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Search Results: All Fields similar to 'Galileo' and When equal to '1995'
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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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Galileo Photographs Ganymede
| Title |
Galileo Photographs Ganymede |
| Explanation |
Ganymede's surface is slowly being pulled apart. This photo of Ganymede [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/gany01_gal.txt ] was released earlier today [ http://newproducts.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/ganymede/g1images.html ] by the Galileo team at NASA. The Galileo Spacecraft [ http://newproducts.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/scpics.html ] arrived at Jupiter [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950625.html ] in December 1995. In late June, the spacecraft passed within 10,000 kilometers of Ganymede [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950904.html ]'s icy surface, and took pictures showing complex surface details for the first time. The line-like features in this photo are sunlit ridges rising above Ganymede [ http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/ganymede.html ]'s ice-plains. The circular features are impact craters. Ganymede [ http://bang.lanl.gov/solarsys/ganymede.htm ] is the largest moon of Jupiter [ http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/jupiter.html ] and hence the largest of the four Galilean satellites: Io [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950803.html ], Europa [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950905.html ], Ganymede [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960627.html ], and Callisto [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950906.html ]. |
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Asteroid Gaspra's Best Face
| Title |
Asteroid Gaspra's Best Face |
| Explanation |
Above is the best yet color image of the asteroid Gaspra [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/bestgaspra.html ] based on data returned by NASA's Galileo spacecraft. Color variations have been added to high resolution images and enhanced to highlight changes in reflectivity, surface structure and composition. The illuminated portion of the asteroid [ http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/asteroids.html ] is about 11 miles long. Galileo encountered Gaspra on October 29, 1991 during the cruise phase of its mission to study the Jovian system. When it arrives at Jupiter [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap951013.html ], in December 1995, the robot spacecraft's atmospheric probe will descend into Jupiter's atmosphere [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950625.html ], becoming the first ever probe to enter the atmosphere of a gas giant planet. Updates on Galileo's progress can be found at "Online from Jupiter" [ http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/jupiter.html ]. |
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Uruk Sulcus Mosaic - Galileo
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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 |
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Amirani-Maui: Longest Known
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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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Amirani-Maui: Longest Known
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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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Ganymede Uruk Sulcus High Re
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PIA00579
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Ganymede Uruk Sulcus High Resolution Mosaic Shown in Context |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
A mosaic of four Galileo high-resolution images of the Uruk Sulcus region of Jupiter's moon Ganymede (Latitude 11 N, Longitude: 170 W) is shown within the context of an image of the region taken by Voyager 2 in 1979, which in turn is shown within the context of a full-disk image of Ganymede. 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 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 Galileo mission home page 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. |
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Pedestal craters Gula and Ac
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PIA01660
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Pedestal craters Gula and Achelous on Ganymede |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This image shows a Galileo high-resolution mosaic of craters Gula (top), about 40 km (25 miles) in diameter, and Achelous (bottom), about 35 km (21.8 miles) in diameter, projected on a lower-resolution background of image data that were obtained in the late 70s by the NASA Voyager spacecraft. The two Galileo frames used for the mosaic of Gula and Achelous were taken under low sun elevation in April 1997 during Galileo's 7th orbit around Jupiter with the Solid State Imaging (SSI) camera system onboard this NASA spacecraft that has been orbiting Jupiter since December 1995. The images were taken from a distance of about 17,500 km from Ganymede. The pixel resolution is about 180 m/pixel - the smallest features that are still discernible are about 360 m across. The sun illuminates the scene from the right. North is pointing towards the top of the Galileo mosaic. Both craters are situated between 60 and 65 degrees northern latitude at about 12.5 degrees western longitude. A characteristic feature of both craters, almost identical in size, is the "pedestal" - an outward-facing, relatively gently sloped scarp that terminates the continuous ejecta blanket. Similar features may be seen in ejecta blankets of Martian craters, suggesting impacts into a volatile (ice)-rich target material. Furthermore, both craters appear crisp and feature terraces. Gula has a prominent central peak, Achelous instead may show the remnant of a collapsed central peak or a central pit that is not fully formed. On lower-resolution images taken under higher sun illumination angle, both craters are shown to have extended bright rays, especially Achelous, which demonstrates that these two craters are younger than the respective surrounding landscape. 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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Closeups of Io (false color)
PIA02319
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Closeups of Io (false color) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
NASA's Galileo spacecraft acquired its highest resolution images of Jupiter's volcanic moon Io on July 3, 1999 during its closest pass by Io since it entered orbit around Jupiter in December 1995. This color mosaic uses the near-infrared, green and violet filters (slightly more than the visible range) of the spacecraft's camera, processed to enhance more subtle color variations. Most of Io's surface has pastel colors, punctuated by black, brown, green, orange, and red areas near the active volcanic centers. The improved resolution reveals small-scale color areas which were not recognized previously and which suggest that the lava and sulfurous deposits are composed of complex mixtures (close-up A). Some of the bright, whitish, high-latitude (near the top and bottom) deposits have an ethereal quality like a transparent covering of frost (close-up B). Bright red areas were seen in previous images only as diffuse deposits. However, they now appear as both diffuse deposits and sharp linear features like fissures (close-up C). Some volcanic centers have bright and colorful flows, perhaps due to flows of sulfur (rather than silicate) lava (close-up D). In this region of Io, 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 ongoing volcanic activity. Galileo is scheduled to make two close passes of Io in October and November. 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 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 rugged topography over parts of Io. The mosaic is centered at 0.3 degrees north latitude and 137.5 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. 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 at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov [ http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov ]. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo ]. |
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Galileo at Jupiter
This artist's rendering show
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7/11/95
| Date |
7/11/95 |
| Description |
This artist's rendering shows the Galileo orbiter arriving at Jupiter on Dec. 7, 1995. A few hours before arrival, the orbiter will have flown within about 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) of Jupiter's moon lo, shown as the crescent to the left of the spacecraft. The sun is visible between Io and the spacecraft, near the spacecraft's long magnetometer. Jupiter is to the right. A faint white streak above the planet's clouds shows the atmospheric probe beginning to decelerate before it deploys a parachute for its scientific mission to collect data as it descends into the atmosphere and relay that data to the orbiter. About an hour after the probe's mission is over, the orbiter will brake with its rocket engine to go into orbit around Jupiter for a two-year, 11-orbit study of Jupiter, its satellites and its magnetosphere. The Galileo mission is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Galileo probe is managed by NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field. Calif. |
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Global Callisto in Color
