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OUTWARD BOUND VOYAGER--A Tit …
Description OUTWARD BOUND VOYAGER--A Titan-Centaur launch vehicle hurls Voyager 1 from Cape Canaveral toward its rendezvous with Jupiter and Saturn. The launch took place at 5:56 a.m. (PDT) September 5, 1977. Voyager 1 followed Voyager 2 away from Earth, but by the time they reach Jupiter it will be four months ahead of Voyager 2. Voyager 1 will reach Saturn nine months ahead of Voyager 2. The Voyager project is managed by Caltech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Office of Space Science.
Voyager 2 Launch
Title Voyager 2 Launch
Full Description Voyager 2 was launched August 20, 1977, sixteen days before Voyager 1 aboard a Titan-Centaur rocket. Their different flight trajectories caused Voyager 2 to arrive at Jupiter four months later than Voyager 1, thus explaining their numbering. The initial mission plan for Voyager 2 specified visits only to Jupiter and Saturn. The plan was augmented in 1981 to include a visit to Uranus, and again in 1985 to include a flyby of Neptune. After completing the tour of the outer planets in 1989, the Voyager spacecraft began exploring interstellar space. The Voyager mission has been managed by NASA's Office of Space Science and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Date 08/20/1977
NASA Center Kennedy Space Center
Seen here is a full-scale mo …
Description Seen here is a full-scale model of one of the twin Voyager spacecraft, which was sent to explore the giant outer planets in our solar system. Voyager 2 was launched August 20, 1977 followed by the launch of Voyager 1 sixteen days later. Both spacecraft visited Jupiter and Saturn with Voyager 2 continuing its journey to Uranus and Neptune. In spring 1990, Voyager 2 transmitted images looking back across the span of the entire solar system. Both Voyagers continue to explore interstellar space.
S-1 C & BW -62
Voyager 1 looked back at Sat …
12/4/80
Date 12/4/80
Description Voyager 1 looked back at Saturn on Nov. 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. From Saturn, Voyager 1 is on a trajectory taking the spacecraft out of the ecliptic plane, away from the Sun and eventually out of the solar system (by about 1990). Although its mission to Jupiter and Saturn is nearly over (the Saturn encounter ends Dec. 18, 1980), Voyager 1 will be tracked by the Deep Space Network as far as possible in an effort to determine where the influence of the Sun ends and interstellar space begins. Voyager 1's flight path through interstellar space is in the direction of the constellation Ophiuchus. Voyager 2 will reach Saturn on August 25, 1981, and is targeted to encounter Uranus in 1986 and possibly Neptune in 1989. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California. #####
Voyager 2 Launch
title Voyager 2 Launch
date 08.20.1977
description Voyager 2 was launched August 20, 1977, sixteen days before Voyager 1 aboard a Titan-Centaur rocket. Their different flight trajectories caused Voyager 2 to arrive at Jupiter four months later than Voyager 1, thus explaining their numbering. The initial mission plan for Voyager 2 specified visits only to Jupiter and Saturn. The plan was augmented in 1981 to include a visit to Uranus, and again in 1985 to include a flyby of Neptune. After completing the tour of the outer planets in 1989, the Voyager spacecraft began exploring interstellar space. The Voyager mission has been managed by NASA's Office of Space Science and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. *Image Credit*: NASA
Solar System Montage of Voya …
Title Solar System Montage of Voyager Images
Full Description This montage of images taken by the Voyager spacecraft of the planets and four of Jupiter's moons is set against a false-color Rosette Nebula with Earth's moon in the foreground. Studying and mapping Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and many of their moons, Voyager provided scientists with better images and data than they had ever had before or expected from the program. Although launched sixteen days after Voyager 2, Voyager 1's trajectory was a faster path, arriving at Jupiter in March 1979. Voyager 2 arrived about four months later in July 1979. Both spacecraft were then directed to Saturn with Voyager 1 arriving in November 1980 and Voyager 2 in August 1981. Voyager 2 was then diverted to the remaining gas giants, Uranus in January 1986 and Neptune in August 1989. Data collection continues by both Voyager 1 and 2 as the renamed Voyager Interstellar Mission searches for the edge of the solar wind influence (the heliopause) and exits the Solar System. A shortened list of the discoveries of Voyager 1 and 2 include:the discovery of the Uranian and Neptunian magnetospheres (magnetic environments caused by various types of planet cores), the discovery of twenty-two new satellites including three at Jupiter, three at Saturn, ten at Uranus, and six at Neptune, Io was found to have active volcanism (the only other Solar System body than Earth to be confirmed), Triton was found to have active geyser-like structures and an atmosphere, Auroral Zones (where gases become excited after being hit by solar particles) were discovered at Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune, Jupiter was found to have rings, Neptune, originally thought to be too cold to support such atmospheric disturbances, had large-scale storms.
Date UNKNOWN
NASA Center Jet Propulsion Laboratory
First Picture of the Earth a …
Title First Picture of the Earth and Moon in a Single Frame
Full Description This picture of the Earth and Moon in a single frame, the first of its kind ever taken by a spacecraft, was recorded September 18, 1977, but NASAs Voyager 1 when it was 7.25 million miles (11.66 million kilometers) from Earth. The moon is at the top of the picture and beyond the Earth as viewed by Voyager. In the picture are eastern Asia, the western Pacific Ocean and part of the Arctic. Voyager 1 was directly above Mt. Everest (on the night side of the planet at 25 degrees north latitude) when the picture was taken. The photo was made from three images taken through color filters, then processed by the Image Processing Lab at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Because the Earth is many times brighter than the Moon, the Moon was artificially brightened by a factor of three relative to the Earth by computer enhancement so that both bodies would show clearly in the prints. Voyager 1 was launched September 5, 1977 and Voyager 2 on August 20, 1977. JPL is responsible for the Voyager mission.
Date 09/18/1977
NASA Center Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Stereo Saturn
Title Stereo Saturn
Explanation Get out your red/blue glasses [ http://img.arc.nasa.gov/archive/desert96/redblue.html ] and launch [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971016.html ] yourself into this stereo [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/research/stereo_atlas/SS3D.HTM ] picture of Saturn! The picture is actually composed from two images recorded weeks apart by the Voyager 2 spacecraft [ http://vraptor.jpl.nasa.gov/voyager/voyager_fs.html ] during its visit to [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/voyager.html ] the Saturnian System in August of 1981. Traveling at about 35,000 miles per hour, the spacecraft's changing viewpoint from one image to the next produced this exaggerated but pleasing stereo effect [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970404.html ]. Saturn is the second largest planet [ http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/saturn.html ] in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Its spectacular ring system [ http://ringmaster.arc.nasa.gov/saturn/saturn.html ] is so wide that it would span the space between the Earth and Moon. Although they look solid here, Saturn's [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000129.html ] rings consist of individually orbiting bits of ice and rock ranging in size from grains of sand to barn-sized boulders.
