapping Spectr
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| Title |
Io's Tupan Caldera in Infrared |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Tupan Caldera, a volcanic crater on Jupiter's moon Io, has a relatively cool area, possibly an island, in its center, as indicated by infrared imagery from NASA's Galileo spacecraft. A thermal portrait of Tupan collected by the near-infrared mapping instrument on Galileo during an Oct. 16, 2001 flyby is presented on the right, beside a visible-light image from Galileo's camera for geographical context. The infrared image uses false color to indicate intensity of glowing at a wavelength of 4.7 microns. Reds and yellows indicate hotter regions, blues are cold. The hottest areas correspond to the dark portions in the visible-light image and are probably hot lavas. The central region in the crater may be an island or a topographically high region. Parts of it are cold enough for sulfur-dioxide to condense. Tupan, an active volcano on Io since at least 1996, was named for the Brazilian native god of thunder. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. Additional information about Galileo and its discoveries is available on the Galileo mission home page at http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov [ http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov ]. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/io.cfm [ http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/io.cfm ]. |
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Scale Comparison of the Inne
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PIA01625
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Scale Comparison of the Inner Small Satellites of Jupiter |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
These are the best images of the small inner satellites of Jupiter taken by the solid state imaging (SSI) system on NASA's Galileo spacecraft. From left to right and in order of decreasing distance to Jupiter are Thebe, Amalthea, Adrastea, and Metis, shown at the same scale as Long Island which is 190 kilometers long. Since these satellites are so small, their surface gravities are very low: a person weighing 150 pounds on Earth would weigh about 1 pound on Amalthea, and about an ounce on Adrastea. Large craters 35 to 90 kilometers (20 to 55 miles) across which are the result of impacts by fragments asteroid and comet debris are conspicuous on the surface of the larger satellites. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov [ http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov ]. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo ] |
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Key Volcanic Centers on Io
PIA01668
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Key Volcanic Centers on Io |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
These views of the key volcanic centers on Jupiter's moon, Io, merge color data with higher resolution mosaics. They show the color units in relation to surface features, and fine brightness variations such as volcanic flows. The images in frames "a" through "g" are all scaled to the same proportions. Frame "a" is 575 kilometers (356 miles) across. These images show that some of the most colorful and high-contrast regions on Io are associated with the most active volcanoes. They also illustrate that fresh-appearing lava flows are often associated with active plumes(for example at Loki, Prometheus, Culann, Marduk, Volund, Zamama, Maui, and Amirani). It is possible that the plumes result from interaction between the advancing flows and the SO2-rich surface deposits, analogous to the plumes that form when lava flows into a body of water (for example, in Hawaii). North is to the top of the picture. The color has been enhanced. The images were obtained with the green, violet, and 756 micrometer filters of the Solid State Imaging (SSI) system on NASA's Galileo spacecraft. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URLhttp://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov [ http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov ]. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo ]. |
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Galileo's End
| title |
Galileo's End |
| description |
An artist's impression of the Galileo orbiter beginning to burn up in Jupiter's atmosphere. Galileo's 14-year mission to explore the Jovian system ended on Sept. 21, 2003 when the spacecraft was deliberately sent into Jupiter's atmosphere. *Image Credit*: NASA |
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True Color of Jupiter's Grea
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PIA00708
Sol (our sun)
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
True Color of Jupiter's Great Red Spot |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Roughly true color image of the Great Red Spot of Jupiter as taken by the Galileo imaging system on June 26, 1996. Because the Galileo imaging system's wavelength sensitivities go beyond those of the human eye, this is only an approximation of what a human observer would have seen in place of the Galileo spacecraft. To simulate red as our eyes see it, the near-infrared filter (756 nm) image was used. To simulate blue as our eyes see it, the violet filter (410 nm) image was used. Finally, to simulate green as our eyes see it, a combination of 2/3 violet and 1/3 near-infrared was used. The result is an image that is similar in color to that seen when looking through a telescope at Jupiter with your eye, but allowing detail about 100 times finer to be visible! The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo |
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Context of Europa images fro
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PIA00723
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Context of Europa images from Galileo |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This global view of Europa shows the location of a four-frame mosaic of images taken by NASA's Galileo spacecraft, set into low-resolution data obtained by the Voyager spacecraft in 1979. Putting new data into its surrounding context is a technique that allows scientists to better understand features observed on planetary surfaces. The Galileo spacecraft obtained these images during its first orbit of Jupiter at a distance of 156,000 km (96,300 miles) on June 27, 1996. The finest details that can discerned in this picture are about 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) across. North is to the top. For details on the Galileo images in this release, click here [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00295 ]. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. |
|
Stereo View of Ganymede's Ga
…
PIA00498
