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Saturn's shadow upon the rin
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PIA02285
Saturn
Imaging Science Subsystem -
…
| Title |
Saturn's shadow upon the rings |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Voyager 2 returned this wide-angle, clear-filtered image of the shadow of Saturn upon the rings just after engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory successfully commanded the camera platform to point to the planet. Problems with the platform had prevented the spacecraft from returning photographs the past few days. This first picture after the repair was obtained the evening of Aug. 28, when Voyager 2 was 3.2 million kilometers (2 million miles) from the planet and racing away at more than 26,000 mph. Saturn's nightside can be seen at upper left, with the shadow cast by the planet falling across the rings in the center of this image. The white lines, or "noise," across the photograph are the result of temporary ground communications troubles between the Australian Deep Space Network tracking station and Voyager mission control in Pasadena. The picture was received in Australia in perfect condition, the noise will be removed in subsequent processing. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. |
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Saturn's Atmospheric Changes
PIA03152
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem -
…
| Title |
Saturn's Atmospheric Changes |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Saturn's rings are bright and its northern hemisphere defined by bright features as NASA's Voyager 2 approaches Saturn, which it will encounter on Aug. 25, 1981. Three images, taken through ultraviolet, violet and green filters on July 12, 1981, were combined to make this photograph. Several changes are apparent in Saturn's atmosphere since Voyager 1's November 1980 encounter, and the planet's rings have brightened considerably due to the higher sun angle. Voyager 2 was 43 million kilometers (27 million miles) from Saturn when it took this photograph. The Voyager project is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. |
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Saturn's Ring Shadow, Then a
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| Description |
Here on the Gallery page you can find the very latest images, videos and products from the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn, including the spectacular launch, spacecraft assembly and the exciting trip to Saturn. |
| Full Description |
The image on the left was taken on Nov. 1, 1980, by NASA's Voyager spacecraft from a distance of 5.3 million kilometers (3.3 million miles). It shows a very strong narrow shadow cast on the equatorial region of Saturn's atmosphere by the rings. During the Voyager encounters, the Sun was close to the plane of the rings so that the ring shadow was very deep and localized to low latitudes. Radio signals detected by Voyager were interpreted as lightning coming from a persistent, extended storm system at low latitudes. It is possible that the ring shadow was partly responsible for generating this storm by promoting strong convection at the boundary of the colder shadowed atmosphere and the adjoining sunlit atmosphere. This image was previously released on June 19, 1999. For original caption see PIA00335. The image on the right was acquired by the Cassini spacecraft on May 10, 2004, from a distance of 27.2 million kilometers (16.9 million miles) and shows the complex set of ring shadows cast over a large region of Saturn's northern hemisphere. This shadow pattern is due to the Sun being well below the ring plane during Cassini's approach to Saturn. This image was previously release on May 25, 2004. For original caption see PIA05394. Unlike the situation when NASA's Voyager spacecraft flew by Saturn, these ring shadows are not as deep and are not localized at a very narrow range of latitudes. Should these shadows drive convection in Saturn's atmosphere, the location would likely be very much different than the near-equatorial shadow observed by the Voyagers in the early 1980s. It is possible that this very different ring shadow geometry is one reason for different morphologies of thunderstorms observed by Cassini and Voyager. Voyager observed lightning apparently from one persistent, low-latitude storm system, whereas Cassini observes lightning from storms which seem to come and go on time scales of a day or so, and perhaps from more than one storm system at a time. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The radio and plasma wave science team is based at the University of Iowa, Iowa City. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the instrument team's home page, http://www-pw.physics.uiowa.edu/plasma-wave/cassini/home.html . Image Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Iowa |
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Saturn Storms Observed by Vo
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| Description |
Here on the Gallery page you can find the very latest images, videos and products from the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn, including the spectacular launch, spacecraft assembly and the exciting trip to Saturn. |
| Full Description |
Voyager 1 and 2 observed radio signals from lightning which were interpreted as being from a persistent, low-latitude storm system which was extended in longitude, perhaps similar to the region highlighted on this Voyager 2 image acquired on Aug. 4, 1981, from a distance of 21 million kilometers (13 million miles). Similar lightning detections by Cassini suggest a much more variable pattern of storms which come and go on time scales of days. The differences may be explained, in part, by stark differences in the shadows cast by the rings between the Voyager and Cassini eras. This image was previously released on December 5, 1998. For original caption see PIA01364. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The radio and plasma wave science team is based at the University of Iowa, Iowa City. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the instrument team's home page, http://www-pw.physics.uiowa.edu/plasma-wave/cassini/home.html . Image Credit: NASA/JPL |