Stereo Saturn
Title Stereo Saturn
Explanation Get out your red/blue glasses [ http://img.arc.nasa.gov/archive/desert96/redblue.html ] and launch [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap981224.html ] yourself into this stereo [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/research/stereo_atlas/SS3D.HTM ] picture of Saturn! The picture is actually composed from two images recorded weeks apart by the Voyager 2 spacecraft [ http://vraptor.jpl.nasa.gov/voyager/voyager_fs.html ] during its visit to the Saturnian System [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/voyager.html ] in August of 1981. Traveling at about 35,000 miles per hour, the spacecraft's changing viewpoint from one image to the next produced this exaggerated but pleasing stereo effect [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970404.html ]. Saturn is the second largest planet in the Solar System [ http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/saturn.html ], after Jupiter. Its spectacular ring system [ http://ringmaster.arc.nasa.gov/saturn/saturn.html ] is so wide that it would span the space between the Earth and Moon. Although they look solid here, Saturn's Rings [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap981105.html ] consist of individually orbiting bits of ice and rock ranging in size from grains of sand to barn-sized boulders.
Voyager Tour Montage
Title Voyager Tour Montage
Full Description This montage of images of the planets visited by Voyager 2 was prepared from an assemblage of images taken by the Voyager 2 spacecraft. The Voyager Project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California.
Date 08/01/1989
NASA Center Jet Propulsion Laboratory
S-2 BW-4
Prominent dark spokes are vi …
8/13/81
Date 8/13/81
Description Prominent dark spokes are visible in the outer half of Saturn’s broad B-ring in this Voyager 2 photograph taken on Aug. 3, 1981 from a range of about 22 million kilometers (14 million miles). The features appear as filamentary markings about 12,000 kilometers (7,S00 miles) long, which rotate around the planet with the motion of particles in the rings. The nature of these features, discovered by Voyager 1, is not totally understood, but scientists believe the spokes may be caused by dust levitated above the ring plane by electric fields, Voyager 2 photography of the rings edge-on, scheduled for Aug. 25, 1981, will provide an opportunity to test that theory. Because the Sun is now illuminating the rings from a higher angle, Voyager 2’s photographs reveal ring structure from a greater distance than that seen by Voyager 1 in its November 1980 encounter. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Voyager's Ocean Planet
title Voyager's Ocean Planet
date 09.18.1977
description This picture of the Earth and Moon in a single frame, the first of its kind ever taken by a spacecraft, was recorded September 18, 1977, but NASAs Voyager 1 when it was 7.25 million miles (11.66 million kilometers) from Earth. The moon is at the top of the picture and beyond the Earth as viewed by Voyager. In the picture are eastern Asia, the western Pacific Ocean and part of the Arctic. Voyager 1 was directly above Mt. Everest (on the night side of the planet at 25 degrees north latitude) when the picture was taken. The photo was made from three images taken through color filters, then processed by the Image Processing Lab at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Because the Earth is many times brighter than the Moon, the Moon was artificially brightened by a factor of three relative to the Earth by computer enhancement so that both bodies would show clearly in the prints. Voyager 1 was launched September 5, 1977 and Voyager 2 on August 20, 1977. JPL is responsible for the Voyager mission. *Image Credit*: NASA
First Picture of the Earth a …
The picture of the Earth and …
8/1/08
Description The picture of the Earth and Moon in a single frame, the first of its kind ever taken by a spacecraft, was recorded September 18, 1977, by NASA's Voyager 1 when it was 7.25 million miles (11.66 million kilometers) from Earth.
Date 8/1/08
Jupiter System Montage
Title Jupiter System Montage
Full Description Jupiter and its four planet-size moons, called the Galilean satellites, were photographed in early March 1979 by Voyager 1 and assembled into this collage. They are not to scale but are in their relative positions. Startling new discoveries on the Galilean moons and the planet Jupiter made by Voyager l factored into a new mission design for Voyager 2. Reddish Io (upper left) is nearest Jupiter, then Europa (center), Ganymede and Callisto (lower right). Nine other much smaller satellites circle Jupiter, one inside Io's orbit and the other millions of miles from the planet. Not visible is Jupiter's faint ring of particles, seen for the first time by Voyager 1. The Voyager Project is managed for NASA's Office of Space Science by Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology.
Date 06/22/1979
NASA Center Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Jupiter and the Galilean Sat …
title Jupiter and the Galilean Satellites
description Jupiter and its four planet-size moons, called the Galilean satellites, were photographed in early March by Voyager 1 and assembled into this collage. They are not to scale but are in their relative positions. Startling new discoveries on the Galilean moons and the planet Jupiter made by Voyager 1 have been factored into a new mission design for Voyager 2. Voyager 2 will fly past Jupiter on July 9. Reddish Io (upper left) is nearest Jupiter, then Europa (center), Ganymede and Callisto (lower right). Nine other much smaller satellites circle Jupiter, one inside Io's orbit and the other millions of miles from the planet. Not visible is Jupiter's faint ring of particles, seen for the first time by Voyager 1. The Voyager Project is managed for NASA's Office of Space Science by Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology. *Image Credit*: NASA
Neptune and Tritron
Title Neptune and Tritron
Full Description This image was returned by the Voyager 2 spacecraft on July 3, 1989, when it was 76 million kilometers (47 million miles) from Neptune. The planet and its largest satellite, Triton, are captured in the field of view of Voyager's narrow-angle camera through violet, clear and orange filters. Triton appears in the lower right corner at about 5 o'clock relative to Neptune. Measurements from Voyager images show Triton to be between 1,400 and 1,800 kilometers (about 870 to 1,100 miles) in radius with a surface that is about as bright as freshly fallen snow. Because Triton is barely resolved in current narrow-angle images, it is too early to see features on its surface. Scientists believe Triton has at least a small atmosphere of methane and possibly other gases. During its closest approach to Triton on August 25, 1989, Voyager provided high-resolution views of the moon's icy surface and reveal whether Triton's atmosphere has clouds. JPL manages the Voyager Project for NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications, Washington, DC.
Date 07/27/1989
NASA Center Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Voyager Redux
Description Voyager Redux
Full Description During Cassini's Dec. 26 flyby of Titan, the spacecraft will be in the same region that NASA's Voyager 1 flew by in 1980. Cassini's path through the tail of Titan's magnetic field will provide scientists new data to compare with what Voyager found 25 years ago. + View Flyby Page
Date December 21, 2005
Approaching Jupiter
Title Approaching Jupiter
Explanation In 1979 the Voyager 1 spacecraft [ http://vraptor.jpl.nasa.gov/voyager/voyager_fs.html ] compiled this view as it approached the gas giant Jupiter [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/jupiter.html ]. Snapping a picture every time the Great Red Spot [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960827.html ] was properly aligned, the above time-lapse sequence [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/PIAGenCatalogPage.pl?PIA02259 ] shows not only spot [ http://www.gfdl.gov/~gw/ ] rotation but also the swirling of neighboring clouds [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000429.html ]. Since Jupiter [ http://www.solarviews.com/eng/jupiter.htm ] takes about 10 hours to rotate, this short sequence actually covers several days. Voyager 1 shot past Jupiter [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/jupiter.html ] rapidly taking pictures on which many discoveries [ http://www.solarviews.com/eng/vgrjup.htm ] would be made, including previously unknown cloud patterns [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970920.html ], rings [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980916.html ], moons [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/amalthea.html#adrastea ], and active volcanoes [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960805.html ] on Jupiter's moon Io [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/moons/io.html ]. Voyager is moving so fast that it will one day leave [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980620.html ] our Solar System [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/overview.html ].