PIA03456
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Global Callisto in Color |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Bright scars on a darker surface testify to a long history of impacts on Jupiter's moon Callisto in this image of Callisto from NASA's Galileo spacecraft. The picture, taken in May 2001, is the only complete global color image of Callisto obtained by Galileo, which has been orbiting Jupiter since December 1995. Of Jupiter's four largest moons, Callisto orbits farthest from the giant planet. Callisto's surface is uniformly cratered but is not uniform in color or brightness. Scientists believe the brighter areas are mainly ice and the darker areas are highly eroded, ice-poor material. 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 the spacecraft and its discoveries is available on the Galileo home page at http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov [ http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov ]. |
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STS-34 Galileo processing at
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| Title |
STS-34 Galileo processing at KSC's SAEF-2 planetary spacecraft facility |
| Description |
At the Kennedy Space Center's (KSC's) Spacecraft and Assembly Encapsulation Facility 2 (SAEF-2), the planetary spacecraft checkout facility, clean-suited technicians examine the Galileo spacecraft. The entire Galileo assembly includes a 5870-pound spacecraft, and an inertial upper stage (IUS) booster. Galileo is scheduled for launch aboard Atlantis, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 104, on Space Shuttle Mission STS-34 in October 1989. After an initial boost from the IUS, Galileo will require a triple gravity assist from Venus and Earth to reach Jupiter in 1995. This complex trajectory will allow the first close flyby of two asteroids. The spacecraft will orbit Jupiter ten times, yielding the first extended observations of the planet, its satellites, and intense magnetospheric environment. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) manages the Galileo project. View provided by KSC with alternate number KSC-89P-570. |
| Date Taken |
1989-07-18 |
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Galileo Probe Descent
| title |
Galileo Probe Descent |
| date |
12.07.1995 |
| description |
An artist's impression of the Galileo probe descending into Jupiter's atmosphere. The probe wasthe first to sample the atmosphere of a gas planet. It measured temperature, pressure, chemical composition, cloud characteristics, sunlight and energy internal to the planet, and lightning. During its 58-minute life, the probe penetrated 200 km (124 miles) into Jupiter's violent atmosphere before it was crushed, melted, and/or vaporized by the pressure and temperature of the atmosphere. *Image Credit*: NASA |
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Color Global Mosaic of Io
PIA00585
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Color Global Mosaic of Io |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This false color infrared composite of Jupiter's moon Io was produced from images acquired in July and September, 1996, during the first two orbits through the Jovian system by NASA's Galileo spacecraft. The area shown is 11,420 kilometers in width. Grid lines in this cylindrical map projection are superimposed at latitude and longitude intervals of 30 degrees. Deposits of sulfur dioxide frost appear in white and grey hues while yellowish and brownish hues are probably due to other sulfurous materials. Bright red materials (such as the prominent ring surrounding the currently erupting plume Pele) and spots with low brightness or albedo ("black" spots) mark areas of recent volcanic activity and are usually associated with high temperatures and surface changes (Voyager to Galileo or Galileo to Galileo). The color map will be compared to other observations, such as maps of topography and hot spots, to better understand the volcanic and surface processes on this dynamic satellite. The color in the image is composed of data taken in the near-infrared (756 nanometer), green and violet filters (shown as red, green, and blue respectively) of the Solid State Imaging (CCD) system aboard NASA's Galileo spacecraft. Images were obtained at resolutions ranging from 10 to 23 kilometers per picture element (pixel) and phase angles (spacecraft-Io-sun angle) from 4 to 55 degrees. The spacecraft range varied from 485,000 to 2,243,000 kilometers. North is to the top of the picture. 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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Close-up of Zamama, Io (colo
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PIA02504
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Close-up of Zamama, Io (color) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
A volcano named Zamama on Jupiter's moon Io has recently changed in appearance as seen in this pair of images of Io acquired by NASA's Galileo spacecraft as it approached Io in preparation for a close flyby. The false color images use the near-infrared, green and violet filters (a range greater than the range the human eye can see) of the spacecraft's camera, processed to slightly enhance Io's naturally vibrant colors. The image on the left was acquired in March 1998 during Galileo's 14th orbit and the image on the right was collected in July 1999 during the 21st orbit. The July 1999 images are the highest resolution images of Io taken by Galileo since it entered orbit around Jupiter in December 1995.Zamama formed [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01071 ], during the time period between the flybys of NASA's Voyager spacecraft in 1979 and Galileo's first images of Io taken in 1996. Based on these images, Galileo scientists suspect that the dark lava is erupting from a crack in the ground. Analysis of combined data from Galileo's camera and its near-infrared mapping spectrometer instrument showed that the lava erupting at Zamama must be hotter than 830 C (1,500 F). Because this too hot to be sulfur, scientists believe the lava may contain silicates. The most dramatic difference between these two images is that the volcanic plume that was active in March 1998 and earlier had stopped erupting by July 1999. The rising core of the umbrella-shaped plume can be seen in the 1998 image as a bluish spot in the center of the dark lava. Dark and bright spokes of material falling away from the core are also visible. When it falls back to the ground, this material makes circular white and yellow deposits around the vent. The white deposits are thought to be composed mostly of sulfur dioxide that left the volcanic vent as a vapor and condensed into a frost as the gases expanded into the near-vacuum of Io's atmosphere. Interestingly, red plume material has only been deposited to the northwest. This might be the result of small pockets of boiling sulfur that produce droplets of red sulfur blown outward by the main plume. Most of the other, more subtle color variations around Zamama are likely to be the result of different lighting conditions that existed when the two images were taken. A high-resolution (20 to 40 meters or 66 to 130 feet per picture element) strip of images across Zamama is planned during Galileo's flyby of Io on October 10, 1999. These images will be useful in determining how lava moves on Io's surface, specifically whether the lava travels in open rivers of lava or in well-insulated lava tubes. The size and shape of features on the lava flows can be used to estimate properties of the lava that will provide vital clues to the still unanswered question about what kind of lava is erupting from Io's volcanoes. North is to the top of the pictures. The images are centered at 17.4 degrees north latitude and 173 degrees west longitude. The image on the left was taken on March 1998 at a range of 294,000 kilometers (183,000 miles) and has a resolution of 3 kilometers (2 miles) per picture element. The Sun illuminates the surface from the right. The image on the right was taken in July 1999 at a distance of about 130,000 kilometers (81,000 miles) and has a resolution of 1.3 kilometers or 0.8 miles per picture element. The Sun illuminates the surface from almost directly behind the spacecraft. 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 World Wide Web, 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://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo ]. |
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Close-up of Zamama, Io (colo
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PIA02504
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Close-up of Zamama, Io (color) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