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Stereo View of Ganymede's Galileo Regio |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
New topographic detail is seen in a stereoscopic view of this part of Jupiter's moon Ganymede. The newly processed picture is a computer reconstruction from two images taken by NASA's Galileo spacecraft this summer. One image of the Galileo Regio region was taken June 27, 1996, at a range of 9,515 kilometers (about 5,685 miles) and the other was taken at a range of 10,220 kilometers (about 6,350 miles) on September 6, 1996. The topographic nature of the deep furrows and impact craters that cover this portion of Ganymede is apparent. The blue-sky horizon is artificial. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the Galileo mission home page on the World Wide Web at http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo |
|
Changes on Io around Maui an
…
PIA01067
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Changes on Io around Maui and Amirani between Voyager 1 and Galileo's second orbit |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Detail of changes on Jupiter's moon Io in the region around Maui and Amirani as seen by the Voyager 1 spacecraft in April 1979 (left frame) and NASA's Galileo spacecraft in September 1996 (right frame). North is to the top of both frames. The dark, north - south running linear feature, Amirani, is approximately 350 km long. Maui is the large circular feature immediately west of the southern end of Amirani. Note the brightening of the west side of Maui and the bright patch on the west side of Amirani. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. JPL is an operating division of California Institute of Technology (Caltech). This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo |
|
Changes on Io around Volund
…
PIA01071
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Changes on Io around Volund between Voyager 1 and Galileo's second orbit |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Detail of changes on Jupiter's moon Io in the region around Volund as seen by the Voyager 1 spacecraft in April 1979 (left frame) and NASA's Galileo spacecraft in September 1996 (right frame). North is to the top of both frames which are approximately 600 kilometers by 600 kilometers. Note the new linear feature, which may be a volcanic fissure, trending east from the southern end of Volund. Dark diffuse material lies to the west and a ring of bright material which may be SO2- rich plume deposits appears to be centered near the middle of the new linear feature. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. JPL is an operating division of California Institute of Technology (Caltech). This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo |
|
Galileo's First Image of Ama
…
PIA01072
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Galileo's First Image of Amalthea |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Galileo's first view of Amalthea, a small inner moon of Jupiter, showing the end of the elongated satellite that faces permanently toward the giant planet. North is to the top of the picture and the Sun illuminates the surface from the left. The circular feature that dominates the upper-right portion of the disk is Pan, the largest crater on Amalthea. This crater is about 90 kilometers wide. The bright spot at the south pole is associated with another, slightly smaller crater named Gaea. The Universal Time is 8 hours, 18 minutes, 0 seconds on the 7th of September, 1996. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. JPL is an operating division of California Institute of Technology (Caltech). This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo |
|
Two Galileo Views of Thebe
PIA01075
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Two Galileo Views of Thebe |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
These two images of the Jovian moon Thebe were taken by Galileo's solid state imaging system in November 1996 and June 1997, respectively. North is approximately up in both cases. Thebe, whose longest dimension is approximately 116 kilometers (72 miles) across, is tidally locked so that the same side of the satellite always points towards Jupiter, similar to how the nearside of our own Moon always points toward Earth. In such a tidally locked state, one side of Thebe always points in the direction in which Thebe moves as it orbits about Jupiter. This is called the "leading side" of the moon and is shown at the left. The image on the right emphasizes the side of Thebe that faces away from Jupiter (the "anti-Jupiter" side). Note that there appear to be at least three or four very large impact craters on the satellite--very large in the sense that each of these craters is roughly comparable in size to the radius of Thebe. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. JPL is an operating division of California Institute of Technology (Caltech). This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo |
|
Changes on Io between Voyage
…
PIA01070
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Changes on Io between Voyager 1 and Galileo's second orbit around an unnamed vent North of Prometheus |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Detail of changes around a probable vent about 650 kilometers north of Prometheus on Jupiter's moon Io as seen in images obtained by the Voyager 1 spacecraft in April 1979 (left) and the imaging system aboard NASA's Galileo spacecraft on September 7th, 1996 (right). The re-arranging of dark and light radial surface patterns may be a result of plume fallout. North is to the top of both images which are approximately 400 kilometers square. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. JPL is an operating division of California Institute of Technology (Caltech). This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo |
|
Dynamics of Jupiter's Great
…
PIA01083
Sol (our sun)
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Dynamics of Jupiter's Great Red Spot in the near-infrared |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Dynamics of Jupiter's Great Red Spot in the NIR filter (756 nm) of the Galileo imaging system. Each of the three frames is a mosaic of six images that have been map-projected to a uniform grid of latitude and longitude. North is at the top. There is a nine-hour separation between the first two frames and seventy minutes between the next two. All of the images were taken on June 26, 1996. The Red Spot is 20,000 km long and has been followed by observers on Earth since the telescope was invented 300 years ago. It is a huge storm made visible by variations in the composition of the cloud particles and the amount of cloud cover. Winds in the outer part of the Red Spot reach 250 mph while the center remains quiescent. These Galileo data will help scientists understand what drives this storm and why it persists for so many years. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. JPL is an operating division of California Institute of Technology (Caltech). This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo |
|
Io's Kanehekili Hemisphere
PIA01220
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Io's Kanehekili Hemisphere |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This color composite of Io, acquired by Galileo during its ninth orbit (C9) of Jupiter, shows the hemisphere of Io which is centered at longitude 52 degrees. The dark feature just to the lower right of the center of the disk is called Kanehekili. Named after an Hawaiian thunder god, Kanehekili contains two persistent high temperature hot spots and a "new" active volcanic plume. NASA's Voyager spacecraft returned images of nine active plumes during its 1979 flyby of this dynamic satellite. To date, Galileo's plume monitoring observations have shown continued activity at four of those nine plume locations as well as new activity at six other locations. North is to the top of the picture which combines images acquired using violet, green, and near-infrared (756 micrometers) filters. The resolution is 21 kilometers per picture element. The images were taken on June 27, 1997 at a range of 1,033,000 kilometers by the solid state imaging (CCD) system on NASA's Galileo spacecraft. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo |
|
The Main Ring of Jupiter (cl
…
The ring system of Jupiter w
…
1/17/97
| Date |
1/17/97 |
| Description |
The ring system of Jupiter was imaged by the Galileo spacecraft on November 9, 1996. In this image the west ansa of Jupiter's main ring is seen at a resolution of 24 kilometers per pixel. The ring clearly shows radial structure that had only been hinted at in the Voyager images. The plot of the brightness of ring as a function of location, going from the inner-most edge of the image to the outer-most through the thickest part of the ring, shows the "dips" in brightness due to perturbations from satellites. Two small satellites, Adrastea and Metis, which are not seen in this image, orbit through the outer portion of the ansa, their location relative to these radial features will be available after further data analysis. The ring's faint halo is seen to arise in the inner main ring just as it fades. Although most of Jupiter's ring is composed of small grains that should be highly perturbed by the strong Jovian magnetosphere, the ring's brightness drops abruptly at the outer edge. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo ##### |
|
This image of Europa, an icy
…
1/17/97
| Date |
1/17/97 |
| Description |
This image of Europa, an icy satellite of Jupiter, was obtained from a range of 39028 miles (62089 kilometers) by the Galileo spacecraft during its fourth orbit around Jupiter and its first close pass of Europa. The image spans an area 78 miles by 244 miles (126 km by 393 km), and shows features as small as a mile (1.6 km) across. Sun illumination is from the right, revealing several ridges crossing the scene, plateaus commonly several miles (10 km) across, and patches of smooth, low-lying darker materials. No prominent impact craters are visible, indicating the surface in this location is not geologically ancient. Some ridges have gaps, and subtle textural differences in these areas indicate that missing ridge segments probably were swept away by volcanic flows. The flow deposits are probably composed mainly of water ice, the chief constituent of the surface of Europa. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo ##### |
|
This image of Europa, an icy
…
1/17/97
| Date |
1/17/97 |
| Description |
This image of Europa, an icy satellite of Jupiter about the size of the Earth's Moon, was obtained from a range of 7415 miles (11933 kilometers) by the Galileo spacecraft during its fourth orbit around Jupiter and its first close pass of Europa. The image spans 30 miles by 57 miles (48 km by 91 km) and shows features as small as 800 feet (240 meters) across. The large circular feature centered in the upper middle of the image is called a macula, and could be the scar of a large meteorite impact. The surface of Europa is composed mostly of water ice, so large impact craters on Europa could look different from large bowl-shaped depressions formed by impact into rock, such as on the Moon. On Europa's icy surface, the original impact crater has been modified into a central zone of rugged topography surrounded by circular fractures which reflect adjustments to stress in the surrounding icy crust. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo ##### |
|
This image of Jupiter's sate
…
1/17/97
| Date |
1/17/97 |
| Description |
This image of Jupiter's satellite Europa was obtained from a range of 7364 miles (11851 km) by the Galileo spacecraft during its fourth orbit around Jupiter and its first close pass of Europa. The image spans 30 miles by 57 miles (48 km x 91 km) and shows features as small as 800 feet (240 meters) across, a resolution more than 150 times better than the best Voyager coverage of this area. The sun illuminates the scene from the right. The large circular feature in the upper left of the image could be the scar of a large meteorite impact. Clusters of small craters seen in the right of the image may mark sites where debris thrown from this impact fell back to the surface. Prominent doublet ridges over a mile (1.6 km) wide cross the plains in the right part of the image, younger ridges overlap older ones, allowing the sequence of formation to be determined. Gaps in ridges indicate areas where emplacement of new surface material has obliterated pre-existing terrain. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo ##### |
|
Asgard Scarp Mosaic
Low-resolution color data we
…
2/10/97
| Date |
2/10/97 |
| Description |
Low-resolution color data were combined with a higher resolution mosaic to produce this infrared composite image of a pair of ancient multi-ringed impact basins on Jupiter's moon, Callisto. The region imaged is on the leading hemisphere of Callisto near 26 degrees north, 142 degrees west, and is almost 1,400 kilometers (860 miles) across. North is toward the top of the picture and the Sun illuminates the surface from the east. Dominating the scene is the impact structure, Asgard, centered on the smooth, bright region near the middle of the picture and surrounded by concentric rings up to 1,700 kilometers (about 1,050 miles) in diameter. A second ringed structure with a diameter of about 500 kilometers (310 miles) can be seen to the north of Asgard, partially obscured by the more recent, bright- rayed crater, Burr. The icy materials excavated by the younger craters contrast sharply with the darker and redder coatings on older surfaces of Callisto. Launched in October 1989, Galileo entered orbit around Jupiter on Dec. 7, 1995. The spacecraft's mission is to conduct detailed studies of the giant planet, its largest moons and the Jovian magnetic environment. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web Galileo mission home page at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo. ##### |