5 Million Miles From Io
Title 5 Million Miles From Io
Explanation Twenty years ago this month, NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft [ http://vraptor.jpl.nasa.gov/voyager/sc_instr/I_spacecraft.html ] flew past Jupiter and its moons. This sharp picture of moon Io [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/io.html ] against a background of gas giant Jupiter's [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/jupiter.html ] diffuse swirling cloud bands was recorded by Voyager's camera from [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980919.html ] a distance of about 5 million miles. Even this early image [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/ cgi-bin/PIAGenCatalogPage.pl?PIA00378 ] shows curious round features on Io's surface with dark centers and bright rims more than 40 miles across. Now known to be volcanic in origin [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/ cgi-bin/PIAGenCatalogPage.pl?PIA00744 ], these features were then thought likely to be impact craters, commonly seen on rocky bodies throughout the Solar System [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980517.html ]. But as Voyager [ http://vraptor.jpl.nasa.gov/voyager/record.html ] continued to approach Io, close-up pictures revealed a bizarre world devoid of impact craters, frequently resurfaced by [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970321.html ] volcanic activity. In fact, Io's volcanism is [ http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/planet_volcano/Io/Overview.html ] so intense that subsequent Voyager images produced an astounding discovery - the first observed [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/ cgi-bin/PIAGenCatalogPage.pl?PIA00379 ] extraterrestrial volcanic eruptions.
Voyager at 90 AU
Title Voyager at 90 AU
Explanation Launched in 1977 [ http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/science/planetary.html ], Voyager 1 is now about 12 light-hours or 90 astronomical units [ http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] (AU [ http://einstein.stcloudstate.edu/Dome/clicks/ au.html ]) from the Sun, making this spacecraft humanity's most distant ambassador [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020831.html ] to the cosmos. Well beyond the orbits of the outer planets, Voyager 1 is believed to be entering the realm of deep space [ http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/2003/1105voyager.html ] near the edge of the heliosphere [ http://science.msfc.nasa.gov/ssl/pad/solar/heliosph.htm ], the region dominated by the solar wind and magnetic field. Causing some debate [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/webcast/voyager/ ], new results from instruments still operating have given indications that the spacecraft could finally be encountering a fluctuating boundary known as the solar wind's termination shock. Illustrated above, the bubble-shaped termination shock is produced when the wind from the Sun [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000318.html ] slows dramatically and piles up as it runs in to the tenuous interstellar gas. Still farther out, beyond the heliopause [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020624.html ], solar wind and interstellar gas begin to mix, while the heliosphere's motion through interstellar space creates a bow shock [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap031115.html ], analogous to a boat moving through water. Estimates are that both Voyager 1 and 2 [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/ voyager.html ] have enough power and fuel to operate until about the year 2020. The spacecraft continue to coast toward interstellar space at over 3 AU per year.
A Solar System Portrait
Title A Solar System Portrait
Explanation As the Voyager 1 spacecraft [ http://vraptor.jpl.nasa.gov/voyager/vgrfaqs.html ] headed out of our Solar System [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980517.html ], it looked back and took a parting family portrait [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/photo_gallery/photogallery-solarsystem.html ] of the Sun [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/sol.html ] and planets. From beyond Pluto [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990213.html ], our Solar System looks like a bright star surrounded by faint dots. In the above picture [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/PIAGenCatalogPage.pl?PIA00451 ], the Sun is so bright it is blocked out for contrast. The innermost dots visible, labeled E and V for Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990131.html ] and Venus [ http://www.nasm.edu/ceps/RPIF/VENUS/rpifvenus.html ], are particularly hard to discern. Gas giants Jupiter [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/Jovian.html ] (J) and Saturn [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/saturn.html ] (S) are much more noticeable. The outermost planets visible are Uranus [ http://www.hawastsoc.org/solar/eng/uranus.htm ] (U) and Neptune [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980221.html ] (N). Each planet is shown labeled and digitally enhanced in an inset image. Voyager 1 is only one of four human-made objects to leave our Solar System, the other three being Voyager 2, and Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11.
Titan's thick haze layer
PIA02238
Saturn
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Titan's thick haze layer
Original Caption Released with Image Titan's thick haze layer is shown in this enhanced Voyager 1 image taken Nov. 12, 1980 at a distance of 435,000 kilometers (270,000 miles). Voyager images of Saturn's largest moon show Titan completely enveloped by haze that merges with a darker "hood" or cloud layer over the north pole. Such a mantle is not present at the south pole. At Voyager's closest approach to Titan on Nov. 11, 1980, spacecraft instruments found that the moon has a substantial atmosphere, far denser than that of Mars and possibly denser than Earth's. The Voyager Project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Voyager Tour Montage
PIA01483
Sol (our sun)
Title Voyager Tour Montage
Original Caption Released with Image This montage of images of the planets visited by Voyager 2was prepared from an assemblage of images taken by the 2 Voyager spacecraft. The Voyager Project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California.
Nereid
PIA00054
Neptune
Title Nereid
Original Caption Released with Image Nereid, the last satellite of Neptune to be discovered before Voyager's recent discoveries, was first seen by Gerard Kuiper in 1949. Until this Voyager 2 image was obtained, all that was known about Nereid was its orbital parameters and intrinsic brightness. This Voyager view of Nereid was obtained on Aug. 24, 1989 at a distance of 4.7 million kilometers (2.9 million miles). With a resolution of 43 kilometers (26.6 miles) per pixel, this image has sufficient detail to show the overall size and albedo. Nereid is about 170 kilometers (105 miles) across and reflects about 12 percent of the incident light. The Voyager Mission is conducted by JPL for NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications.
Voyager 1-121
This picture of Io, Jupiter' …
3/9/79
Date 3/9/79
Description This picture of Io, Jupiter's innermost Galilean satellite, was taken by Voyager 1 on the morning of March 5, 1979 at a range of 128,500 kilometers (77,100 miles). It is centered at 8 south latitude and 317 longitude. The width of the picture is about 1000 kilometeters (600 miles). The diffuse reddish and orangish colorations are probably surface deposits of sulfer compounds, salts and possibly other volcanic sublimates. The dark spot with the irregular radiating pattern near the bottom of the picture may be a volcanic crater with radiating lava flows.
Voyager 2-N76
This dramatic view of the cr …
8/29/89
Date 8/29/89
Description This dramatic view of the crescents of Neptune and Triton was acquired by Voyager 2 approximately 3 days, 6 and one-half hours after its closest approach to Neptune. The spacecraft is now plunging southward at an angle of 48 degrees to the plane of the ecliptic. This direction, combined with the current season of southern summer in the Neptune system, gives this picture its unique geometry. The spacecraft was at a distance of 4.86 million kilometers (3 million miles) from Neptune when these images were shuttered so the smallest detail discernible is approximately 90 kilometers (56 miles). Color was produced using images taken through the narrow-angle camera's clear, orange and green filters. Neptune does not appear as blue from this viewpoint because the forward scattering nature of its atmosphere is more important than its absorption of red light at this high phase angle (134 degrees).The Voyager Mission is conducted by JPL for NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications.