A volcano named Zamama on Jupiter's moon Io has recently changed in appearance as seen in this pair of images of Io acquired by NASA's Galileo spacecraft as it approached Io in preparation for a close flyby. The false color images use the near-infrared, green and violet filters (a range greater than the range the human eye can see) of the spacecraft's camera, processed to slightly enhance Io's naturally vibrant colors. The image on the left was acquired in March 1998 during Galileo's 14th orbit and the image on the right was collected in July 1999 during the 21st orbit. The July 1999 images are the highest resolution images of Io taken by Galileo since it entered orbit around Jupiter in December 1995.Zamama formed [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01071 ], during the time period between the flybys of NASA's Voyager spacecraft in 1979 and Galileo's first images of Io taken in 1996. Based on these images, Galileo scientists suspect that the dark lava is erupting from a crack in the ground. Analysis of combined data from Galileo's camera and its near-infrared mapping spectrometer instrument showed that the lava erupting at Zamama must be hotter than 830 C (1,500 F). Because this too hot to be sulfur, scientists believe the lava may contain silicates. The most dramatic difference between these two images is that the volcanic plume that was active in March 1998 and earlier had stopped erupting by July 1999. The rising core of the umbrella-shaped plume can be seen in the 1998 image as a bluish spot in the center of the dark lava. Dark and bright spokes of material falling away from the core are also visible. When it falls back to the ground, this material makes circular white and yellow deposits around the vent. The white deposits are thought to be composed mostly of sulfur dioxide that left the volcanic vent as a vapor and condensed into a frost as the gases expanded into the near-vacuum of Io's atmosphere. Interestingly, red plume material has only been deposited to the northwest. This might be the result of small pockets of boiling sulfur that produce droplets of red sulfur blown outward by the main plume. Most of the other, more subtle color variations around Zamama are likely to be the result of different lighting conditions that existed when the two images were taken. A high-resolution (20 to 40 meters or 66 to 130 feet per picture element) strip of images across Zamama is planned during Galileo's flyby of Io on October 10, 1999. These images will be useful in determining how lava moves on Io's surface, specifically whether the lava travels in open rivers of lava or in well-insulated lava tubes. The size and shape of features on the lava flows can be used to estimate properties of the lava that will provide vital clues to the still unanswered question about what kind of lava is erupting from Io's volcanoes. North is to the top of the pictures. The images are centered at 17.4 degrees north latitude and 173 degrees west longitude. The image on the left was taken on March 1998 at a range of 294,000 kilometers (183,000 miles) and has a resolution of 3 kilometers (2 miles) per picture element. The Sun illuminates the surface from the right. The image on the right was taken in July 1999 at a distance of about 130,000 kilometers (81,000 miles) and has a resolution of 1.3 kilometers or 0.8 miles per picture element. The Sun illuminates the surface from almost directly behind the spacecraft. 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 World Wide Web, 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://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo ]. |
|
PPR Great Red Spot Temperatu
…
PIA01234
Sol (our sun)
Photopolarimeter-Radiometer
| Title |
PPR Great Red Spot Temperature Map |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This map shows temperature for the region around Jupiter's Great Red Spot and an area to the northwest. It corresponds to a level in Jupiter's atmosphere where the pressure is 1/2 of the of the Earth's at sea level (500 millibars), the same as it is near 6000 meters (20,000 feet) above sea level on Earth. The center of Great Red Spot appears colder than the surrounding areas, where air from below is being brought up. The "panhandle" to the northwest is warmer and drier, and the gases there are descending, so it is much clearer of clouds. Compare this map to one released earlier at a higher place in the atmosphere (250 millibars or 12000 meters). The center of the Great Red Spot is warmer lower in the atmosphere, and a white "hot spot" appears in this image that is not present at the higher place. This map was made from data taken by the Photopolarimeter/Radiometer (PPR) instrument on June 26, 1996. 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. JPL manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. 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. |
|
Jupiter Equatorial Region
PIA00604
Sol (our sun)
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Jupiter Equatorial Region |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This photographic mosaic of images from NASA's Galileo spacecraft covers an area of 34,000 kilometers by 22,000 kilometers (about 21,100 by 13,600 miles) in Jupiter's equatorial region. The dark region near the center of the mosaic is an equatorial "hotspot" similar to the site where the Galileo Probe parachuted into Jupiter's atmosphere in December 1995. These features are holes in the bright, reflective, equatorial cloud layer where heat from Jupiter's deep atmosphere can pass through. The circulation patterns observed here along with the composition measurements from the Galileo Probe suggest that dry air may be converging and sinking over these regions, maintaining their cloud-free appearance. The bright oval in the upper right of the mosaic as well as the other smaller bright features are examples of upwelling of moist air and condensation. 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. North is at the top. The mosaic covers latitudes 1 to 19 degrees and is centered at longitude 336 degrees west. The smallest resolved features are tens of kilometers in size. 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: http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at: http:/ /www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo. |
|
Beneath Jupiter's Clouds
| Title |
Beneath Jupiter's Clouds |
| Explanation |
This near-infrared image of Jupiter [ http://newproducts.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/irtf.html ] was made using instrumentation at NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility, located on the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap951216.html ], in support of the Galileo mission to Jupiter [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/index.html ]. The brightest spots indicated by the false red shading are relatively clear areas and represent glimpses beneath the outer layer of Jupiter's obscuring cloud tops [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap951206.html ]. On December 7, 1995 a probe from the Galileo spacecraft [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap951208.html ] parachuted through these clouds for 57 minutes before melting, all the while providing the first direct sampling of the conditions there. In a recent press release [ http://newproducts.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/status960122.html ] of the probe's findings scientists announced some surprising results. Discoveries based on probe data [ http://ccf.arc.nasa.gov/dx/basket/storiesetc/PROB1_22.html ] included a new radiation belt 31,000 miles above the cloud tops, relatively constant high velocity winds (up to 330 mph), no obvious water clouds, low abundances of Helium and Neon, lightning occurring only 1/10th as much as on Earth, and unexpectedly high temperatures. The Galileo orbiter [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/countdown/index.html ] continues its two-year mission to explore the Jovian system [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/jupiter.html ]. |
|
Galileo at Io
| title |
Galileo at Io |
| date |
05.03.1996 |
| description |
Galileo spacecraft found Jupiter's volcanic moon Io has a huge iron core that takes up half its diameter. The spacecraft's 899-kilometer (559-mile) flyby of Io on December 7, 1995 is depicted in this computer graphic. *Image Credit:* NASA |
|
Earth - Departing Image by G
…
PIA00232
Sol (our sun)
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Earth - Departing Image by Galileo |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This color image of the Earth was taken by the Galileo spacecraft on December 11 as it departed on its 3-year flight to Jupiter, about 2 1/2 days after the second Earth flyby. The distance to Earth is about 1.9 million kilometers (1.2 million miles). Antarctica is visible at the bottom of the image, and dawn is rising over the Pacific Ocean. 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 and Applications by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. |
|
Crater Tindr on Callisto - a
…
PIA01657
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Crater Tindr on Callisto - an oblique impact? |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This single-frame image shows crater Tindr on Jupiter's satellite Callisto, the moon with the oldest surface of the four so-called "Galilean" satellites (of which Callisto is also most distant from Jupiter). The diameter of this impact feature is about 70 km (43.5 miles). Tindris situated close to Callisto's equator at a longitude of about 5 degrees East. The image was obtained in September 1997 with the Solid State Imaging (SSI) system onboard NASA's Galileo spacecraft, which has been orbiting the Solar System's largest planet since December 1995. Shadows are long and accentuate morphology on the surface, because the image was taken under low sun illumination. The image was captured from a distance of about 40,000 km(25,000 miles) during Galileo's 10th orbit around Jupiter. The resolution is about 390 m/pixel, the smallest features that are still discernible are about 780 m across. The sun illuminates the scene from the left. North is pointing towards the top of the image. The image covers an area approximately 150 x 150 km. Tindr is slightly irregular in shape. This could be the consequence of an oblique impact. Along its eastern and southeastern part, the rim appears degraded, only isolated hills or hill chains are still visible. The floor shows numerous irregular pits, features that are found in some other Callistoan craters and also in Callisto's dark cratered plains. These features are believed to be caused by sublimation of subsurface volatiles. Subradial streaks outside the crater rim are due to impact debris creating secondary craters some distance away from Tindr. Continuous ejecta covers several older craters, especially in the northeastern part of the scene. The Tindr ejecta merge into surrounding cratered plains without a distinct morphologic or albedo boundary. Apparently the dark material blanketing Callisto's surface globally was emplaced after Tindr had formed. Absolute ages derived from measured crater densities are model-dependent. In one crater chronology model, based on impacts dominated by asteroids, Tindr may be an old feature, about 3.9 billion years old, pointing back in time into a period of more intense bombardment than today. In another model, based on impacts preferentially by comets with a more or less constant impact rate, Tindr can be much younger, about 1 billion years old. 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 ]. |