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Saturn's B rings
PIA02289
Saturn
Imaging Science Subsystem -
…
| Title |
Saturn's B rings |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This narrow-angle camera image of Saturn's B Ring and Cassini Division was taken through the Clear filter from a distance of 12.6 million km on 3 November 1980. The Cassini Division separating the A and B Rings is clearly not an empty region. The Division shows several substantial well-defined ringlets. JPL managed the Voyager Project for NASA's Office of Space Science. |
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Voyager photographs of Neptu
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| Name of Image |
Voyager photographs of Neptune |
| Date of Image |
1989-08-25 |
| Full Description |
Voyager 2 was the first spacecraft to observe the planet Neptune and its two satellites: Triton, the largest, and Nereid. The most obvious feature of the planet is its blue color, the result of methane in the atmosphere. Research continues on Neptune's two largest satellites and the additional six that were discovered by Voyager 2's investigation. These images represent the most complete set of full disk Neptune images that the spacecraft will acquire. |
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A79-7073
Photographer: JPL P-21738 BW
…
7/6/79
| Description |
Photographer: JPL P-21738 BW Raange: 4.76 million kilometers (2.9 million miles) This Voyager 2 picture of Io was taken in ultraviolet light and shows one of the volcanic eruption plumes first photographed by Voyager 1. (the bright spot on the right limb) The plume is more than 200 kilometers (124 miles) high. The volcano apparently has been erupting since it was observed by Voyager 1 in March, 1979. This suggests that the volcanoes on Io probably are in continuous eruption. |
| Date |
7/6/79 |
|
A89-7015
Photographer : JPL Range : 4
…
8/21/89
| Description |
Photographer : JPL Range : 4.8 million km. ( 3 million miles ) P-34648 This Voyager 2, sixty-one second exposure, shot through clear filters, of Neptunes rings. The Voyager cameras were programmed to make a systematic search of the entire ring system for new material. The previously ring arc is visible as a long bright streak at the bottom of the image. Extening beyond the bright arc is a much fainter component which follows the arc in its orbit. this faint material was also visible leading the ring arc and, in total, covers at least half of the orbit before it becomes too faint to identify. Also visible in this image, is a continuous ring of faint material previously identified as a possible ring arc by Voyager. this continuous ring is located just outside the orbit of the moon 1989N3, which was also discovered by Voyager. This moon is visible as a streak in the lower left. the smear of 1989N3 is due to its own orbital motion during the exposure. Extreme computer processing of this image was made to enhance the extremely faint features of Neptunes moon system. the dark area surrounding the moon as well as the bright corners are due to this special processing. |
| Date |
8/21/89 |
|
Voyager 2-N67
These two 591-second exposur
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8/27/89
| Date |
8/27/89 |
| Description |
These two 591-second exposures of the rings of Neptune were taken with the clear filter by the Voyager 2 wide-angle camera on Aug. 26, 1989 from a distance of 280,000 kilometers (175,000 miles). The two main rings are clearly visible and appear complete over the region imaged. The time between exposures was one hour and 27 minutes. [During this period the bright ring arcs in the outer bright ring were not visible in either picture (they were unfortunately on the opposite side of the planet for each exposure).] Also visible in this image is the inner faint ring at about 42,000 kilometers (25,000 miles) from the center of Neptune, and the faint band which extends smoothly from the 53,000 kilometer (33,000 miles) ring to roughly halfway between the two bright rings. Both of these newly discovered rings are broad and much fainter than the two narrow rings. These long exposure images were taken while the rings were back-lighted by the sun at a phase angle of 135 degrees. This viewing geometry enhances the visibility of dust and allows fainter, dusty parts of the ring to be seen. The bright glare in the center is due to over-exposure of the crescent of Neptune. The two gaps in the upper part of the outer ring in the image on the left are due to blemish removal in the computer processing. Numerous bright stars are evident in the background. Both bright rings have material throughout their entire orbit, and are therefore continuous. The Voyager Mission is conducted by JPL for NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications. ##### |
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| Description |
Shepherd Satellites |
| Full Description |
This image taken by the Voyager 2 spacecraft of Saturn's A-ring shows the thin F-ring bracketed by its two shepherding satellites. Because the inner moon revolves around the planet slightly faster than the outer one, the satellites lap each other every 25 days. This picture was taken on August 15, 1981, when Voyager 2 was 10.5 million kilometers (6.6 million miles) from Saturn. At that instant, the shepherds were less than 1,800 kilometers (1,100 miles) apart. For higher resolution, click here. |
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| Description |
Departing Saturn |
| Full Description |
Voyager 1 looked back at Saturn on November 16, 1980, four days after the spacecraft flew past the planet, to observe the appearance of Saturn and its rings from this unique perspective. A few of the spokelike ring features discovered by Voyager appear in the rings as bright patches in this image, taken at a distance of 5.3 million kilometers (3.3 million miles) from the planet. Saturn's shadow falls upon the rings, and the bright Saturn crescent is seen through all but the densest portion of the rings. For a high resolution image, click here. |
|
| Description |
Shepherd Satellites |
| Full Description |