Voyager 2-N77
Voyager 2 obtained this high …
8/29/89
Date 8/29/89
Description Voyager 2 obtained this high-resolution color image of Neptune's large satellite Triton during its close flyby on Aug. 25, 1989. Approximately a dozen individual images were combined to produce this comprehensive view of the Neptune-facing hemisphere of Triton. Fine detail is provided by high-resolution, clear-filter images, with color information added from lower-resolution frames. The large south polar cap at the bottom of the image is highly reflective and slightly pink in color, it may consist of a slowly evaporating layer of nitrogen ice deposited during the previous winter. From the ragged edge of the polar cap northward the satellite's face is generally darker and redder in color. This coloring may be produced by the action of ultraviolet light and magnetospheric radiation upon methane in the atmosphere and surface. Running across this darker region, approximately parallel to the edge of the polar cap, is a band of brighter white material that is almost bluish in color. The underlying topography in this bright band is similar, however to that in the darker, redder regions surrounding it. The Voyager Mission is conducted by JPL for NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications. #####
Voyager 2
This picture of Neptune was …
4/2/90
Date 4/2/90
Description This picture of Neptune was produced from the last whole planet images taken through the green and orange filters on the Voyager 2 narrow angle camera. The images were taken at a range of 4.4 million miles from the planet, 4 days and 20 hours before closest approach. The picture shows the Great Dark Spot and its companion bright smudge, on the west limb the fast moving bright feature called Scooter and the little dark spot are visible. These clouds were seen to persist for as long as Voyager's cameras could resolve them. North of these, a bright cloud band similar to the south polar streak may be seen. The Voyager Mission is conducted by JPL for NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications.
Launch of Titan III-Centaur, …
Name of Image Launch of Titan III-Centaur, Voyager 1
Date of Image 1977-09-05
Full Description The Voyager 1 aboard the Titan III/Centaur lifted off on September 5, 1977, joining its sister spacecraft, the Voyager 2, on a mission to the outer planets.
The Voyagers' Message in a B …
Title The Voyagers' Message in a Bottle
Explanation Launched thirty years ago [ http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/index.html ], NASA's Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft are now respectively 15 and 12.5 billion kilometers from the Sun, equivalent to about 14 and 11.5 light-hours distant. Still functioning [ http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/ weekly-reports/index.htm ], the Voyagers are being tracked and commanded through the Deep Space Network [ http://deepspace.jpl.nasa.gov/dsn/ ]. Having traveled beyond the outer planets, they are only the third and fourth spacecraft from planet Earth to escape toward [ http://heavens-above.com/solar-escape.asp?/ ] interstellar space, following in the footsteps of Pioneer 10 and 11 [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/ pioneer10-11.html ]. A 12-inch gold plated copper disk (a phonograph [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonograph_record ] record) containing recorded sounds and images representing human cultures and life on Earth, is affixed to each Voyager - a message in a bottle [ http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/goldenrec.html ] cast into the cosmic sea. The recorded material was selected by a committee chaired by astronomer Carl Sagan [ http://www.carlsagan.com/ ]. Simple diagrams [ http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/images/ VgrCover.jpg ] on the cover symbolically represent the spacecraft's origin and give instructions for playing the disk. The exotic construction of the disks should provide them with a long lifetime as they coast through interstellar space [ http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/ interstellar.html ].
Uranus
Title Uranus
Full Description This computer enhancement of a Voyager 2 image, emphasizes the high-level haze in Uranus' upper atmosphere. Clouds are obscured by the overlying atmosphere. JPL manages and controls the Voyager project for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC.
Date 01/01/1986
NASA Center Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Surface Changes on Io
PIA00713
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
Title Surface Changes on Io
Original Caption Released with Image Four views of an unnamed volcanic center (latitude 11, longitude 337) on Jupiter's moon Io showing changes seen on June 27th, 1996 by the Galileo spacecraft as compared to views seen by the Voyager spacecraft during the 1979 flybys. Clockwise from upper left is a Voyager 1 high resolution image, a Voyager 1 color image, a Galileo color image, and a Voyager 2 color image. North is to the top of the picture. This area has experienced many changes in appearance since Voyager images were acquired, including new dark and bright deposits. This region was a hot spot during Voyager 1. Images are 762 km wide. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo
Io
PIA01362
Jupiter
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Io
Original Caption Released with Image Voyager 2 took this picture of Io on the evening of July 9, 1979, from a range of 1.2 million kilometers. On the limb of Io are two blue volcanic eruption plumes about 100 kilometers high. These two plumes were first seen by Voyager 1 in March, 1979, and are designated Plume 5 (upper) and Plume 6 (lower). They have apparently been erupting for a period of at least 4 months and probably longer. A total of six plumes have been seen by Voyager 2, all of which were first seen by Voyager 1. The largest plume viewed by Voyager 1 (Plume 1) is no longer erupting. Plume 4 was not viewed on the edge of the moon's disc by Voyager 2 and therefore it is not known whether or not it is still erupting. This picture is one of a series taken to monitor the eruptions over a 6 hour period.
Jupiter System Montage
PIA01481
Sol (our sun)
Title Jupiter System Montage
Original Caption Released with Image Jupiter and its four planet-size moons, called the Galilean satellites, were photographed in early March by Voyager 1 and assembled into this collage. They are not to scale but are in their relative positions. Startling new discoveries on the Galilean moons and the planet Jupiter made by Voyager 1 have been factored into a new mission design for Voyager 2. Voyager 2 will fly past Jupiter on July 9. Reddish Io (upper left) is nearest Jupiter, then Europa (center), Ganymede and Callisto (lower right). Nine other much smaller satellites circle Jupiter, one inside Io's orbit and the other millions of miles from the planet. Not visible is Jupiter's faint ring of particles, seen for the first time by Voyager 1. The Voyager Project is managed for NASA's Office of Space Science by Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology.
Crescent Earth and Moon
PIA00013
Sol (our sun)
Title Crescent Earth and Moon
Original Caption Released with Image This picture of a crescent-shaped Earth and Moon -- the first of its kind ever taken by a spacecraft -- was recorded Sept. 18, 1977, by NASA's Voyager 1 when it was 7.25 million miles (11.66 million kilometers) from Earth. The Moon is at the top of the picture and beyond the Earth as viewed by Voyager. In the picture are eastern Asia, the western Pacific Ocean and part of the Arctic. Voyager 1 was directly above Mt. Everest (on the night side of the planet at 25 degrees north latitude) when the picture was taken. The photo was made from three images taken through color filters, then processed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Image Processing Lab. Because the Earth is many times brighter than the Moon, the Moon was artificially brightened by a factor of three relative to the Earth by computer enhancement so that both bodies would show clearly in the print. Voyager 2 was launched Aug. 20, 1977, followed by Voyager 1 on Sept. 5, 1977, en route to encounters at Jupiter in 1979 and Saturn in 1980 and 1981. JPL manages the Voyager mission for NASA's Office of Space Science.