|
GALILEO
The Galileo imaging system c
…
5/25/94
| Date |
5/25/94 |
| Description |
The Galileo imaging system captured this picture of the limb of the asteroid 243 Ida about 46 seconds after its closest approach on August 28, 1993, from a range of only 2480 kilometers. It is the highest-resolution image of an asteroid's surface ever captured and shows detail at a scale of about 25 meters per pixel. This image is one frame of a mosaic of 15 frames shuttered near Galileo's closest approach to Ida. Since the exact location of Ida in space was not well-known prior to the Galileo flyby, this mosaic was estimated to have only about a 50 percent chance of capturing Ida. Fortunately, this single frame did successfully image a part of the sunlit side of Ida. The area seen in this frame shows some of the same territory seen in a slightly lower resolution full-disk mosaic of Ida returned from the spacecraft in September, 1993, but from a different perspective. Prominent in this view is a 2-kilometer- deep "valley" seen in profile on the limb. This limb profile and the stereoscopic effect between this image and the full-disk mosaic will permit detailed refinement of Ida's shape in this region. This high-resolution view shows many small craters and some grooves on the surface of Ida, which give clues to understanding the history of this heavily impacted object. The Galileo project, whose primary mission is the exploration of the Jupiter system in 1995-97, is managed for NASA's Office of Space Science by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. ##### |
|
Aurora Borealis on Jupiter
This image, taken by NASA's
…
2/10/97
| Date |
2/10/97 |
| Description |
This image, taken by NASA's Galileo spacecraft, shows the dark side of Jupiter, the part not illuminated by sunlight. The curved line crossing from the lower left to the upper right is the auroral arc on the horizon. With north at the top of the image, the central part of the auroral arc has a latitude of 57 degrees north. When this same region was imaged 30 seconds later, the central part had changed. The left and right boxes below show a magnified view of the central region at the earlier and later times, respectively. The aurora is dynamic on Jupiter, just as it is here on Earth. The eerie, glowing light is created when molecules in the upper atmosphere are struck by charge particles from the space around Jupiter. Fluctuations in the charged particle flow cause variations in the auroral emission. This image was part of a multi-instrument set of observations made as Galileo flew through a region of space rich in charged particles. The particles follow the magnetic field and, in this case, the spacecraft was flying through the particular field line that was imaged. With these observations, scientists hope to learn more about the particles and their interaction with the molecules in the atmosphere. This image provides a severe test of the camera optics. The overexposed region at the lower right is the illuminated part of the planet, which is much brighter than the aurora. When light from this region is scattered into the telescope, it creates a diffuse background. The long exposure subjects the detector to more cosmic rays than usual. These create spikes, the bright dots that are sprinkled throughout the image. These images were taken in the clear filter of the solid state imaging (CCD) system aboard the Galileo spacecraft on Nov. 5, 1996. Each pixel subtends a square about 30 kilometers (18.5 miles) throughout the image. The range is 1.433 million kilometers (0.89 million miles). Launched in October 1989, Galileo entered orbit around Jupiter on Dec. 7, 1995. The spacecraft's mission is to conduct detailed studies of the giant planet, its largest moons and its magnetic environment. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are on the Galileo mission home page on the World Wide Web at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo. ##### |
|
False Color Mosaic of Jupite
…
This false color mosaic show
…
2/10/97
| Date |
2/10/97 |
| Description |
This false color mosaic shows a belt-zone boundary near Jupiter's equator. The images that make up the four quadrants of this mosaic were taken within a few minutes of each other. Light at each of Galileo's three near-infrared wavelengths is displayed here in the visible colors red, green and blue. Light at 886 nanometers, strongly absorbed by atmospheric methane and scattered from clouds high in the atmosphere, is shown in red. Light at 732 nanometers, moderately absorbed by atmospheric methane, is shown in green. Light at 757 nanometers, scattered mostly from Jupiter's lower visible cloud deck, is shown in blue. The lower cloud deck appears bluish white, while the higher layer appears pinkish. The holes in the upper layer and their relationships to features in the lower cloud deck can be studied in the lower half of the mosaic. Galileo is the first spacecraft to image different layers in Jupiter's atmosphere. The edge of the planet runs along the right side of the mosaic. North is at the top. The mosaic covers latitudes -13 to +3 degrees and is centered at longitude 280 degrees west. The smallest resolved features are tens of kilometers in size. These images were taken on Nov. 5, 1996, at a range of 1.2 million kilometers by the solid state imaging (CCD) system aboard NASA's Galileo spacecraft. Launched in October 1989, Galileo entered orbit around Jupiter on Dec. 7, 1995. The spacecraft's mission is to conduct detailed studies of the giant planet, its largest moons and the Jovian magnetic environment. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web Galileo mission home page at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo. ##### |
|
Jupiter Equatorial Region
True and false color views o
…
6/5/97
| Date |
6/5/97 |
| Description |