This image taken by the Voyager 2 spacecraft of Saturn's A-ring shows the thin F-ring bracketed by its two shepherding satellites. Because the inner moon revolves around the planet slightly faster than the outer one, the satellites lap each other every 25 days. This picture was taken on August 15, 1981, when Voyager 2 was 10.5 million kilometers (6.6 million miles) from Saturn. At that instant, the shepherds were less than 1,800 kilometers (1,100 miles) apart. For higher resolution, click here. |
|
| Description |
Shepherd Satellites |
| Full Description |
This image taken by the Voyager 2 spacecraft of Saturn's A-ring shows the thin F-ring bracketed by its two shepherding satellites. Because the inner moon revolves around the planet slightly faster than the outer one, the satellites lap each other every 25 days. This picture was taken on August 15, 1981, when Voyager 2 was 10.5 million kilometers (6.6 million miles) from Saturn. At that instant, the shepherds were less than 1,800 kilometers (1,100 miles) apart. For higher resolution, click here. |
|
| Description |
Departing Saturn |
| Full Description |
Voyager 1 looked back at Saturn on November 16, 1980, four days after the spacecraft flew past the planet, to observe the appearance of Saturn and its rings from this unique perspective. A few of the spokelike ring features discovered by Voyager appear in the rings as bright patches in this image, taken at a distance of 5.3 million kilometers (3.3 million miles) from the planet. Saturn's shadow falls upon the rings, and the bright Saturn crescent is seen through all but the densest portion of the rings. For a high resolution image, click here. |
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Southeast of the Great Red S
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| title |
Southeast of the Great Red Spot on Jupiter |
| description |
Voyager 1 image of the clouds of Jupiter to the southeast of the Great Red Spot. This is a false color image of Jupiter, with exaggerated colors to enhance subtle variations in color and shading in order to bring out details of the cloud structure and atmospheric dynamics. (Voyager 1, P-21224) *Image Credit*: NASA |
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Uranus
| title |
Uranus |
| description |
This is a view of Uranus taken by Voyager 2. This image was taken through three color filters and recombined to produce the color image. JPL manages and controls the Voyager project for NASA's Office of Space Science. *Image Credit*: NASA |
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Voyager 1 Red Spot Movie
| title |
Voyager 1 Red Spot Movie |
| date |
01.06.1979 |
| description |
This movie shows the portion of Jupiter around the Great Red Spot as it swirls through more than 60 Jupiter days. Notice the difference in speed and direction of the various zones of the atmosphere. The interaction of the atmospheric clouds and storm shows the intense dynamics of the Jovian atmosphere. As Voyager 1 approached Jupiter in 1979, it took images of the planet at regular intervals. This sequence is made from 66 images taken once every Jupiter rotation period (about 10 hours). This time-lapse movie uses images taken every time Jupiter longitude 68W passed under the spacecraft. These images were acquired in the Blue filter from Jan. 6 to Feb. 3 1979. The spacecraft flew from 58 million kilometers to 31 million kilometers from Jupiter during that time. This time-lapse movie was produced at JPL by the Image Processing Laboratory in 1979. *Image Credit*: NASA |
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Jupiter's Moon Callisto
| title |
Jupiter's Moon Callisto |
| date |
03.06.1979 |
| description |
Voyager 1 image of Jupiter's moon Callisto from a distance of 350,000 km. Callisto is about 4,800 km in diameter (about the size of Mercury). Features as small as 7 km across can be seen in this image. The large "bulls-eye" at the top of the image is believed to be an impact basin formed early in Callisto's history. The bright center of the basin is about 600 km across and the outer ring is about 2600 km across. (Voyager 1, P-21287) *Image Credit*: NASA |
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Saturn System Montage
| Title |
Saturn System Montage |
| Full Description |
This montage of images of the Saturnian system was prepared from an assemblage of images taken by the Voyager 1 spacecraft during its Saturn encounter in November 1980. This artist's view shows Dione in the forefront, Saturn rising behind, Tethys and Mimas fading in the distance to the right, Enceladus and Rhea off Saturn's rings to the left, and Titan in its distant orbit at the top. The Voyager Project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California. |
| Date |
11/17/1980 |
| NASA Center |
Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
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Saturn's Moon Tethys
| Title |
Saturn's Moon Tethys |
| Explanation |
Tethys is one of the larger and closer moons of Saturn. It was visited by both Voyager spacecraft [ http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] - Voyager 1 in November 1980 and by Voyager [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960629.html ] 2 in August 1981. Tethys [ http://www.nineplanets.org/tethys.html ] is now known to be composed almost completely of water ice. Tethys [ http://www.solarviews.com/eng/tethys.htm ] shows a large impact crater [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990711.html ] that nearly circles the planet. That the impact that caused this crater did not disrupt the moon is taken as evidence that Tethys [ http://sse.jpl.nasa.gov/features/planets/saturn/tethys.html ] was not completely frozen in its past. Two smaller moons, Telesto [ http://www.nineplanets.org/tethys.html#telesto ] and Calypso [ http://www.nineplanets.org/tethys.html#calypso ], orbit Saturn [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/saturn.html ] just ahead of and behind Tethys. Giovanni Cassini [ http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Cassini.html ] discovered Tethys in 1684. In 1997, NASA [ http://www.nasa.gov/ ] launched [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971016.html ] a spacecraft named Cassini [ http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/cassini/english/spacecraft/ ] to Saturn that will arrive in 2004. |