Saturn's B-ring
PIA02274
Saturn
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Saturn's B-ring
Original Caption Released with Image Prominent dark spokes are visible in the outer half of Saturn?s broad B-ring in this Voyager 2 photograph taken on Aug. 3, 1981 from a range of about 22 million kilometers (14 million miles). The features appear as filamentary markings about 12,000 kilometers (7,S00 miles) long, which rotate around the planet with the motion of particles in the rings. The nature of these features, discovered by Voyager 1, is not totally understood, but scientists believe the spokes may be caused by dust levitated above the ring plane by electric fields, Voyager 2 photography of the rings edge-on, scheduled for Aug. 25, 1981, will provide an opportunity to test that theory. Because the Sun is now illuminating the rings from a higher angle, Voyager 2's photographs reveal ring structure from a greater distance than that seen by Voyager 1 in its November 1980 encounter. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Crescent-shaped Earth and Mo …
PIA01967
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Crescent-shaped Earth and Moon
Original Caption Released with Image This picture of a crescent-shaped Earth and Moon -- the first of its kind ever taken by a spacecraft -- was recorded Sept. 18, 1977, by NASA's Voyager 1 when it was 7.25 million miles (11.66 million kilometers) from Earth. The Moon is at the top of the picture and beyond the Earth as viewed by Voyager. In the picture are eastern Asia, the western Pacific Ocean and part of the Arctic. Voyager 1 was directly above Mt. Everest (on the night side of the planet at 25 degrees north latitude) when the picture was taken. The photo was made from three images taken through color filters, then processed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Image Processing Lab. Because the Earth is many times brighter than the Moon, the Moon was artificially brightened by a factor of three relative to the Earth by computer enhancement so that both bodies would show clearly in the print. Voyager 2 was launched Aug. 20, 1977, followed by Voyager 1 on Sept. 5, 1977, en route to encounters at Jupiter in 1979 and Saturn in 1980 and 1981. JPL manages the Voyager mission for NASA.
Neptune Hurricanes
title Neptune Hurricanes
date 08.24.1989
description Voyager 2 sent back this stunning image of storms at work in Neptune's windy atmosphere in August 1989. 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 photographed during its Neptune flyby. 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 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. Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to visit Neptune. *Image Credit*: NASA
Uranus Ring System
title Uranus Ring System
description This dramatic Voyager 2 picture reveals a continuous distribution of small particles throughout the Uranus ring system. Voyager took this image while in the shadow of Uranus, at a distance of 236,000 kilometers (142,000 miles and a resolution of about 33 km (20 ml). This unique geometry -- the highest phase angle at which Voyager imaged the rings -- allows us to see lanes of fine dust particles not visible from other viewing angles. All the previously known rings are visible here, however, some of the brightest features in the image are bright dust lanes not previously seen. The combination of this unique geometry and a long, 96 second exposure allowed this spectacular observation, acquired through the clear filter of Voyager's wide-angle camera. The long exposure produced a noticeable, non-uniform smear as well as streaks due to trailed stars. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. *Image Credit*: JPL
Saturn's Shadow
title Saturn's Shadow
date 11.16.1980
description Voyager 1 looked back at Saturn on Nov. 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. From Saturn, Voyager 1 is on a trajectory taking the spacecraft out of the ecliptic plane, away from the Sun and eventually out of the solar system (by about 1990). Although its mission to Jupiter and Saturn is nearly over (the Saturn encounter ends Dec. 18, 1980), Voyager 1 will be tracked by the Deep Space Network as far as possible in an effort to determine where the influence of the Sun ends and interstellar space begins. Voyager 1's flight path through interstellar space is in the direction of the constellation Ophiuchus. *Image Credit*: NASA
Io
PIA01989
Jupiter
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Io
Original Caption Released with Image This Voyager 2 picture of Io was taken in ultraviolet light on the evening of July 4, 1979, at a range of 4.7 million kilometers (2.9 million miles). The bright spot on the right limb is one of the volcanic eruption plumes first photographed by Voyager 1. 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. This suggests that the volcanos on Io probably are in continuous eruption.
Artist's Concept of Voyager
PIA04495
Title Artist's Concept of Voyager
Original Caption Released with Image This artist's concept of the Voyager spacecraft with its antenna pointing to Earth. The identical Voyager spacecraft are three-axis stabilized systems that use celestial or gyro referenced attitude control to maintain pointing of the high-gain antennas toward Earth. The prime mission science payload consisted of 10 instruments (11 investigations including radio science). Only five investigator teams are still supported, though data are collected for two additional instruments.
Saturn's faint inner D-ring
PIA01388
Saturn
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Saturn's faint inner D-ring
Original Caption Released with Image Voyager 2 took this picture of Saturn's faint inner D-ring Aug. 25 about 1 hour 48 minutes before the spacecraft's closest approach to Saturn. The range was 195,400 kilometers (121,300 miles) and phase angle was 166`. This view includes the sun's shadow across the ring. Voyager 1 saw this region in a similar view last fall, but this higher-resolution image shows many more ringlets and gaps. The D-ring is very tenuous and has an extremely small optical depth. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Exploring Saturn's Rings
Title Exploring Saturn's Rings
Explanation By watching a star flicker and fade as it passed behind Saturn's rings, NASA's Voyager 2 [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/voyager.html ] spacecraft was able explore the ring system in amazing detail. Data produced by Voyager's instruments as the star Delta Scorpii was occulted by some of the outer rings was used to reconstruct this image which shows details almost 1000 times smaller than normally possible with Voyager's cameras. For more information about the picture see the NASA, JPL press release [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/photo_gallery/caption/saturn_f_ring.txt ]. Tomorrow's picture: Crossing the Ring Plane
Voyager
title Voyager
description An artist's impression of the Voyager spacecraft. *Image Credit*: NASA
First Close-up Image of Jupi …
PIA00029
Sol (our sun)
Title First Close-up Image of Jupiter from Voyager 1
Original Caption Released with Image NASA'S Voyager 1 took this picture of the planet Jupiter on Saturday, Jan. 6, the first in its three-month-long, close-up investigation of the largest planet. The spacecraft, flying toward a March 5 closest approach, was 35.8 million miles (57.6 million kilometers) from Jupiter and 371.7 million miles (598.2 million kilometers) from Earth when the picture was taken. As the Voyager cameras begin their meteorological surveillance of Jupiter, they reveal a dynamic atmosphere with more convective structure than had previously been thought. While the smallest atmospheric features seen in this picture are still as large as 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) across, Voyager will be able to detect individual storm systems as small as 3 miles (5 kilometers) at closest approach. The Great Red Spot can be seen near the limb at the far right. Most of the other features are too small to be seen in terrestrial telescopes. This picture is really a combination of three images taken through color filters, then transmitted to Jet Propulsion Laboratory through the Deep Space Network's antennas, and assembled by JPL's Image Processing Lab. The Voyager Project is managed for NASA by Caltech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Voyager 2 Looks at Saturn's …
title Voyager 2 Looks at Saturn's Rings
date 08.17.1981
description Voyager 2 false-color image of Saturn's rings. Subtle color variations due to differences in surface composition of the particles making up the rings are enhanced in this image produced by combining ultraviolet, clear, and orange frames. The frame was taken from a distance of 8.9 million km on August 17, 9 days before closest approach, and measures about 68,000 km from top to bottom. (Voyager 2, P-23953) *Image Credit*: NASA
Voyager 2 Launch
title Voyager 2 Launch
date 08.20.1977
description Voyager 2 was launched on August 20, 1977, from the NASA Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral in Florida, propelled into space on a Titan/Centaur rocket. JPL manages and controls the Voyager project for NASA's Office of Space Science. *Image Credit*: NASA
Launch of Titan III-Centaur, …
Name of Image Launch of Titan III-Centaur, Voyager 2
Date of Image 1977-08-20
Full Description The Voyager 2 aboard Titan III-Centaur launch vehicle lifted off on August 20, 1977. The Voyager 2 was a scientific satellite to study the Jupiter and the Saturn planetary systems including their satellites and Saturn's rings.