|
Galileo NIMS Observes Amiran
…
PIA02516
Jupiter
Near Infrared Mapping Spectr
…
| Title |
Galileo NIMS Observes Amirani |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This image is the highest-resolution thermal, or heat image, ever made of Amirani, a large volcano on Jupiter's moon Io. It was taken on October 10, 1999, by the near-infrared mapping spectrometer onboard NASA's Galileo spacecraft. Amirani is on the side of Io that permanently faces away from Jupiter. This image of Amirani was taken at a distance of less than 25,000 kilometers (16,000 miles). The picture scale is approximately 6.5 kilometers (4 miles) per spectrometer pixel. The center and right images show views of Amirani as seen by the spectrometer at two wavelengths, 1.0 and 4.6 microns. These images can be compared with a visible wavelength image (on the left) of the same area obtained by Galileo's camera during a previous orbit. The visible light image shows extensive lava flows and a dark-floored caldera with associated bright red deposits of material fed from the volcano. The spectrometer observation was made in daylight. The center image, taken at a wavelength of 1 micron, shows light and dark areas on the surface that can be used to line up the spectrometer data with the camera image. The image on the right shows the same area at a wavelength of 4.6 microns, which reveals the thermal emission from three separate volcanic areas. The locations of these three "hot spots" correspond to the darkest features in the camera image, reinforcing a previously held belief by Galileo scientists that there is a correlation between the dark areas and the hot spots. The three spectrometer hot spots are located at the eastern edge of the caldera at the bottom of the camera image, and two locations along the massive Amirani flows. These are most likely active lava flows on the surface. Launched in October 1989, Galileo entered orbit around Jupiter on December 7, 1995 on a mission to study the giant planet, its largest moons and its magnetic environment. JPL manages the 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 World Wide Web, 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 ]. |
|
Ganymede Uruk Sulcus High Re
…
| Title |
Ganymede Uruk Sulcus High Resolution Mosaic Shown in Context |
| Description |
A mosaic of four Galileo high-resolution images of the Uruk Sulcus region of Jupiter's moon Ganymede (Latitude 11 N, Longitude: 170 W) is shown within the context of an image of the region taken by Voyager 2 in 1979, which in turn is shown within the context of a full-disk image of Ganymede. 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 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 Galileo mission home page 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. |
| Date |
02.26.1997 |
|
The Earth and Moon
| Title |
The Earth and Moon |
| Full Description |
During its flight, the Galileo spacecraft returned images of the Earth and Moon. Separate images of the Earth and Moon were combined to generate this view. The Galileo spacecraft took the images in 1992 on its way to explore the Jupiter system in 1995-97. The image shows a partial view of the Earth centered on the Pacific Ocean about latitude 20 degrees south. The west coast of South America can be observed as well as the Caribbean, swirling white cloud patterns indicate storms in the southeast Pacific. The distinct bright ray crater at the bottom of the Moon is the Tycho impact basin. The lunar dark areas are lava rock filled impact basins. This picture contains same scale and relative color/albedo images of the Earth and Moon. False colors via use of the 1-micron filter as red, 727-nm filter as green, and violet filter as blue. The Galileo project is managed for NASA's Office of Space Science by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. |
| Date |
01/02/1990 |
| NASA Center |
Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
|
Cloud Features North of Jupi
…
PIA02097
Sol (our sun)
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Cloud Features North of Jupiter's Equator |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Cloud features north of Jupiter's equator, in the region between 3 and 30 degrees north latitude, are shown in approximately true color (left mosaic) and in false color (right mosaic). The false color is used to reveal the heights and thicknesses of Jupiter's clouds. The left mosaic was taken about 40 minutes after the right mosaic, when the cloud features had rotated with the planet to Jupiter's curved limb. The images were taken by NASA's Galileo spacecraft. Both mosaics show the characteristic banded nature of Jupiter's clouds that results from latitudinal changes in cloud abundance and height, ultimately due to upward convection and horizontal winds in the atmosphere. The top of the mosaics shows a "conveyor belt" counterclockwise vortex (burnt orange oblong feature in false color) perhaps similar to the "brown barges" seen at slightly lower latitudes during NASA's Voyager mission. This oblong vortex is analogous to a low pressure region on Earth, characterized by downwelling air and depressed cloud levels. Below this feature are what appear to be the remnants of two convective plumes of cloud material (whiter patches in false color), now being sheared apart high in the atmosphere by east-west winds. The lower third of the mosaics shows the relatively cloud-free region where thermal infrared "hot spots" appear. The Galileo Probe descended into a hot spot in December 1995. The left mosaic combines violet (410 nanometers) and near-infrared continuum (756 nanometers) images to create a mosaic similar to how Jupiter would appear to human eyes. The different colors are due to the composition and abundance of trace chemicals in Jupiter's atmosphere. The right mosaic uses Galileo's camera's three near-infrared (beyond the visible range) wavelengths (756 nanometers, 727 nanometers, and 889 nanometers displayed in red, green, and blue) to show variations in cloud height and thickness. Light blue clouds are high and thin, reddish clouds are deep, and white clouds are high and thick. The left mosaic has been projected on a spheroid. The right one was mapped using equal increments of latitude and longitude. The smallest resolved features are tens of kilometers in size. North is toward the top of the mosaics. The images used were taken on Nov. 5, 1997, at a range of 1.44 million kilometers (895,000 miles) by the Solid State Imaging (SSI) system on NASA's Galileo spacecraft during its eleventh orbit of Jupiter. 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 ]. |
|
Volcanically Active Regions
…
PIA00537
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Volcanically Active Regions on Io |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Shown here is a portion of one of the highest-resolution images of Io (Latitude: +10 to +60 degrees, Longitude: 180 to 225 degrees) acquired by the Galileo spacecraft, revealing immense lava flows and other volcanic landforms. Several high-temperature volcanic hot spots have been detected in this region by both the Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer and the imaging system of Galileo. The temperatures are consistent with active silicate volcanism in lava flows or lava lakes (which reside inside irregular depressions called calderas). The large dark lava flow in the upper left region of the image is more than 400 km long, similar to ancient flood basalts on Earth and mare lavas on the Moon. North is to the top of the picture and the sun illuminates the surface from the left. The image covers an area 1230 kilometers wide and the smallest features that can be discerned are 2.5 kilometers in size. This image was taken on November 6th, 1996, at a range of 245,719 kilometers by the Solid State Imaging (CCD) system on the Galileo Spacecraft. 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 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 |
|
Geologic Landforms on Io
PIA00536
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Geologic Landforms on Io |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Shown here is one of the highest-resolution images of Io (Latitude: -60 to +20 degrees, Longitude: 150 to 230 degrees) acquired by the Galileo spacecraft, revealing a great variety of landforms. There are rugged mountains several miles high, layered materials forming plateaus, and many irregular depressions called volcanic calderas. Similar landforms were seen near Io's south pole by the Voyager spacecraft, but Galileo has revealed that such landforms are ubiquitous. Several of the dark, flow-like features correspond to hot spots, and may be active lava flows. There are no landforms resembling impact craters, as the volcanism covers the surface with new deposits much more rapidly than the flux of comets and asteroids can create large impact craters. North is to the top of the picture and the sun illuminates the surface from the left. The image covers an area 2000 kilometers wide and the smallest features that can be discerned are 2.5 kilometers in size. This image was taken on November 6th, 1996, at a range of 245,719 kilometers by the Solid State Imaging (CCD) system on the Galileo Spacecraft. 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 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 |