True and false color views of Jupiter from NASA's Galileo spacecraft show an equatorial 'hotspot' on Jupiter. These images cover an area 34,000 kilometers by 11,000 kilometers (about 21,100 by 6,800 miles). The top mosaic combines the violet and near infrared continuum filter images to create an image similar to how Jupiter would appear to human eyes. Differences in coloration are due to the composition and abundances of trace chemicals in Jupiter's atmosphere. The bottom mosaic uses Galileo's three near-infrared wavelengths displayed in red, green, and blue) to show variations in cloud height and thickness. Bluish clouds are high and thin, reddish clouds are low, and white clouds are high and thick. The dark blue hotspot in the center is a hole in the deep cloud with an overlying thin haze. The light blue region to the left is covered by a very high haze layer. The multicolored region to the right has overlapping cloud layers of different heights. Galileo is the first spacecraft to distinguish cloud layers on Jupiter. North is at the top. The mosaic covers latitudes 1 to 10 degrees and is centered at longitude 336 degrees west. The smallest resolved features are tens of kilometers in size. These images were taken on December 17, 1996, at a range of 1.5 million kilometers (about 930,000 miles) by the Solid State Imaging camera system aboard Galileo. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo ##### |
|
Uruk Sulcus Mosaic - Galileo
…
PIA00493
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Uruk Sulcus Mosaic - Galileo over Voyager Data |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
A mosaic of four Galileo images of the Uruk Sulcus region on Ganymede (Latitude 11 N, Longitude: 170 W) is shown overlayed on the data obtained by the Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1979. North is to the top of the picture, and the sun illuminates the surface from the lower left, nearly overhead. The area shown is about 120 by 110 kilometers (75 by 68 miles) in extent and the smallest features that can be discerned are 74 meters (243 feet) in size in the Galileo images and 1.3 kilometers (0.8 miles) in the Voyager data. The higher resolution Galileo images unveil the details of parallel ridges and troughs that are principal features in the brighter regions of Ganymede. High photometric activity (large light contrast at high spatial frequencies) of this ice-rich surface was such that the Galileo camera's hardware data compressor was pushed into truncating lines. The north-south running gap between the left and right halves of the mosaic is a result of line truncation from the normal 800 samples per line to about 540. The images were taken on 27 June, 1996 Universal Time at a range of 7,448 kilometers (4,628 miles) through the clear filter of the Galileo spacecraft's imaging system. Launched in October 1989, Galileo entered orbit around Jupiter on December 7, 1995. The spacecraft's mission is to conduct detailed studies of the giant planet, its largest moons and the Jovian magnetic environment. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo |
|
Voyager-to-Galileo Changes,
…
PIA01063
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Voyager-to-Galileo Changes, Io's Anti-Jove Hemisphere |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Shown here is a comparison of a Galileo color image (right) of Jupiter's moon Io, with a Voyager mosaic (left) reprojected to the same geometry as the Galileo image. The image on the right was obtained by the Galileo spacecraft's imaging camera on September 7th, 1996, the mosaic on the left was obtained by the Voyager spacecraft in 1979. Color is synthesized from green and violet filters only in both cases, as these are the only two filters that are reasonably similar between Voyager and Galileo. Many surface changes can be seen due to volcanic activity from 1979 to 1996. North is to the top of both frames. Galileo was about 487,000 kilometers (302,000 miles) from Io on September 7, 1996. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. JPL is an operating division of California Institute of Technology (Caltech). This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo |
|
Ganymede - Galileo Mosaic Ov
…
PIA00281
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Ganymede - Galileo Mosaic Overlayed on Voyager Data in Uruk Sulcus Region |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
A mosaic of four Galileo high-resolution images of the Uruk Sulcus region of Jupiter's moon Ganymede is shown within the context of an image of the region taken by Voyager 2 in 1979. The image shows details of parallel ridges and troughs that are the principal features in the brighter regions of Ganymede. The Galileo frames unveil the fine-scale topography of Ganymede's ice-rich surface, permitting scientists to develop a detailed understanding of the processes that have shaped Ganymede. Resolution of the Galileo images is 74 meters (243 feet) per pixel, while resolution of the Voyager image is 1.3 kilometers (0.8 mile) per pixel. In this view, north is to the top, and the sun illuminates the surface from the lower left nearly overhead. The area shown, at latitude 10 degrees north, longitude 168 degrees west, is about 120 by 110 kilometers (75 by 68 miles) in extent. The image was taken June 27 at a range of 7,448 kilometers (4,628 miles). The Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science. |
|
Caldera in Sippar Sulcus, Ga
…
PIA03217
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Caldera in Sippar Sulcus, Ganymede |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
An irregularly shaped caldera, or pit, within the bright swath called Sippar Sulcus on Jupiter's moon Ganymede dominates this image taken by NASA's Galileo spacecraft. The high-standing interior of the caldera is interpreted as evidence of the flow of a viscous material. Elevation modeling indicates the height of the westernmost caldera floor material (arrow) is comparable to adjacent grooved material but decreases towards the east (right), where it is similar to nearby, lower-lying smooth terrain. The smooth terrain, generally lacking grooves or stripes, extends across the upper half of the image and crosscuts a similar but grooved band at the lower right. Analysis of such high-resolution images in combination with estimates of the features' relative elevations is helping scientists interpret the roles of volcanism and tectonics in creating the bright terrain on Ganymede. This image was prepared by the Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, and included in a report by Dr. Paul Schenk et al. in the March 1, 2001, edition of the journal Nature. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. Images and data received from Galileo are posted on the Galileo mission home page at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo. |
|
Ridges and Troughs in Sippar
…
PIA03216