Neptune - partial rings
Title Neptune - partial rings
Description One of two new ring arcs, or partial rings, discovered today by NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft, is faintly visible here just outside the orbit of the Neptunian moon 1989N4, also discovered by Voyager 2 earlier this month. The 155 second exposure taken by Voyager's narrow-angle camera shows the glare of an overexposed Neptune to the right of the moon and ring arc. The two bright streaks below the moon and ring arc are stars. The ring arc is approximately 50,000 kilometers (or 30,000 miles) long. (The second ring arc, not apparent here, is approximately 10,000 kilometers (6,000 miles) long and is associated with the moon 1989N3.) The ring arc, along with 1989N4, orbits about 62,000 kilometers (38,000 miles) from the planet's center, or about 37,000 kilometers (23,000 miles) from the planet's cloud tops. Astronomers have long suspected the existence of such an irregular ring system around Neptune. Data from repeated ground based observations hinted at the existence of irregular strands of partial rings orbiting Neptune. Voyager's photographs of the ring arcs are the first photographic evidence that such a ring system exists. Voyager scientists said the ring arcs may be comprised of debris associated with the nearby moons, or may be the remnants of moons that have been torn apart or ground down through collisions. Close-up studies of the ring arcs by Voyager 2 in coming days should help determine their composition. The Voyager mission is conducted by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications.
Date 08.11.1989
S-1 C/BW -59
This montage of images of th …
11/17/80
Date 11/17/80
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.
View of Saturn's rings
PIA01389
Saturn
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title View of Saturn's rings
Original Caption Released with Image This was one of the first pictures obtained once Voyager 2 resumed returning images Aug. 29 after its scan platform was commanded to view Saturn. Problems with the platform, on which Voyager's cameras and other instruments are mounted, had prevented the return of images for a few days. This view shows some detail and differences in the complex system of rings. The "reddening" of the B-ring on the unlit side also was seen in Voyager 1 images. Voyager 2 obtained this picture from a range 3.4 million kilometers (2.1 million miles) through the clear, green and violet filters. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Saturn's north temperate reg …
PIA01375
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Saturn's north temperate region
Original Caption Released with Image This comparison shows Saturn?s north temperate region as viewed Nov. 5, 1980, by Voyager 1 (left) and Aug. 21 by its sister craft, Voyager 2, from a range of 5 million kilometers (3.1 million miles). The large bright oval feature in the lower right of each frame measures about 2,500 km. (1,550 mi.) across. This feature, a gigantic storm system in the planet?s atmosphere, was first observed by Voyager 1 almost exactly one year ago. Thus, as on Jupiter, some storms in Saturn?s atmosphere are quite long-lived compared to their smaller terrestrial counterparts. By contrast, the pattern of convective disturbances to the north (upper right) undergoes rapid changes in a matter of even a few days. In some respects, these features resemble gigantic thunderstorms. The largest bright feature in the Voyager 1 photograph extends about 7,500 km. (4,650 mi.) from north to south. These giant storms lie within one of the strongest westward-flowing currents observed in the atmosphere, with wind speeds of about 20 meters-per-second (45 mph). The smallest visible features here are about 100 km. (62 mi.) across. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Changes around Marduk betwee …
PIA01066
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
Title Changes around Marduk between Voyager, and Galileo's first two orbits
Original Caption Released with Image Detail of changes around Marduk on Jupiter's moon Io as seen by Voyager 1 in 1979 (upper left) and NASA's Galileo spacecraft between June 1996 (lower left) and September 1996 (upper and lower right). The new dark red linear feature extending southeast from Marduk is about 250 kilometers long and may be a volcanic fissure. The flow-like feature at the bottom of the images is distinct in the Voyager data, indistinct in the June Galileo data, but distinct again in the September Galileo data. This may be due to the different lighting conditions rather than volcanic activity. The Voyager 1 image uses the green, blue, and violet filters. The upper right September 1996 image from Galileo uses the violet and green filters of the solid state imaging system aboard the Galileo spacecraft and a synthetic blue to simulate Voyager colors. The lower June and September, 1996 Galileo images use the imaging system's near-infrared (756 nm), green, and violet filters. North is to the top in all frames. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. JPL is an operating division of California Institute of Technology (Caltech). This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo
Saturn's A-ring
PIA01952
Saturn
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Saturn's A-ring
Original Caption Released with Image Voyager 2 cameras acquired this photograph of Saturn's A-ring Aug. 26 from a distance of 227,800 kilometers (141,500 miles). This view of the ring's outer edge shows a small bright, clumpy ring within the Encke Gap (center of this image) that exhibits kinks reminiscent of those observed in the F-ring by Voyager 1 last fall but not by Voyager 2. Voyager 1 saw two similar clumpy rings in this region at much lower resolution. Also visible are a bright ringlet at the very outer edge of the A-ring and several bright wave patterns in the Encke region. The small bright patch on the inner edge of the Encke Gap near the ring is an artifact of processing. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Neptune - dark oval
PIA01990
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Neptune - dark oval
Original Caption Released with Image The large, dark oval spot in Neptune's atmosphere is just coming into view in this picture returned from the Voyager 2 spacecraft on June 30, 1989. The spacecraft was about 83 million kilometers (51.5 million miles) from Neptune. Voyager scientists are interested in the dark oval cloud system, a very large system similar to Jupiter's Great Red Spot. Contrast of the features in Neptune's atmosphere is similar to that obtained at Saturn at about this same distance and lighting, whereas the features are similar to those seen at Jupiter. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the Voyager Project for NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications.
Voyager 1 Jupiter Southern H …
PIA02258
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Voyager 1 Jupiter Southern Hemisphere Movie
Original Caption Released with Image This movie shows a portion of Jupiter in the southern hemisphere over 17Jupiter days. Above the white belt, notice the series of atmospheric vortices headed west. Even these early approach frames show wild dynamics in the roiling environment south of the white belt. Notice the small tumbling white cloud near the center. As Voyager 1 approached Jupiter in 1979, it took images of the planet at regular intervals. This sequence is made from 17 images taken once every Jupiter rotation period (about 10 hours). These images were acquired in the Blue filter around Feb. 1, 1979. The spacecraft was about 37 million kilometers from Jupiter at that time. This time-lapse movie was produced at JPL by the Image Processing Laboratory in 1979.
This view of Jupiter was tak …
PIA01384
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title This view of Jupiter was taken by Voyager 1
Original Caption Released with Image This view of Jupiter was taken by Voyager 1. This image was taken through color filters and recombined to produce the color image. This photo was assembled from three black and white negatives by the Image Processing Lab at Jet Propulsion Laboratory. JPL manages and controls the VOyager project for NASA's Office of Space Science.