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Jupiter, its great Red Spot
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| Name of Image |
Jupiter, its great Red Spot three of its four largest satellites |
| Date of Image |
1979-02-05 |
| Full Description |
On February 5, 1979, Voyager 1 made its closest approach to Jupiter since early 1974 and 1975 when Pioneers 10 and 11 made their voyages to Jupiter and beyond. Voyager 1 completed its Jupiter encounter in early April, after taking almost 19,000 pictures and recording many other scientific measurements. Although astronomers had studied Jupiter from Earth for several centuries, scientists were surprised by many of Voyager 1 and 2's findings. They now understand that important physical, geological, and atmospheric processes go on that they had never observed from Earth. Discovery of active volcanism on the satellite Io was probably the greatest surprise. It was the first time active volcanoes had been seen on another body in the solar system. Voyager also discovered a ring around Jupiter. Thus Jupiter joins Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune as a ringed planet -- although each ring system is unique and distinct from the others. |
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Neptune's rings
PIA02207
Neptune
Imaging Science Subsystem -
…
| Title |
Neptune's rings |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This wide-angle Voyager 2 image, taken through the camera's clear filter, is the first to show Neptune's rings in detail. The two main rings, about 53,000 km (33,000 miles) and 63,000 km (39,000 miles) from Neptune, are 5 to 10 times brighter than in earlier images. The difference is due to lighting and viewing geometry. In approach images, the rings were seen in light scattered backward toward the spacecraft at a 15-degree phase angle. However, this image was taken at a 135-degree phase angle as Voyager left the planet. That geometry is ideal for detecting microscopic particles that forward-scatter light preferentially. The fact that Neptune's rings are so much brighter at that angle means the particle-size distribution is quite different from most of Uranus' and Saturn's rings, which contain fewer dust-size grains. However, a few components of the Saturnian and Uranian ring systems exhibit forward-scattering behavior: The F ring and the Encke Gap ringlet at Saturn, and 1986U1R at Uranus. They are also narrow, clumpy ringlets with kinks, and are associated with nearby moonlets too small to detect directly. In this image, the main clumpy arc, composed of three features each about 6 to 8 degrees long, is clearly seen. This image was obtained when Voyager was 1.1 million km (683,000 miles) from Neptune. Exposure time was 111seconds. The Voyager Mission is conducted by JPL for NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications. |
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Neptune
PIA02210
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem -
…
| Title |
Neptune |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This contrast enhanced color picture of Neptune was acquired by Voyager 2 at a range of 14.8 million kilometers (9.2 million miles) on August 14, 1989. It was produced from images taken through the orange, green and violet filters of Voyager's narrow angle camera. As Voyager 2 approaches Neptune, rapidly increasing image resolution is revealing striking new details in the planet's atmosphere, and this picture shows features as small as a few hundred kilometers in extent. Bright, wispy "cirrus type" clouds are seen overlying the Great Dark Spot (GDS) at its southern (lower) margin and over its northwest (upper left) boundary. This is the first evidence that the GDS lies lower in the atmosphere than these bright clouds, which have remained in its vicinity for several months. Increasing detail in global banding and in the south polar region can also be seen, a smaller dark spot at high southern latitudes is dimly visible near the limb at lower left. The Voyager Mission is conducted by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications. |
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Neptune Scooter
PIA01142
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem -
…
| Title |
Neptune Scooter |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This photograph of Neptune was reconstructed from two images taken by Voyager 2's narrow-angle camera, through the green and clear filters. The image shows three of the features that Voyager 2 has been photographing during recent weeks. At the north (top) is the Great Dark Spot, accompanied by bright, white clouds that undergo rapid changes in appearance. To the south of the Great Dark Spot is the bright feature that Voyager scientists have nicknamed "Scooter." Still farther south is the feature called "Dark Spot 2," which has a bright core. Each feature moves eastward at a different velocity, so it is only occasionally that they appear close to each other, such as at the time this picture was taken. The Voyager Mission is conducted by JPL for NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications. |
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Triton - Neptune's largest s
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PIA01994
Neptune
Imaging Science Subsystem -
…
| Title |
Triton - Neptune's largest satellite |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Already intriguing patterns of unknown origin appear on the surface of Neptune's largest satellite, Triton, in this image returned by Voyager 2. The image was taken Aug. 22, 1989, from a distance of 4 million km (2.5 million miles). Voyager images show that Triton's diameter is about 2,720 kn (1,690 miles), and that it is one of the brightest objects in the solar system, reflecting about 70 percent of the sunlight that strikes it. This is the hemisphere of Triton that always faces away from Neptune. The south pole is near the bottom of the image. Triton's rotation axis is tilted so that the latitude at the center of the disk is 55 degrees south. Dark regions at the top of the disk extend from roughly the equator to beyond 20 degrees north. The margin between the bright and dark regions varies with longitude around the satellite. The gray, featureless area just to the right of the center of the disk is due to a reseau (reticule mark) in the camera. Voyager 2 will make its closest approach to Triton on Aug. 25, when it will pass within 40,000 km (25,000 miles) of the satellite. The Voyager Mission is conducted by JPL for NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications. |