|
The Moon from Galileo's Pers
…
| title |
The Moon from Galileo's Perspective |
| date |
12.07.1992 |
| description |
During its flight, the Galileo spacecraft returned images of the Moon. The Galileo spacecraft took these images on December 7, 1992 on its way to explore the Jupiter system in 1995-97. The distinct bright ray crater at the bottom of the image is the Tycho impact basin. The dark areas are lava rock filled impact basins: Oceanus Procellarum (on the left), Mare Imbrium (center left), Mare Serenitatis and Mare Tranquillitatis (center), and Mare Crisium (near the right edge). This picture contains images through the Violet, 756 nm, 968 nm filters. The color is 'enhanced' in the sense that the CCD camera is sensitive to near infrared wavelengths of light beyond human vision. The Galileo project is managed for NASA's Office of Space Science by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. *Image Credit*: NASA |
|
Galileo Preparations
| title |
Galileo Preparations |
| date |
08.03.1989 |
| description |
The Galileo spacecraft is prepared for mating with its inertial upper stage booster at Kennedy Space Center. The spacecraft and booster were loaded into the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle Atlantis, which carried it into orbit on Oct. 18, 1989. Atlantis' crew deployed the package in orbit and the upper stage booster was used to send Galileo on its six-year journey to Jupiter. The black and gold fabric that covers the spacecraft is designed to protect it from both the heat of the Sun and the chill of interplanetary space. The conical structure near the bottom of the spacecraft conceals the atmospheric probe, which dropped into Jupiter's atmosphere on December 7, 1995. *Image Credit*: NASA |
|
Loki as viewed by Galileo NI
…
PIA02514
Jupiter
Near Infrared Mapping Spectr
…
| Title |
Loki as viewed by Galileo NIMS |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This image shows Loki, the most powerful volcano in the solar system, which has been constantly active on Jupiter's moon Io for at least 20 years. NASA's Galileo spacecraft took these images during its approach to Io on October 10, 1999. One of the spacecraft's instruments, the near infrared mapping spectrometer, was used to capture this observation. The instrument detects heat from objects in the infrared wavelengths not visible to the naked eye. Loki is a volcanic caldera about 200 kilometers (124 miles) across, nearly four times the width of the Yellowstone caldera on Earth. On the left side of the top image is a picture taken in visible light wavelengths by Galileo's camera showing the context of the NIMS image on the right. This thermal map taken by the spectrometer at 4.7 microns shows that heat is being emitted from the areas that are dark in the camera image. The bottom image shows additional spectrometer data obtained as the platform that holds the instrument on the spacecraft was moving toward the next target. This repositioned scan (shown as the zig-zag pattern) allowed the spectrometer to sample the warm, dark floor of the Loki caldera and the cold regions outside the caldera. The thermal map shows that the dark materials on the floor of Loki are cooling lava, near zero degrees Celsius(32 Fahrenheit). This substantially hotter than Io's surface temperature of about -180 degrees Celsius (-300 Fahrenheit). In previous observations, higher lava temperatures have been measured by the spectrometer at Loki, with temperatures similar to those of basaltic lava on Earth. The lighter, colored area in the camera image, which appears to be an island, is cold, which means it has not been active recently. The spectrometer detects both reflected sunlight and thermal emission from hot materials on the surface. This observation was taken on Io's nightside to avoid mixing sunlight with the thermal emission from hot lavas. Launched in October 1989, Galileo entered orbit around Jupiter on December 7, 1995 on a mission to study the giant planet, its largest moons and its magnetic environment. JPL manages the 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 World Wide Web, 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 ]. |
|
Loki as viewed by Galileo NI
…
PIA02514
Jupiter
Near Infrared Mapping Spectr
…
| Title |
Loki as viewed by Galileo NIMS |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This image shows Loki, the most powerful volcano in the solar system, which has been constantly active on Jupiter's moon Io for at least 20 years. NASA's Galileo spacecraft took these images during its approach to Io on October 10, 1999. One of the spacecraft's instruments, the near infrared mapping spectrometer, was used to capture this observation. The instrument detects heat from objects in the infrared wavelengths not visible to the naked eye. Loki is a volcanic caldera about 200 kilometers (124 miles) across, nearly four times the width of the Yellowstone caldera on Earth. On the left side of the top image is a picture taken in visible light wavelengths by Galileo's camera showing the context of the NIMS image on the right. This thermal map taken by the spectrometer at 4.7 microns shows that heat is being emitted from the areas that are dark in the camera image. The bottom image shows additional spectrometer data obtained as the platform that holds the instrument on the spacecraft was moving toward the next target. This repositioned scan (shown as the zig-zag pattern) allowed the spectrometer to sample the warm, dark floor of the Loki caldera and the cold regions outside the caldera. The thermal map shows that the dark materials on the floor of Loki are cooling lava, near zero degrees Celsius(32 Fahrenheit). This substantially hotter than Io's surface temperature of about -180 degrees Celsius (-300 Fahrenheit). In previous observations, higher lava temperatures have been measured by the spectrometer at Loki, with temperatures similar to those of basaltic lava on Earth. The lighter, colored area in the camera image, which appears to be an island, is cold, which means it has not been active recently. The spectrometer detects both reflected sunlight and thermal emission from hot materials on the surface. This observation was taken on Io's nightside to avoid mixing sunlight with the thermal emission from hot lavas. Launched in October 1989, Galileo entered orbit around Jupiter on December 7, 1995 on a mission to study the giant planet, its largest moons and its magnetic environment. JPL manages the 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 World Wide Web, 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 ]. |
|
Loki as viewed by Galileo NI
…
PIA02514
Jupiter
Near Infrared Mapping Spectr
…
| Title |
Loki as viewed by Galileo NIMS |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This image shows Loki, the most powerful volcano in the solar system, which has been constantly active on Jupiter's moon Io for at least 20 years. NASA's Galileo spacecraft took these images during its approach to Io on October 10, 1999. One of the spacecraft's instruments, the near infrared mapping spectrometer, was used to capture this observation. The instrument detects heat from objects in the infrared wavelengths not visible to the naked eye. Loki is a volcanic caldera about 200 kilometers (124 miles) across, nearly four times the width of the Yellowstone caldera on Earth. On the left side of the top image is a picture taken in visible light wavelengths by Galileo's camera showing the context of the NIMS image on the right. This thermal map taken by the spectrometer at 4.7 microns shows that heat is being emitted from the areas that are dark in the camera image. The bottom image shows additional spectrometer data obtained as the platform that holds the instrument on the spacecraft was moving toward the next target. This repositioned scan (shown as the zig-zag pattern) allowed the spectrometer to sample the warm, dark floor of the Loki caldera and the cold regions outside the caldera. The thermal map shows that the dark materials on the floor of Loki are cooling lava, near zero degrees Celsius(32 Fahrenheit). This substantially hotter than Io's surface temperature of about -180 degrees Celsius (-300 Fahrenheit). In previous observations, higher lava temperatures have been measured by the spectrometer at Loki, with temperatures similar to those of basaltic lava on Earth. The lighter, colored area in the camera image, which appears to be an island, is cold, which means it has not been active recently. The spectrometer detects both reflected sunlight and thermal emission from hot materials on the surface. This observation was taken on Io's nightside to avoid mixing sunlight with the thermal emission from hot lavas. Launched in October 1989, Galileo entered orbit around Jupiter on December 7, 1995 on a mission to study the giant planet, its largest moons and its magnetic environment. JPL manages the 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 World Wide Web, 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 ]. |
|
Color Global Mosaic of Io
| Title |
Color Global Mosaic of Io |
| Description |