A view of Saturn's F-ring
PIA01382
Saturn
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title A view of Saturn's F-ring
Original Caption Released with Image Voyager 2 obtained this picture of Saturn's F-ring on Aug. 26 just before the spacecraft crossed the planet's ring plane. This edge-on view, taken from a range of 103,000 kilometers (64,000 miles), shows nearly 25` of the F-ring, with at least four distinct components visible. Voyager's photopolarimeter conducted a higher-resolution scan through another part of the ring, showing it to be composed of even more distinct ringlets than this frame would indicate. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Voyager 2 Launch
PIA01480
Sol (our sun)
Title Voyager 2 Launch
Original Caption Released with Image Voyager 2 was launched on August 20, 1977, from the NASA Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral in Florida, propelled into space on a Titan/Centaur rocket. JPL manages and controls the Voyager project for NASA's Office of Space Science.
Saturn's rings - high resolu …
PIA02275
Saturn
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Saturn's rings - high resolution
Original Caption Released with Image Voyager 2 obtained this high-resolution picture of Saturn's rings Aug. 22, when the spacecraft was 4 million kilometers (2.5 million miles) away. Evident here are the numerous "spoke" features, in the B-ring, their very sharp, narrow appearance suggests short formation times. Scientists think electromagnetic forces are responsible in some way for these features, but no detailed theory has been worked out. Pictures such as this and analyses of Voyager 2's spoke movies may reveal more clues about the origins of these complex structures. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Neptune Full Disk View
Title Neptune Full Disk View
Full Description This picture of Neptune was produced from the last whole planet images taken through the green and orange filters on the Voyager 2 narrow angle camera. The images were taken at a range of 4.4 million miles from the planet, 4 days and 20 hours before closest approach. The picture shows the Great Dark Spot and its companion bright smudge, on the west limb the fast moving bright feature called Scooter and the little dark spot are visible. These clouds were seen to persist for as long as Voyager's cameras could resolve them. North of these, a bright cloud band similar to the south polar streak may be seen. Years later, when the Hubble telescope was focused on the planet, these atmospheric features had changed, indicating that Neptune's atmosphere is dynamic. The Voyager Mission is conducted by JPL for NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications, Washington, DC.
Date 04/02/1990
NASA Center Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Saturn's B-ring
Title Saturn's B-ring
Description Prominent dark spokes are visible in the outer half of Saturn's broad B-ring in this Voyager 2 photograph taken on Aug. 3, 1981 from a range of about 22 million kilometers (14 million miles). The features appear as filamentary markings about 12,000 kilometers (7,S00 miles) long, which rotate around the planet with the motion of particles in the rings. The nature of these features, discovered by Voyager 1, is not totally understood, but scientists believe the spokes may be caused by dust levitated above the ring plane by electric fields, Voyager 2 photography of the rings edge-on, scheduled for Aug. 25, 1981, will provide an opportunity to test that theory. Because the Sun is now illuminating the rings from a higher angle, Voyager 2's photographs reveal ring structure from a greater distance than that seen by Voyager 1 in its November 1980 encounter. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Date 08.13.1981
Miranda as seen by Voyager 2
Title Miranda as seen by Voyager 2
Full Description Flying by in early 1986, Voyager 2 captured this picture of Miranda, which enabled scientists to study this moon of Uranus in much greater detail than ever before. Discovered in 1948 by Gerard Peter Kuiper, Miranda is named for the daughter of the wily Prospero in Shakespeare's "The Tempest." It is the eleventh known satellite of Uranus and the innermost large moon of Uranus It was necessary that Voyager 2 passed by Miranda, not for scientific reasons, but simply for the gravity assist it needed to go on to Neptune. Due to the position of the entire Solar System, Miranda provided the energy to throw Voyager 2 to Neptune. Before Voyager, Miranda was largely ignored as it is not the largest moon and did not seem to have any other outstanding qualities. Fortunately, however, Voyager passed close enough to Miranda to provide scientists with fascinating photographs that captivated astronomers. About half ice and half rock, Miranda's surface has terraced layers that indicate both older and new surfaces coexisting. Since the mixing of ancient and recent surfaces is rare in planetary geology, scientists have postulated two explanations for the different ages of the numerous valleys and cliffs on Miranda. One theory is that Miranda could have shattered as many as five times and was then reassembled. Another hypothesis is that partly melted ice upwells forced new surfaces to emerge.
Date 01/25/1986
NASA Center Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Closeup of an Io Volcano
Title Closeup of an Io Volcano
Explanation In 1979, one of NASA's Voyager [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/voyager.html ] spacecraft made a spectacular and unexpected discovery. Io, [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950803.html ] the innermost Galilean moon of Jupiter, was covered with volcanoes and some of them were erupting! In all, Voyager 1 observed nine volcanic eruptions during its encounter with the moon. When Voyager 2 flew past four months later it was able to confirm that at least six of them were still erupting. This Voyager image of Ra Patera, a large shield volcano, shows colorful flows up to about 200 miles long emanating from the dark central volcanic vent. For more information about volcanism on Io, see Calvin J. Hamilton's Io page [ http://www.c3.lanl.gov/~cjhamil/SolarSystem/io.html ] Tomorrow's picture: Geysers on Triton
Saturn's Moon Tethys
Title Saturn's Moon Tethys
Explanation Tethys [ http://www.c3.lanl.gov/~cjhamil/SolarSystem/tethys.html ] is one of the larger and closer moons of Saturn [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap951018.html ]. It was visited by both Voyager spacecraft - Voyager 1 in November 1980 and by Voyager 2 in August 1981. Tethys [ http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/tethys.html ] is now known to be composed almost completely of water ice. Tethys shows a large impact crater that nearly circles the planet. That the impact that caused this crater did not disrupt the moon is taken as evidence that Tethys was not completely frozen in its past. Tethys has two moons named Telesto [ http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/tethys.html#telesto ] and Calypso [ http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/tethys.html#calypso ] that orbit just ahead of it and behind it. Tethys was originally discovered in 1684 by Giovanni Cassini.
Southern Neptune
Title Southern Neptune
Explanation Neptune [ http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/neptune.html ], the Solar System's outermost gas giant planet, is 30 times farther from the Sun than Earth. Twelve years after a 1977 launch [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/voyager.html ], Voyager 2 flew by Neptune and found surprising activity on a planet [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap961028.html ] that receives only 3 percent as much sunlight as Jupiter [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970310.html ]. In its brief but tantalizing close-up glimpse of this dim and distant world [ http://vraptor.jpl.nasa.gov/voyager/vgrnep_fs.html ], the robot spacecraft recorded pulses of radio emission, zonal cloud bands, and large scale storm systems with up to 1500 mile per hour winds - the strongest measured on any planet. This mosaic of 5 Voyager images [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/imgcat/html/object_page/vg2_p34628.html ] shows Neptune's Southern Hemisphere. Cloud bands and the Earth-sized, late "Great Dark Spot" [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960508.html ] with trailing white clouds located at about 22 degrees southern latitude are clearly visible. The distance from the Great Dark Spot feature to Neptune's South Pole [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap951222.html ] (image center) is about 17,000 miles.