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Neptune - three new satellit
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PIA01991
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem -
…
| Title |
Neptune - three new satellites |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This image captured by the Voyager 2 spacecraft was used to confirm the discovery of three new satellites orbiting Neptune. The 46 second exposure was taken by Voyager 2's narrow angle camera through a clear filter on July 30, 1989, when the spacecraft was about 37.3 million kilometers (23.6 million miles) from Neptune. The large globe of the planet itself is severely overexposed and appears pure white. The image has been computer processed to accentuate the new moons, which otherwise would appear little stronger than background noise. The satellite 1989 N1, at right in this frame, was discovered by Voyager 2 in early July 1989. The new satellites confirmed this week are 1989 N2, 1989 N3 and 1989 N4. Each of the moons appears as a small streak, an effect caused by movement of the spacecraft during the long exposure. The new moons occupy nearly circular and equatorial orbits ranging from about 27,300 to 48,300 kilometers (17,000 to 30,000 miles) from Neptune's cloud tops, and are estimated to range in diameter from about 100 to 200 kilometers (about 60 to 125 miles). The Voyager Mission is conducted by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications. |
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Uranus rings
PIA01977
Uranus
Imaging Science Subsystem -
…
| Title |
Uranus rings |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Voyager 2 returned this picture of the Uranus rings on Jan. 22, 1986, from a distance of 2.52 million kilometers (1.56 million miles). All nine known rings are visible in this image, a 15-second exposure through the clear filter on Voyager's narrow-angle camera. The rings are quite dark and very narrow. The most prominent and outermost of the nine, called epsilon, is seen at top. The next three in toward Uranus -- called delta, gamma and eta -- are much fainter and more narrow than the epsilon ring. Then come the beta and alpha rings and finally the innermost grouping, known simply as the 4, 5 and 6 rings. The last three are very faint and are at the limit of detection for the Voyager camera. Uranus' rings range in width from about 100 km (60 mi) at the widest part of the epsilon ring to only a few kilometers for most of the others. This image was processed to enhance these narrow features, the bright dots are imperfections on the camera detector. The resolution scale is approximately 50 km (30 mi). The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. |
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Jupiter Full Disk with Great
…
PIA01509
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem -
…
| Title |
Jupiter Full Disk with Great Red Spot |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This recent photo of Jupiter taken by the television cameras aboard NASA's Voyager 1 is dominated by the Great Red Spot. Although the spacecraft is still 34 million miles (54 million kilometers) from a March 5 closest approach, Voyager's cameras already reveal details within the spot that aren't visible from Earth. An atmospheric system larger than Earth and more than 300 years old, the Great Red Spot remains a mystery and a challenge to Voyager's instruments. Swirling, storm-like features possibly associated with wind shear can be seen both to the left and above the Red Spot. Analysis of motions of the features will lead to a better understanding of weather in Jupiter's atmosphere. This photo was taken Jan. 9, 1979 and reassembled at Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Image Processing Laboratory. JPL manages the Voyager project for NASA. |
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Ariel's Densely Pitted Surfa
…
PIA01534
Uranus
| Title |
Ariel's Densely Pitted Surface |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This mosaic of the four highest-resolution images of Ariel represents the most detailed Voyager 2 picture of this satellite of Uranus. The images were taken through the clear filter of Voyager's narrow-angle camera on Jan. 24, 1986, at a distance of about 130,000 kilometers (80,000 miles). Ariel is about 1,200 km (750 mi) in diameter, the resolution here is 2.4 km (1.5 mi). Much of Ariel's surface is densely pitted with craters 5 to 10 km (3 to 6 mi) across. These craters are close to the threshold of detection in this picture. Numerous valleys and fault scarps crisscross the highly pitted terrain. Voyager scientists believe the valleys have formed over down-dropped fault blocks (graben), apparently, extensive faulting has occurred as a result of expansion and stretching of Ariel's crust. The largest fault valleys, near the terminator at right, as well as a smooth region near the center of this image, have been partly filled with deposits that are younger and less heavily cratered than the pitted terrain. Narrow, somewhat sinuous scarps and valleys have been formed, in turn, in these young deposits. It is not yet clear whether these sinuous features have been formed by faulting or by the flow of fluids. JPL manages the Voyager project for NASA's Office of Space Science. |
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Voyager Approaches Final Fro
…
PIA04927
| Title |
Voyager Approaches Final Frontier |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