This false color infrared composite of Jupiter's moon Io was produced from images acquired in July and September, 1996, during the first two orbits through the Jovian system by NASA's Galileo spacecraft. The area shown is 11,420 kilometers in width. Grid lines in this cylindrical map projection are superimposed at latitude and longitude intervals of 30 degrees. Deposits of sulfur dioxide frost appear in white and grey hues while yellowish and brownish hues are probably due to other sulfurous materials. Bright red materials (such as the prominent ring surrounding the currently erupting plume Pele) and spots with low brightness or albedo ("black" spots) mark areas of recent volcanic activity and are usually associated with high temperatures and surface changes (Voyager to Galileo or Galileo to Galileo). The color map will be compared to other observations, such as maps of topography and hot spots, to better understand the volcanic and surface processes on this dynamic satellite. The color in the image is composed of data taken in the near-infrared (756 nanometer), green and violet filters (shown as red, green, and blue respectively) of the Solid State Imaging (CCD) system aboard NASA's Galileo spacecraft. Images were obtained at resolutions ranging from 10 to 23 kilometers per picture element (pixel) and phase angles (spacecraft-Io-sun angle) from 4 to 55 degrees. The spacecraft range varied from 485,000 to 2,243,000 kilometers. North is to the top of the picture. 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 |
| Date |
03.31.1997 |
|
STS-34 Galileo processing at
…
| Title |
STS-34 Galileo processing at KSC's SAEF-2 planetary spacecraft facility |
| Description |
At the Kennedy Space Center's (KSC's) Spacecraft and Assembly Encapsulation Facility 2 (SAEF-2), the planetary spacecraft checkout facility, clean-suited technicians work on the Galileo spacecraft prior to moving it to the Vehicle Processing Facility (VPF) for mating with the inertial upper stage (IUS). Galileo is scheduled for launch aboard Atlantis, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 104, on Space Shuttle Mission STS-34 in October 1989. It will be sent to the planet Jupiter, a journey which will taken more than six years to complete. In December 1995 as the two and one half ton spacecraft orbits Jupiter with its ten scientific instruments, a probe will be released to parachute into the Jovian atmosphere. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) manages the Galileo project. View provided by KSC. |
| Date Taken |
1989-08-18 |
|
Moon - 18 Image Mosaic
PIA00128
Earth
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Moon - 18 Image Mosaic |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This mosaic picture of the Moon was compiled from 18 images taken with a green filter by Galileo's imaging system during the spacecraft's flyby on December 7, 1992, some 11 hours before its Earth flyby at 1509 UTC (7:09 a.m. Pacific Standard Time) December 8. The north polar region is near the top part of the mosaic, which also shows Mare Imbrium, the dark area on the left, Mare Serenitatis at center, and Mare Crisium, the circular dark area to the right. Bright crater rim and ray deposits are from Copernicus, an impact crater 96 kilometers (60 miles) in diameter. Computer processing has exaggerated the brightness of poorly illuminated features near the day/night terminator in the polar regions, giving a false impression of high reflectivity there. The digital image processing was done by DLR the German aerospace research establishment near Munich, an international collaborator in the Galileo mission. 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 and Applications by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. |
|
The Earth & Moon
PIA00342
Sol (our sun)
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
The Earth & Moon |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
During its flight, the Galileo spacecraft returned images of the Earth and Moon. Separate images of the Earth and Moon were combined to generate this view. The Galileo spacecraft took the images in 1992 on its way to explore the Jupiter system in 1995-97. The image shows a partial view of the Earth centered on the Pacific Ocean about latitude 20 degrees south. The west coast of South America can be observed as well as the Caribbean, swirling white cloud patterns indicate storms in the southeast Pacific. The distinct bright ray crater at the bottom of the Moon is the Tycho impact basin. The lunar dark areas are lava rock filled impact basins. This picture contains same scale and relative color/albedo images of the Earth and Moon. False colors via use of the 1-micron filter as red, 727-nm filter as green, and violet filter as blue. The Galileo project is managed for NASA's Office of Space Science by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. |
|
Gaspra, Deimos, and Phobos C
…
PIA00078
Sol (our sun)
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Gaspra, Deimos, and Phobos Comparison |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This montage shows asteroid 951 Gaspra (top) compared with Deimos (lower left) and Phobos (lower right), the moons of Mars. The three bodies are shown at the same scale and nearly the same lighting conditions. Gaspra is about 17 kilometers (10 miles) long. All three bodies have irregular shapes, due to past catastrophic conditions. However their surfaces appear remarkably different, possibly because of differences in composition but most likely because of very different impact histories. The Phobos and Deimos images were obtained by the Viking Orbiter spacecraft in 1977, the Gaspra image is the best of a series obtained by the Galileo spacecraft on October 29, 1991. Galileo is scheduled to add the detailed view of another asteroid when it flies by Ida in August 1993. 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 and Applications by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. |
|
Moon - North Polar Mosaic, C
…
PIA00404
Earth
| Title |
Moon - North Polar Mosaic, Color |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
During its flight, the Galileo spacecraft returned images of the Moon. The Galileo spacecraft surveyed the Moon on December 7, 1992, on its way to explore the Jupiter system in 1995-1997. The left part of this north pole view is visible from Earth. This color picture is a mosaic assembled from 18 images taken by Galileo's imaging system through a green filter. The left part of this picture shows the dark, lava-filled Mare Imbrium (upper left), Mare Serenitatis (middle left), Mare Tranquillitatis (lower left), and Mare Crisium, the dark circular feature toward the bottom of the mosaic. Also visible in this view are the dark lava plains of the Marginis and Smythii Basins at the lower right. The Humboldtianum Basin, a 650-kilometer (400-mile) impact structure partly filled with dark volcanic deposits, is seen at the center of the image. The Moon's north pole is located just inside the shadow zone, about a third of the way from the top left of the illuminated region. The Galileo project is managed for NASA's Office of Space Science by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. |
|
Sulfuric Acid on Europa
PIA02500
Jupiter
Near Infrared Mapping Spectr
…
| Title |
Sulfuric Acid on Europa |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Frozen sulfuric acid on Jupiter's moon Europa is depicted in this image produced from data gathered by NASA's Galileo spacecraft. The brightest areas, where the yellow is most intense, represent regions of high frozen sulfuric acid concentration. Sulfuric acid is found in battery acid and in Earth's acid rain. This image is based on data gathered by Galileo's near infrared mapping spectrometer. Europa's leading hemisphere is toward the bottom right, and there are enhanced concentrations of sulfuric acid in the trailing side of Europa(the upper left side of the image). This is the face of Europa that is struck by sulfur ions coming from Jupiter's innermost moon, Io. The long, narrow features that crisscross Europa also show sulfuric acid that may be from sulfurous material extruded in cracks. Galileo, launched in 1989, has been orbiting Jupiter and its moons since December 1995. JPL 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. |
|
False Color Mosaic Great Red
…
PIA00489
Sol (our sun)
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
False Color Mosaic Great Red Spot |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
False color representation of Jupiter's Great Red Spot (GRS) taken through three different near-infrared filters of the Galileo imaging system and processed to reveal cloud top height. Images taken through Galileo's near-infrared filters record sunlight beyond the visible range that penetrates to different depths in Jupiter's atmosphere before being reflected by clouds. The Great Red Spot appears pink and the surrounding region blue because of the particular color coding used in this representation. Light reflected by Jupiter at a wavelength (886 nm) where methane strongly absorbs is shown in red. Due to this absorption, only high clouds can reflect sunlight in this wavelength. Reflected light at a wavelength (732 nm) where methane absorbs less strongly is shown in green. Lower clouds can reflect sunlight in this wavelength. Reflected light at a wavelength (757 nm) where there are essentially no absorbers in the Jovian atmosphere is shown in blue: This light is reflected from the deepest clouds. Thus, the color of a cloud in this image indicates its height. Blue or black areas are deep clouds, pink areas are high, thin hazes, white areas are high, thick clouds. This image shows the Great Red Spot to be relatively high, as are some smaller clouds to the northeast and northwest that are surprisingly like towering thunderstorms found on Earth. The deepest clouds are in the collar surrounding the Great Red Spot, and also just to the northwest of the high (bright) cloud in the northwest corner of the image. Preliminary modeling shows these cloud heights vary over 30 km in altitude. This mosaic, of eighteen images (6 in each filter) taken over a 6 minute interval during the second GRS observing sequence on June 26, 1996, has been map-projected to a uniform grid of latitude and longitude. North is at the top. 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 |