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Ridges and Troughs in Sippar Sulcus, Ganymede |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Embayment of ridges and troughs in a portion of the Sippar Sulcus area of Jupiter's moon Ganymede in this image from NASA's Galileo spacecraft is interpreted as evidence that the low-lying area was filled in by flooding with low-viscosity material, such as water or water-ice slush lavas. Bays of the material appeared to have formed in troughs (indicated by arrows) between the ridges. The smallest features visible are about 180 meters (590 feet) across. Analysis of such high-resolution images in combination with estimates of the features' relative elevations is helping scientists interpret the roles of volcanism and tectonics in creating the bright terrain on Ganymede. This image was prepared by the Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, and included in a report by Dr. Paul Schenk et al. in the March 1, 2001, edition of the journal Nature. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. Images and data received from Galileo are posted on the Galileo mission home page at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo . |
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Global image of Io (false co
…
PIA02309
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Global image of Io (false color) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo ]., NASA's Galileo spacecraft acquired its highest resolution images of Jupiter's moon Io on 3 July 1999 during its closest pass to Io since orbit insertion in late 1995. This color mosaic uses the near-infrared, green and violet filters (slightly more than the visible range) of the spacecraft's camera which have been processed to enhance more subtle color variations. Most of Io's surface has pastel colors, punctuated by black, brown, green, orange, and red units near the active volcanic centers. A true color version [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA02308 ] of the mosaic has been created to show how Io would appear to the human eye. The improved resolution reveals small-scale color units which had not been recognized previously and which suggest that the lavas and sulfurous deposits are composed of complex mixtures (Cutout locations), (Cutout A). Some of the bright (whitish), high-latitude (near the top and bottom) deposits have an ethereal quality like a transparent covering of frost (Cutout B). Bright red areas were seen previously only as diffuse deposits. However, they are now seen to exist as both diffuse deposits and sharp linear features like fissures (Cutout C). Some volcanic centers have bright and colorful flows, perhaps due to flows of sulfur rather than silicate lava (Cutout D). In this region bright, white material can also be seen to emanate from linear rifts and cliffs. Comparison of this mosaic to previous Galileo images [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo/atjup/io/color.html ] reveals many changes due to the ongoing volcanic activity. Galileo will make two close passes of Io beginning in October of this year. Most of the high-resolution targets for these flybys are seen on the hemisphere shown here. North is to the top of the picture and the sun illuminates the surface from almost directly behind the spacecraft. This illumination geometry is good for imaging color variations, but poor for imaging topographic shading. However, some topographic shading can be seen here due to the combination of relatively high resolution (1.3 kilometers or 0.8 miles per picture element) and the rugged topography over parts of Io. The image is centered at 0.3 degrees north latitude and 137.5 degrees west longitude. The resolution is 1.3 kilometers (0.8 miles) per picture element. The images were taken on 3 July 1999 at a range of about 130,000 kilometers (81,000 miles) by the Solid State Imaging (SSI) system on NASA's Galileo spacecraft during its twenty-first orbit. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov [ http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov ]. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL |
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Global image of Io (false co
…
PIA02309
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Global image of Io (false color) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo ]., NASA's Galileo spacecraft acquired its highest resolution images of Jupiter's moon Io on 3 July 1999 during its closest pass to Io since orbit insertion in late 1995. This color mosaic uses the near-infrared, green and violet filters (slightly more than the visible range) of the spacecraft's camera which have been processed to enhance more subtle color variations. Most of Io's surface has pastel colors, punctuated by black, brown, green, orange, and red units near the active volcanic centers. A true color version [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA02308 ] of the mosaic has been created to show how Io would appear to the human eye. The improved resolution reveals small-scale color units which had not been recognized previously and which suggest that the lavas and sulfurous deposits are composed of complex mixtures (Cutout locations), (Cutout A). Some of the bright (whitish), high-latitude (near the top and bottom) deposits have an ethereal quality like a transparent covering of frost (Cutout B). Bright red areas were seen previously only as diffuse deposits. However, they are now seen to exist as both diffuse deposits and sharp linear features like fissures (Cutout C). Some volcanic centers have bright and colorful flows, perhaps due to flows of sulfur rather than silicate lava (Cutout D). In this region bright, white material can also be seen to emanate from linear rifts and cliffs. Comparison of this mosaic to previous Galileo images [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo/atjup/io/color.html ] reveals many changes due to the ongoing volcanic activity. Galileo will make two close passes of Io beginning in October of this year. Most of the high-resolution targets for these flybys are seen on the hemisphere shown here. North is to the top of the picture and the sun illuminates the surface from almost directly behind the spacecraft. This illumination geometry is good for imaging color variations, but poor for imaging topographic shading. However, some topographic shading can be seen here due to the combination of relatively high resolution (1.3 kilometers or 0.8 miles per picture element) and the rugged topography over parts of Io. The image is centered at 0.3 degrees north latitude and 137.5 degrees west longitude. The resolution is 1.3 kilometers (0.8 miles) per picture element. The images were taken on 3 July 1999 at a range of about 130,000 kilometers (81,000 miles) by the Solid State Imaging (SSI) system on NASA's Galileo spacecraft during its twenty-first orbit. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov [ http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov ]. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL |
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Global image of Io (false co
…
PIA02309