An artist's concept illustrates the positions of the Voyager spacecraft in relation to structures formed around our Sun by the solar wind. Also illustrated is the termination shock, a violent region the spacecraft must pass through before reaching the outer limits of the solar system. At the termination shock, the supersonic solar wind abruptly slows from an average speed of 400 kilometers per second to less than 100 kilometer per second (900,000 to less than 225,000 miles per hour). Beyond the termination shock is the solar system's final frontier, the heliosheath, a vast region where the turbulent and hot solar wind is compressed as it presses outward against the interstellar wind that is beyond the heliopause. A bow shock likely forms as the interstellar wind approaches and is deflected around the heliosphere, forcing it into a teardrop-shaped structure with a long, comet-like tail. The exact location of the termination shock is unknown, and it originally was thought to be closer to the Sun than Voyager 1 currently is. As Voyager 1 cruised ever farther from the Sun, it confirmed that all the planets are inside an immense bubble blown by the solar wind and the termination shock was much more distant. |
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Saturn's satellite Rhea
PIA01372
Saturn
Imaging Science Subsystem -
…
| Title |
Saturn's satellite Rhea |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Bright streaks and blotches are visible against a darker back-ground on the surface of Saturn's satellite Rhea, seen in this Voyager 1 image taken Nov. 11, 1980 from a range of 1,925,000 kilometers (1,196,000 miles). Even the dark areas, thought to be water frost and ice, are fairly bright with about 50 percent reflectance. The bright streaks may be related to impacts by objects that throw out pulverized ice grains from beneath the ice-covered surface. Some of the bright streaks are not straight but have a curved appearance similar to the grooved, icy terrain on Jupiter's satellite Ganymede seen in Voyager photographs taken at this resolution. Scientists do knot yet know if a satellite of Rhea's size (approximately 1,500 kilometers or 900 miles in diameter) can have an active thermal history like Ganymede's, but higher resolution photographs taken by Voyager should reveal clues to its history. The Voyager Project is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA. |
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Ariel's transecting valleys
PIA01356
Uranus
Imaging Science Subsystem -
…
| Title |
Ariel's transecting valleys |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This highest-resolution Voyager 2 view of Ariel's terminator shows a complex array of transecting valleys with super-imposed impact craters. Voyager obtained this clear-filter, narrow-angle view from a distance of 130,000 kilometers (80,000 miles) and with a resolution of about 2.4 km (1.5 mi). Particularly striking to Voyager scientists is the fact that the faults that bound the linear valleys are not visible where they transect one another across the valleys. Apparently these valleys were filled with deposits sometime after they were formed by tectonic processes, leaving them flat and smooth. Sinuous rilles (trenches) later formed, probably by some flow process. Some type of fluid flow may well have been involved in their evolution. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. |
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Uranus' largest moon Oberon
PIA01352
Uranus
Imaging Science Subsystem -
…
| Title |
Uranus' largest moon Oberon |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Uranus' outermost and largest moon, Oberon, is seen in this Voyager 2 image, obtained Jan. 22, 1986, from a distance of 2.77 million kilometers (1.72 million miles). The clear-filter image, shuttered by Voyager's narrow-angle camera, shows that Oberon displays several distinct highly reflective (high-albedo) patches with low-albedo centers. Some of the bright patches are suggestive of radial patterns that could represent impact craters excavated from an icy surface. On average, Oberon reflects about 20 percent of the incident sunlight. The moon is about 1,600 km (1,000 mi) in diameter, resolution of this image is 51 km (32 mi). It was taken two days before Voyager's closest approach to Oberon, at which point the spacecraft will be about 471,000 km (293,000 mi) away. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. |
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Neptune - Great Dark Spot, S
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PIA00049
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem -
…
| Title |
Neptune - Great Dark Spot, Scooter, Dark Spot 2 |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This photograph of Neptune was reconstructed from two images taken by Voyager 2's narrow-angle camera, through the green and clear filters. The image shows three of the features that Voyager 2 has been photographing during recent weeks. At the north (top) is the Great Dark Spot, accompanied by bright, white clouds that undergo rapid changes in appearance. To the south of the Great Dark Spot is the bright feature that Voyager scientists have nicknamed 'Scooter'. Still farther south is the feature called 'Dark Spot 2', which has a bright core. Each feature moves eastward at a different velocity, so it is only occasionally that they appear close to each other, such as at the time this picture was taken. The Voyager Mission is conducted by JPL for NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications. |
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Uranus moon - 1985U1
PIA01357
Unknown target/parent relati
…
Imaging Science Subsystem -
…
| Title |
Uranus moon - 1985U1 |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Several craters are seen on the surface of 1985U1, one of several small moons of Uranus discovered by Voyager 2. The spacecraft acquired this single image -- the only close-up it obtained of any of the new moons -- on Jan. 24, 1986. At the time, Voyager was at a distance of about 500,000 kilometers (300,000 miles) from 1985U1, yielding a resolution of about 10 km (6 mi) in this clear-filter, narrow-angle image. The moon was found Dec. 3O, 1985, it was the first and largest of nearly a dozen satellites discovered by the spacecraft cameras. This image shows 1985U1 to be a dark, nearly spherical object, with a diameter of about 150 km (90 mi), the dark surface reflects only 7 percent of the incident light. The picture was inserted into the Voyager encounter sequence late in its development. This image has had a complex history, having been recorded on the spacecraft tape recorder and first played back during the late afternoon of Jan. 24. An antenna-pointing problem at one of the Australian tracking stations led to loss of the data, so the image had to be transmitted a second time. It was successfully received shortly before 6 p.m. PST Jan. 26. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. |