|
High Resolution Global View
…
PIA00583
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
High Resolution Global View of Io |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Io, the most volcanic body in the solar system is seen in the highest resolution obtained to date by NASA's Galileo spacecraft. The smallest features that can be discerned are 2.5 kilometers in size. There are rugged mountains several kilometers high, layered materials forming plateaus, and many irregular depressions called volcanic calderas. Several of the dark, flow-like features correspond to hot spots, and may be active lava flows. There are no landforms resembling impact craters, as the volcanism covers the surface with new deposits much more rapidly than the flux of comets and asteroids can create large impact craters. The picture is centered on the side of Io that always faces away from Jupiter, north is to the top. Color images acquired on September 7, 1996 have been merged with higher resolution images acquired on November 6, 1996 by the Solid State Imaging (CCD) system aboard NASA's Galileo spacecraft. The color is composed of data taken, at a range of 487,000 kilometers, in the near-infrared, green, and violet filters and has been enhanced to emphasize the extraordinary variations in color and brightness that characterize Io's face. The high resolution images were obtained at ranges which varied from 245,719 kilometers to 403,100 kilometers. 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 |
|
Amalthea, A Rubble-Pile Moon
PIA07248
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Amalthea, A Rubble-Pile Moon |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
These images of Jupiter's moon Amalthea were taken with NASA's Galileo and Voyager spacecraft. Recent findings show that Amalthea is almost pure water ice, hinting that it may not have formed where it now orbits. This information challenges long-held theories about how moons form around giant planets. The image on the left shows the escape velocities color-coded on a shape model of Amalthea with the same viewpoint as the Voyager spacecraft image in the middle panel. Blue represents the lowest escape velocity, barely 1 meter per second (about 3 feet) near the anti-Jupiter end, while red (barely visible) shows the region of much higher escape velocity, nearly 90 meters per second (295 feet). The low escape velocities result from the low density of Amalthea and from its rapid rotation as it orbits Jupiter. The middle image is a composite from both Galileo and NASA's Voyager spacecraft (see PIA02530 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA02530 ]) and shows Amalthea from the anti-Jupiter side. The visible area is about 150 kilometers (93 miles) across. The Sun is behind the spacecraft, resulting in loss of visible shadows. The brighter markings on the ends of a ridge are prominent in this view. On the right is a Galileo image of Amalthea, (see PIA02532 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA02532 ]), with the bright spots on the end of Amalthea seen from the leading side of the satellite. Here the Sun is to the left and topography, such as the impact crater at the right, is visible. Amalthea is Jupiter's fifth largest moon. It orbits about 181,000 kilometers (112,468 miles) from Jupiter, considerably closer than the Moon orbits Earth. It measures about 168 miles in length and half that in width. Galileo passed within about 99 miles of the moon on Nov. 5, 2002. After more than 30 close encounters with Jupiter's four largest moons, the Amalthea flyby was the last moon flyby for Galileo. The mission began orbiting the planet in 1995. Additional information about the Galileo mission is available online at: http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov/ [ http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov/ ]. Voyager information is available at: http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/ [ http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/ ]. |
|
Global View of Io in various
…
PIA00584
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Global View of Io in various colors |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
These full disk views of Jupiter's volcanic moon, Io, use images which were acquired by NASA's Galileo spacecraft when Io, the spacecraft, and the sun were nearly all aligned (near zero degrees phase angle). This angle best shows color variations on the surface. The left frame is an enhanced color view combining images obtained with the near-infrared, green, and violet filters of Galileo's Solid State Imaging (CCD) system. The white areas are rich in sulfur dioxide frost. Yellow, brown, and red areas are rich in other sulfurous materials. The upper right frame combines the green, near-infrared, and one micrometer filters. The added information from the infrared part of the spectrum will help scientists characterize the type of volcanism that paints this active world. The lower right frame is a color ratio composite, in which ratios of different color combinations are displayed as red, green, and blue to reveal subtle color variations. North is to the top and the smallest features which can be discerned are 6 kilometers in size. These images were taken on December 18, 1996 at a range of 580,000 kilometers. 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 |
|
STS-34 Galileo probe process
…
| Title |
STS-34 Galileo probe processing at KSC's SAEF-2 planetary spacecraft facility |
| Description |
At the Kennedy Space Center's (KSC's) Spacecraft and Assembly Encapsulation Facility 2 (SAEF-2), the planetary spacecraft checkout facility, technicians from the NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) and Hughes Aircraft Company prepare the 737-pound Galileo Jovian atmospheric probe for final assembly following its arrival 04-17-89. The entire Galileo assembly will also include a 5870-pound spacecraft, and an inertial upper stage (IUS) booster. Galileo is scheduled for launch aboard Atlantis, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 104, on Space Shuttle Mission STS-34 in October 1989. After an initial boost from the IUS, Galileo will require a triple gravity assist from Venus and Earth to reach Jupiter in 1995. This complex trajectory will allow the first close flyby of two asteroids. Approaching Jupiter, the probe will separate from the spacecraft to provide the first direct sampling of the Jovian atmosphere. The spacecraft will orbit Jupiter ten times, yielding the first extended observations of the planet, i |
| Date |
06.08.1989 |
|
Galileo Arrives at Jupiter
| title |
Galileo Arrives at Jupiter |
| date |
07.11.1995 |
| description |
This artist's rendering shows the Galileo orbiter arriving at Jupiter on Dec. 7, 1995. A few hours before arrival, the orbiter will have fllew within about 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) of Jupiter's moon lo, shown as the crescent to the left of the spacecraft. The sun is visible between Io and the spacecraft, near the spacecraft's long magnetometer. Jupiter is to the right. A faint white streak above the planet's clouds shows the atmospheric probe beginning to decelerate before it deploys a parachute for its scientific mission to collect data. About an hour after the probe mission, Galileo fired it rockets and entered orbit around Jupiter. The mission ended on Sept. 21, 2003 when the orbiter was deliberately destroyed in Jupiter's crushing atmosphere. *Image Credit*: NASA |
|
Three dimensional Visualizat
…
PIA01191
Sol (our sun)
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Three dimensional Visualization of Jupiter's Equatorial Region |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Frames from a three dimensional visualization of Jupiter's equatorial region. The images used cover an area of 34,000 kilometers by 11,000 kilometers (about 21,100 by 6,800 miles) near an equatorial "hotspot" similar to the site where the probe from NASA's Galileo spacecraft entered Jupiter's atmosphere on December 7th, 1995. These features are holes in the bright, reflective, equatorial cloud layer where warmer thermal emission from Jupiter's deep atmosphere can pass through. The circulation patterns observed here along with the composition measurements from the Galileo Probe suggest that dry air may be converging and sinking over these regions, maintaining their cloud-free appearance. The bright clouds to the right of the hotspot as well as the other bright features may be examples of upwelling of moist air and condensation. This frame is a view to the northeast, from between the cloud layers and above the streaks in the lower cloud leading towards the hotspot. The upper haze layer has some features that match the lower cloud, such as the bright streak in the foreground of the frame. These are probably thick clouds that span several tens of vertical kilometers. Galileo is the first spacecraft to image Jupiter in near-infrared light (which is invisible to the human eye) using three filters at 727, 756, and 889 nanometers (nm). Because light at these three wavelengths is absorbed at different altitudes by atmospheric methane, a comparison of the resulting images reveals information about the heights of clouds in Jupiter's atmosphere. This information can be visualized by rendering cloud surfaces with the appropriate height variations. The visualization reduces Jupiter's true cloud structure to two layers. The height of a high haze layer is assumed to be proportional to the reflectivity of Jupiter at 889 nm. The height of a lower tropospheric cloud is assumed to be proportional to the reflectivity at 727 nm divided by that at 756 nm. This model is overly simplistic, but is based on more sophisticated studies of Jupiter's cloud structure. The upper and lower clouds are separated in the rendering by an arbitrary amount, and the height variations are exaggerated by a factor of 25. The lower cloud is colored using the same false color scheme used in previously released image products, assigning red, green, and blue to the 756, 727, and 889 nanometer mosaics, respectively. Light 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 lower cloud with an overlying thin haze. The images used cover latitudes 1 to 10 degrees and are 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 (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://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ galileo. |