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Global image of Io (false color) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo ]., NASA's Galileo spacecraft acquired its highest resolution images of Jupiter's moon Io on 3 July 1999 during its closest pass to Io since orbit insertion in late 1995. This color mosaic uses the near-infrared, green and violet filters (slightly more than the visible range) of the spacecraft's camera which have been processed to enhance more subtle color variations. Most of Io's surface has pastel colors, punctuated by black, brown, green, orange, and red units near the active volcanic centers. A true color version [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA02308 ] of the mosaic has been created to show how Io would appear to the human eye. The improved resolution reveals small-scale color units which had not been recognized previously and which suggest that the lavas and sulfurous deposits are composed of complex mixtures (Cutout locations), (Cutout A). Some of the bright (whitish), high-latitude (near the top and bottom) deposits have an ethereal quality like a transparent covering of frost (Cutout B). Bright red areas were seen previously only as diffuse deposits. However, they are now seen to exist as both diffuse deposits and sharp linear features like fissures (Cutout C). Some volcanic centers have bright and colorful flows, perhaps due to flows of sulfur rather than silicate lava (Cutout D). In this region bright, white material can also be seen to emanate from linear rifts and cliffs. Comparison of this mosaic to previous Galileo images [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo/atjup/io/color.html ] reveals many changes due to the ongoing volcanic activity. Galileo will make two close passes of Io beginning in October of this year. Most of the high-resolution targets for these flybys are seen on the hemisphere shown here. North is to the top of the picture and the sun illuminates the surface from almost directly behind the spacecraft. This illumination geometry is good for imaging color variations, but poor for imaging topographic shading. However, some topographic shading can be seen here due to the combination of relatively high resolution (1.3 kilometers or 0.8 miles per picture element) and the rugged topography over parts of Io. The image is centered at 0.3 degrees north latitude and 137.5 degrees west longitude. The resolution is 1.3 kilometers (0.8 miles) per picture element. The images were taken on 3 July 1999 at a range of about 130,000 kilometers (81,000 miles) by the Solid State Imaging (SSI) system on NASA's Galileo spacecraft during its twenty-first orbit. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov [ http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov ]. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL |
|
Global image of Io (false co
…
PIA02309
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Global image of Io (false color) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo ]., NASA's Galileo spacecraft acquired its highest resolution images of Jupiter's moon Io on 3 July 1999 during its closest pass to Io since orbit insertion in late 1995. This color mosaic uses the near-infrared, green and violet filters (slightly more than the visible range) of the spacecraft's camera which have been processed to enhance more subtle color variations. Most of Io's surface has pastel colors, punctuated by black, brown, green, orange, and red units near the active volcanic centers. A true color version [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA02308 ] of the mosaic has been created to show how Io would appear to the human eye. The improved resolution reveals small-scale color units which had not been recognized previously and which suggest that the lavas and sulfurous deposits are composed of complex mixtures (Cutout locations), (Cutout A). Some of the bright (whitish), high-latitude (near the top and bottom) deposits have an ethereal quality like a transparent covering of frost (Cutout B). Bright red areas were seen previously only as diffuse deposits. However, they are now seen to exist as both diffuse deposits and sharp linear features like fissures (Cutout C). Some volcanic centers have bright and colorful flows, perhaps due to flows of sulfur rather than silicate lava (Cutout D). In this region bright, white material can also be seen to emanate from linear rifts and cliffs. Comparison of this mosaic to previous Galileo images [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo/atjup/io/color.html ] reveals many changes due to the ongoing volcanic activity. Galileo will make two close passes of Io beginning in October of this year. Most of the high-resolution targets for these flybys are seen on the hemisphere shown here. North is to the top of the picture and the sun illuminates the surface from almost directly behind the spacecraft. This illumination geometry is good for imaging color variations, but poor for imaging topographic shading. However, some topographic shading can be seen here due to the combination of relatively high resolution (1.3 kilometers or 0.8 miles per picture element) and the rugged topography over parts of Io. The image is centered at 0.3 degrees north latitude and 137.5 degrees west longitude. The resolution is 1.3 kilometers (0.8 miles) per picture element. The images were taken on 3 July 1999 at a range of about 130,000 kilometers (81,000 miles) by the Solid State Imaging (SSI) system on NASA's Galileo spacecraft during its twenty-first orbit. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov [ http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov ]. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL |
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Global image of Io (false co
…
PIA02309
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Global image of Io (false color) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo ]., NASA's Galileo spacecraft acquired its highest resolution images of Jupiter's moon Io on 3 July 1999 during its closest pass to Io since orbit insertion in late 1995. This color mosaic uses the near-infrared, green and violet filters (slightly more than the visible range) of the spacecraft's camera which have been processed to enhance more subtle color variations. Most of Io's surface has pastel colors, punctuated by black, brown, green, orange, and red units near the active volcanic centers. A true color version [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA02308 ] of the mosaic has been created to show how Io would appear to the human eye. The improved resolution reveals small-scale color units which had not been recognized previously and which suggest that the lavas and sulfurous deposits are composed of complex mixtures (Cutout locations), (Cutout A). Some of the bright (whitish), high-latitude (near the top and bottom) deposits have an