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Dione - circular impact crat
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PIA02265
Saturn
Imaging Science Subsystem -
…
| Title |
Dione - circular impact craters |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Circular impact craters up to about 100 kilometers (60 miles) in diameter are seen in this view of Saturn's icy moon Dione. The image was taken by Voyager 1 from a range of 790,000 kilometers (500,000 miles) at 2:20 a.m. PST on November 12. Bright, wispy markings form complex arcuate patterns on the surface. These markings are slightly brighter than the brightest features seen by Voyager on Jupiter's moons, suggesting that they are surface frost deposits. The patterns of the bright bands hint at an origin due to internal geologic activity, but the resolution is not yet sufficient to prove or disprove this idea. Dione's diameter is only 1100 kilometers (700 miles), much smaller than any of Jupiter's icy moons. It thus belongs to a class of small, icy objects never observed before the Voyager I Saturn encounter. The view here is of the face which trails in orbit. The Voyager Project is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA. |
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Callisto From 7,000,000 kilo
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PIA01511
Jupiter
Imaging Science Subsystem -
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| Title |
Callisto From 7,000,000 kilometers |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This Voyager 1 picture of Callisto, the outermost Galilean satellite, was taken February 28 from a distance of about 5 million miles (7 million kilometers). Callisto is the darkest of the Galilean satellites but is still nearly twice as bright as the Earth's Moon. The surface shows a mottled appearance consisting of bright and dark patches. The bright spots remind scientists of rayed or bright haloed craters, similar to those seen on the Earth's Moon. The Galilean satellites all show the same face to Jupiter -- just as the Earth's Moon always shows us the same face. In this photo we see the face of Callisto that always faces Jupiter. JPL manages and controls the Voyager Project for NASA's Office of Space Science. |
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Saturn's moon Tethys
PIA01399
Saturn
Imaging Science Subsystem -
…
| Title |
Saturn's moon Tethys |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Voyager 2 obtained this view of Saturn's moon Tethys on Aug.25 from a distance of 540,000 kilometers (335,000 miles). It shows the numerous impact craters and fault valleys of a very ancient surface. Tethys itself is 1,090 km. (675 mi.) in diameter, and the great chasm seen at the top of this image extends 1,700 km. (1,050 mi.), halfway across the satellite. The largest impact crater visible here is 90 km. (55 mi.) in diameter. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. |
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High resolution view of Teth
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PIA01386
Saturn
Imaging Science Subsystem -
…
| Title |
High resolution view of Tethys |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This highest-resolution view of Tethys was obtained Aug. 26 when Voyager 2 was 120,000 kilometers (74,500 miles) from this satellite of Saturn. This image was taken 1 1/2 hours after the spacecraft passed through the planet's ring plane. The smallest features visible here are about 2.2 km. (1.4 mi.) across. The heavily cratered terrain implies a very old surface that has changed little since shortly after the solar system formed. Tethys is a bright object made largely of ice, it has a diameter of 1,050 km. (650 mi.). The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. |
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Cratered surface of Tethys
PIA01974
Saturn
Imaging Science Subsystem -
…
| Title |
Cratered surface of Tethys |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
The heavily cratered surface of Tethys was photographed at l:35 a.m. PST on November 12 from a distance of l.2 million kilometers (750,000 miles) by Voyager l. This face of Tethys looks toward Saturn and shows a large valley about 750 kilometers long and 60 kilometers wide (500 by 40 miles). The craters are probably the result of impacts and the valley appears to be a large fracture of unknown origin. The diameter of Tethys is about 1000 kilometers (600 miles) or slightly less than l/3 the size of our Moon. The smallest feature visible on this picture is about 24 kilometers across. The Voyager Project is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA. |
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Saturn's moon Mimas
PIA01968
Saturn
Imaging Science Subsystem -
…
| Title |
Saturn's moon Mimas |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
The cratered surface Saturn's moon Mimas is seen in this image taken by Voyager 1 on Nov. 12, 1980 from a range of 425,000 kilometers (264,000 miles). Impact craters made by the infall of cosmic debris are shown, the largest is more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) in diameter and displays a prominent central peak. The smaller craters are abundant and indicate an ancient age for Mima's surface. The Voyager Project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. |
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Callisto Mosaic
PIA00080
Jupiter
Imaging Science Subsystem -
…
| Title |