|
Three dimensional Visualizat
…
PIA01193
Sol (our sun)
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Three dimensional Visualization of Jupiter's Equatorial Region |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Frames from a three dimensional visualization of Jupiter's equatorial region. The images used cover an area of 34,000 kilometers by 11,000 kilometers (about 21,100 by 6,800 miles) near an equatorial "hotspot" similar to the site where the probe from NASA's Galileo spacecraft entered Jupiter's atmosphere on December 7th, 1995. These features are holes in the bright, reflective, equatorial cloud layer where warmer thermal emission from Jupiter's deep atmosphere can pass through. The circulation patterns observed here along with the composition measurements from the Galileo Probe suggest that dry air may be converging and sinking over these regions, maintaining their cloud-free appearance. The bright clouds to the right of the hotspot as well as the other bright features may be examples of upwelling of moist air and condensation. This frame is a view to the southeast, from between the cloud layers and over the north center of the region. The tall white clouds in the lower cloud deck are probably much like large terrestrial thunderclouds. They may be regions where atmospheric water powers vertical convection over large horizontal distances. Galileo is the first spacecraft to image Jupiter in near-infrared light (which is invisible to the human eye) using three filters at 727, 756, and 889 nanometers (nm). Because light at these three wavelengths is absorbed at different altitudes by atmospheric methane, a comparison of the resulting images reveals information about the heights of clouds in Jupiter's atmosphere. This information can be visualized by rendering cloud surfaces with the appropriate height variations. The visualization reduces Jupiter's true cloud structure to two layers. The height of a high haze layer is assumed to be proportional to the reflectivity of Jupiter at 889 nm. The height of a lower tropospheric cloud is assumed to be proportional to the reflectivity at 727 nm divided by that at 756 nm. This model is overly simplistic, but is based on more sophisticated studies of Jupiter's cloud structure. The upper and lower clouds are separated in the rendering by an arbitrary amount, and the height variations are exaggerated by a factor of 25. The lower cloud is colored using the same false color scheme used in previously released image products, assigning red, green, and blue to the 756, 727, and 889 nanometer mosaics, respectively. Light 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 lower cloud with an overlying thin haze. The images used cover latitudes 1 to 10 degrees and are 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 (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://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ galileo. |
|
Three dimensional Visualizat
…
PIA01189
Sol (our sun)
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Three dimensional Visualization of Jupiter's Equatorial Region |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Frames from a three dimensional visualization of Jupiter's equatorial region. The images used cover an area of 34,000 kilometers by 11,000 kilometers (about 21,100 by 6,800 miles) near an equatorial "hotspot" similar to the site where the probe from NASA's Galileo spacecraft entered Jupiter's atmosphere on December 7th, 1995. These features are holes in the bright, reflective, equatorial cloud layer where warmer thermal emission from Jupiter's deep atmosphere can pass through. The circulation patterns observed here along with the composition measurements from the Galileo Probe suggest that dry air may be converging and sinking over these regions, maintaining their cloud-free appearance. The bright clouds to the right of the hotspot as well as the other bright features may be examples of upwelling of moist air and condensation. This frame is a view from above and to the south of the visualized area, showing the entire model. The entire region is overlain by a thin, transparent haze. In places the haze is high and thick, especially to the east (to the right of) the hotspot. Galileo is the first spacecraft to image Jupiter in near-infrared light (which is invisible to the human eye) using three filters at 727, 756, and 889 nanometers (nm). Because light at these three wavelengths is absorbed at different altitudes by atmospheric methane, a comparison of the resulting images reveals information about the heights of clouds in Jupiter's atmosphere. This information can be visualized by rendering cloud surfaces with the appropriate height variations. The visualization reduces Jupiter's true cloud structure to two layers. The height of a high haze layer is assumed to be proportional to the reflectivity of Jupiter at 889 nm. The height of a lower tropospheric cloud is assumed to be proportional to the reflectivity at 727 nm divided by that at 756 nm. This model is overly simplistic, but is based on more sophisticated studies of Jupiter's cloud structure. The upper and lower clouds are separated in the rendering by an arbitrary amount, and the height variations are exaggerated by a factor of 25. The lower cloud is colored using the same false color scheme used in previously released image products, assigning red, green, and blue to the 756, 727, and 889 nanometer mosaics, respectively. Light 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 lower cloud with an overlying thin haze. The images used cover latitudes 1 to 10 degrees and are 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 (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://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ galileo. |
|
Three dimensional Visualizat
…
PIA01192
Sol (our sun)
Solid-State Imaging
| Title |
Three dimensional Visualization of Jupiter's Equatorial Region |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Frames from a three dimensional visualization of Jupiter's equatorial region. The images used cover an area of 34,000 kilometers by 11,000 kilometers (about 21,100 by 6,800 miles) near an equatorial "hotspot" similar to the site where the probe from NASA's Galileo spacecraft entered Jupiter's atmosphere on December 7th, 1995. These features are holes in the bright, reflective, equatorial cloud layer where warmer thermal emission from Jupiter's deep atmosphere can pass through. The circulation patterns observed here along with the composition measurements from the Galileo Probe suggest that dry air may be converging and sinking over these regions, maintaining their cloud-free appearance. The bright clouds to the right of the hotspot as well as the other bright features may be examples of upwelling of moist air and condensation. This frame is a view to the northeast, from between the cloud layers and above the streaks in the lower cloud leading towards the hotspot. The hotspot is clearly visible as a deep blue feature. The cloud streaks end near the hotspot, consistent with the idea that clouds traveling along these streak lines descend and evaporate as they approach the hotspot. The upper haze layer is slightly bowed upwards above the hotspot. Galileo is the first spacecraft to image Jupiter in near-infrared light (which is invisible to the human eye) using three filters at 727, 756, and 889 nanometers (nm). Because light at these three wavelengths is absorbed at different altitudes by atmospheric methane, a comparison of the resulting images reveals information about the heights of clouds in Jupiter's atmosphere. This information can be visualized by rendering cloud surfaces with the appropriate height variations. The visualization reduces Jupiter's true cloud structure to two layers. The height of a high haze layer is assumed to be proportional to the reflectivity of Jupiter at 889 nm. The height of a lower tropospheric cloud is assumed to be proportional to the reflectivity at 727 nm divided by that at 756 nm. This model is overly simplistic, but is based on more sophisticated studies of Jupiter's cloud structure. The upper and lower clouds are separated in the rendering by an arbitrary amount, and the height variations are exaggerated by a factor of 25. The lower cloud is colored using the same false color scheme used in previously released image products, assigning red, green, and blue to the 756, 727, and 889 nanometer mosaics, respectively. Light 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 lower cloud with an overlying thin haze. The images used cover latitudes 1 to 10 degrees and are 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 (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://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ galileo. |
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