ethereal quality like a transparent covering of frost (Cutout B). Bright red areas were seen previously only as diffuse deposits. However, they are now seen to exist as both diffuse deposits and sharp linear features like fissures (Cutout C). Some volcanic centers have bright and colorful flows, perhaps due to flows of sulfur rather than silicate lava (Cutout D). In this region bright, white material can also be seen to emanate from linear rifts and cliffs. Comparison of this mosaic to previous Galileo images [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo/atjup/io/color.html ] reveals many changes due to the ongoing volcanic activity. Galileo will make two close passes of Io beginning in October of this year. Most of the high-resolution targets for these flybys are seen on the hemisphere shown here. North is to the top of the picture and the sun illuminates the surface from almost directly behind the spacecraft. This illumination geometry is good for imaging color variations, but poor for imaging topographic shading. However, some topographic shading can be seen here due to the combination of relatively high resolution (1.3 kilometers or 0.8 miles per picture element) and the rugged topography over parts of Io. The image is centered at 0.3 degrees north latitude and 137.5 degrees west longitude. The resolution is 1.3 kilometers (0.8 miles) per picture element. The images were taken on 3 July 1999 at a range of about 130,000 kilometers (81,000 miles) by the Solid State Imaging (SSI) system on NASA's Galileo spacecraft during its twenty-first orbit. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov [ http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov ]. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL |
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Galileo PPR temperature maps
…
PIA02524
Jupiter
| Title |
Galileo PPR temperature maps of Loki in October 1999 |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Like a terrestrial weather map, this map made by the photopolarimeter-radiometer onboard NASA's Galileo spacecraft shows how temperatures vary across the surface of Jupiter's moon Io. However, in this case the temperatures are due to volcanic activity, not weather. The maps show Io's most powerful volcano, Loki, which was in the throes of one of its periodic bright eruptions when the map was made during Galileo's close flyby of Io on October. The background to the temperature map is a Galileo image of Loki taken earlier in the Galileo mission. Loki's most prominent feature is the huge horseshoe-shaped dark caldera, 200 kilometers (120 miles) across. These observations reveal that most of the lava lake is at a remarkably uniform temperature, about -23 degrees C (-9 degrees F). This is chilly by Earth standards, but on Io, where most of the surface is colder than -145 degrees C (-230 degrees F), enormous amounts of volcanic heat are required to keep such a large area at this temperature. The uniform temperature, which was also seen by Galileo's Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer, could be due to a uniformly thick frozen crust over a lake of molten lava, or to a series of old lava flows that have been cooling down for a year or two since they erupted. The southwestern corner of the caldera is much hotter the highest resolution photopolarimeter-radiometer observation shows peak temperatures of at least 126 degrees C (260 F). It is likely that this is the site of the new eruption that began in September, and that fresh lava erupting there will eventually spill out from this region to warm up the parts of the caldera to the east and north. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the Galileo mission home page at http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov [ http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov ]. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/io.cfm [ http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/io.cfm ]. |
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Amirani-Maui: Longest Known
…
PIA02506
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Amirani-Maui: Longest Known Active Lava Flow in the Solar System |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This pair of volcanic features on Jupiter's moon Io represents the longest active lava flow known to exist in our solar system. This image, one of the highest resolution pictures ever taken of Io, was obtained by NASA s Galileo spacecraft on July 3, 1999. That was during Galileo's closest pass by Io since it entered orbit around Jupiter in December 1995. The volcanic features, Amirani (right side of image) and Maui (to the left, just below the center of the image), were originally thought to be two separate volcanoes. However, Galileo images have shown that Maui is actually the active front of a lava flow that has extended westward from a vent at Amirani for more than 250 kilometers (160 miles). Observations by Galileo's near-infrared mapping spectrometer show a hotspot at Maui, so the lava must still be flowing. Other flows extend northward from the Amirani vent. White plume deposits encircle the Amirani vent and are likely to be sulfur dioxide-rich vapors that have escaped at the vent, frozen and then snowed out onto the ground. The red deposits from the dark spot southwest of the Amirani vent appear to have been blown away from the stronger Amirani plume. The red material may be produced by a form of sulfur. Amirani-Maui is more than 250 kilometers (160 miles) long. Such gigantic lava flows are found on Venus, the Earth, the Moon, and Mars. Massive eruptions on the Earth coincide with the times of major extinction events. The image, in false color, uses the near-infrared, green and violet filters (slightly more than the visible range) of the spacecraft's camera, processed to enhance subtle color variations. North is to the top of the picture, and the Sun illuminates the surface from almost directly behind the spacecraft. This illumination is good for imaging color variations, but poor for imaging topographic shading. The image is centered at 23 degrees north latitude and 118 degrees west longitude. The images were taken at a distance of about 130,000 kilometers (81,000 miles) by Galileo's onboard solid state imaging camera and have a resolution of 1.3 kilometers or 0.8 miles per picture element. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. JPL is a division of Caltech. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page athttp://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov [ http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov ]. Background information and educational context for the images can be found athttp://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo ] |
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