Callisto Mosaic |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Callisto was revealed by the Voyager cameras to be a heavily cratered and hence geologically inactive world. This mosaic of Voyager 1 images, obtained on March 6 from a distance of about 400,000 kilometers, shows surface detail as small as 10 kilometers across. The prominent old impact feature Valhalla has a central bright spot about 600 kilometers across, probably representing the original impact basin. The concentric bright rings extend outward about 1500 kilometers from the impact center. |
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Neptune
PIA02222
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem -
…
| Title |
Neptune |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This photo was taken by Voyager 2's wide-angle camera. Light at methane wavelengths is mostly absorbed in the deeper atmosphere. The bright, white feature is a high-altitude cloud just south of the Great Dark Spot. Other, smaller clouds associated with the Great Dark Spot are white, and are also at high altitudes. The Voyager Mission is conducted by JPL for NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications. |
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Neptune's rings
PIA02224
Neptune
Imaging Science Subsystem -
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| Title |
Neptune's rings |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This 591-second exposure of the rings of Neptune were taken with the clear filter by the Voyager 2 wide-angle camera. The two main rings are clearly visible and appear complete over the region imaged. Also visible in this image is the inner faint ring and the faint band which extends smoothly from the ring roughly halfway between the two bright rings. Both of these newly discovered rings are broad and much fainter than the two narrow rings. The bright glare is due to over-exposure of the crescent on Neptune. Numerous bright stars are evident in the background. Both bright rings have material throughout their entire orbit, and are therefore continuous. The Voyager Mission is conducted by JPL for NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications. |
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Triton
PIA02221
Neptune
Imaging Science Subsystem -
…
| Title |
Triton |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This photo of Triton is one of a continuing series of "observatory phase" images obtained by the Voyager spacecraft. Lines inscribed on the image at right form a reference grid used by the Imaging Science Team. The Voyager project is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for the NASA Office of Space Science and Applications. |
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Neptune shadows
PIA02220
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem -
…
| Title |
Neptune shadows |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This image of Neptune shows the discovery of shadows in Neptune's atmosphere, shadows cast onto a deep cloud band by small elevated clouds. They are the first cloud shadows ever seen by Voyager on any planet. Estimates of the height of these discrete clouds above the underlying cloud bank can be obtained by careful analysis of this data. The Voyager Mission is conducted by JPL for NASA'S Office of Space Science and Applications. |
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Northern Hemisphere of Satur
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PIA02230
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem -
…
| Title |
Northern Hemisphere of Saturn |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This image of the northern hemisphere of Saturn was taken by NASA's Voyager 1 on Nov. 5, 1980 at a range of 9 million kilometers (5.5 million miles) shows a variety of features in Saturn's clouds: Small-scale convective cloud features are visible in the dark belt (center), an isolated convective cloud with a dark ring is seen in the lighter zone, and a longitudinal wave is visible in the brighter zone (right of center belt). The smallest features visible in this photograph are 175 kilometers (108.7 miles) across. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. |
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Neptune's clouds
PIA01982
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem -
…
| Title |
Neptune's clouds |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
The bright cirrus-like clouds of Neptune change rapidly, often forming and dissipating over periods of several to tens of hours. In this sequence Voyager 2 observed cloud evolution in the region around the Great Dark Spot (GDS). The surprisingly rapid changes which occur separating each panel shows that in this region Neptune's weather is perhaps as dynamic and variable as that of the Earth. However, the scale is immense by our standards -- the Earth and the GDS are of similar size -- and in Neptune's frigid atmosphere, where temperatures are as low as 55 degrees Kelvin (-360 F), the cirrus clouds are composed of frozen methane rather than Earth's crystals of water ice. The Voyager Mission is conducted by JPL for NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications |
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Titan Haze
PIA01533
Saturn
| Title |
Titan Haze |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Layers of haze covering Saturn's satellite Titan are seen in this image taken by Voyager 1 on Nov. 12, 1980 at a range of 22,000 kilometers (13,700 miles). The colors are false and are used to show details of the haze that covers Titan. The upper level of the thick aerosol above the satellite's limb appears orange. The divisions in the haze occur at altitudes of 200, 375 and 500 kilometers (124, 233 and 310 miles) above the limb of the moon. JPL manages the Voyager project for NASA's Office of Space Science. |
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Post-encounter View of Neptu
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PIA01539
Sol (our sun)
| Title |
Post-encounter View of Neptune's South Pole |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Voyager 2's post-encounter view of Neptune's south pole as the spacecraft sped away on a southward trajectory. JPL manages the Voyager project for NASA's Office of Space Science. |
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