Montage of Saturnian system …
Name of Image Montage of Saturnian system by Voyager 1 spacecraft
Date of Image 1980-12-17
Full Description Voyager 1 passed the Saturnian system in November 1980, nine months later Voyager 2 passed through this same system. The ensuing scientific discoveries were unprecedented with regards to the rings around Saturn and its satellite's chemical makeup. Pictured are: Saturn (shown with rings), Dione (forefront), Tethys and Mimas (lower right), Enceladus and Rhea (upper left) and Titan in distant orbit (upper right).
A79-7076
Photographer: JPL P-21741 BW …
3/2/79
Description Photographer: JPL P-21741 BW Range: 2.6 million kilometers (1.6 million miles) This picture of Io, taken by Voyager 1, shows the region of the Jovian moon which will be monitored for volcanic eruptions by Voyager 2 during the "Io movie" sequence. The white and orange patches probably are deposits of sulphur compounds and other volcanic materials. The Voyager 2 pictures of this region will be much more detailed.
Date 3/2/79
AC79-7076
Photographer: JPL P-21741 C …
3/2/79
Description Photographer: JPL P-21741 C Range: 2.6 million kilometers (1.6 million miles) This picture of Io, taken by Voyager 1, shows the region of the Jovian moon which will be monitored for volcanic eruptions by Voyager 2 during the "Io movie" sequence. The white and orange patches probably are deposits of sulphur compounds and other volcanic materials. The Voyager 2 pictures of this region will be much more detailed.
Date 3/2/79
Voyager Trajectory
title Voyager Trajectory
description A diagram of the trajectories that enabled NASA's twin Voyager spacecraft to tour the four gas giant planets and achieve velocity to escape our solar system. *Image Credit*: NASA
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 This enhanced-color image was created by combining three images taken through ultraviolet, violet and green filters on July 12, 1981. Several changes were apparent in Saturn's atmosphere since Voyager 1's November 1980 encounter, and the planet's rings had brightened considerably due to the higher sun angle. Voyager 2 was 43 million kilometers (27 million miles) from Saturn when it took this photograph. (P-23880)
Nereid
Title Nereid
Description Nereid, the last satellite of Neptune to be discovered before Voyager's recent discoveries, was first seen by Gerard Kuiper in 1949. Until this Voyager 2 image was obtained, all that was known about Nereid was its orbital parameters and intrinsic brightness. This Voyager view of Nereid was obtained on Aug. 24, 1989 at a distance of 4.7 million kilometers (2.9 million miles). With a resolution of 43 kilometers (26.6 miles) per pixel, this image has sufficient detail to show the overall size and albedo. Nereid is about 170 kilometers (105 miles) across and reflects about 12 percent of the incident light. The Voyager Mission is conducted by JPL for NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications.
Date 08.26.1989
Titan's thick haze layer
Title Titan's thick haze layer
Description Titan's thick haze layer is shown in this enhanced Voyager 1 image taken Nov. 12, 1980 at a distance of 435,000 kilometers (270,000 miles). Voyager images of Saturn's largest moon show Titan completely enveloped by haze that merges with a darker "hood" or cloud layer over the north pole. Such a mantle is not present at the south pole. At Voyager's closest approach to Titan on Nov. 11, 1980, spacecraft instruments found that the moon has a substantial atmosphere, far denser than that of Mars and possibly denser than Earth's. The Voyager Project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Date 11.14.1980
Neptune and Triton
PIA01491
Sol (our sun)
Title Neptune and Triton
Original Caption Released with Image This image was returned by the Voyager 2 spacecraft on July 3, 1989, when it was 76 million kilometers (47 million miles) from Neptune. The planet and its largest satellite, Triton, are captured in the field of view of Voyager's narrow-angle camera through violet, clear and orange filters. Triton appears in the lower right corner at about 5 o'clock relative to Neptune. Recent measurements from Voyager images show Triton to be between 1,400 and 1,800 kilometers (about 870 to 1,100 miles) in radius with a surface that is about as bright as freshly fallen snow. Because Triton is barely resolved in current narrow-angle images, it is too early to see features on its surface. Scientists believe Triton has at least a small atmosphere of methane and possibly other gases. During its closest approach to Triton on August 25, 1989, Voyager should provide high-resolution views of the moon's icy surface and reveal whether Triton's atmosphere has clouds. JPL manages the Voyager Project for NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications.
Uranus - Final Image
PIA00143
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Uranus - Final Image
Original Caption Released with Image This view of Uranus was recorded by Voyager 2 on Jan 25, 1986, as the spacecraft left the planet behind and set forth on the cruise to Neptune Voyager was 1 million kilometers (about 600,000 miles) from Uranus when it acquired this wide-angle view. The picture -- a color composite of blue, green and orange frames -- has a resolution of 140 km (90 mi). The thin crescent of Uranus is seen here at an angle of 153 degrees between the spacecraft, the planet and the Sun. Even at this extreme angle, Uranus retains the pale blue-green color seen by ground-based astronomers and recorded by Voyager during its historic encounter. This color results from the presence of methane in Uranus' atmosphere, the gas absorbs red wavelengths of light, leaving the predominant hue seen here. The tendency for the crescent to become white at the extreme edge is caused by the presence of a high-altitude haze Voyager 2 -- having encountered Jupiter in 1979, Saturn in 1981 and Uranus in 1986 -- will proceed on its journey to Neptune. Closest approach is scheduled for Aug 24, 1989. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Uranus Ring System
PIA00142
Uranus
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Uranus Ring System
Original Caption Released with Image This dramatic Voyager 2 picture reveals a continuous distribution of small particles throughout the Uranus ring system Voyager took this image while in the shadow of Uranus, at a distance of 236,000 kilometers (142,000 miles and a resolution of about 33 km (20 ml). This unique geometry -- the highest phase angle at which Voyager imaged the rings -- allows us to see lanes of fine dust particles not visible from other viewing angles. All the previously known rings are visible here, however, some of the brightest features in the image are bright dust lanes not previously seen. The combination of this unique geometry and a long, 96 second exposure allowed this spectacular observation, acquired through the clear filter of Voyager's wide-angle camera. The long exposure produced a noticeable, non-uniform smear as well as streaks due to trailed stars. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Neptune - closest approach
PIA01996
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Neptune - closest approach
Original Caption Released with Image The Voyager spacecraft took this picture after closest approach to Neptune on Aug. 25 1989, using the clear filter of the wide-angle camera with an exposure time of 255 seconds. The view back towards Neptune at a phase angle of 135 degrees found the two known rings to be five to 10 times brighter than seen in backscattering during Voyager approach at much lower phase angle. This brightness increase implies a large percentage of microscopic particles within the rings. Although the dominant arc-like clump of the outer ring is not seen here, the inner ring appears brighter than the outer ring at the longitudes seen in this image. A faint sheet of material is also revealed that extends from the faint ring at a radius of 53,200 kilometers(33,000 miles). A new and even fainter ring was discovered in this image at about 41,000 kilometers (25,400 miles), seen running from the lower left corner to about one-third the way across the top of the frame. This ring is quite broad, about 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles) in radial width. In contrast to the two previously discovered rings, this feature is quite diffuse and has no well defined radial boundaries. The Voyager imaging experiment has now detected ring material in all of the radial regions in which it has been detected by groundbased stellar occultation experiments. The Voyager spacecraft was 720,000 kilometers (446,400 miles) from Neptune at the time of this exposure. The Voyager Mission is conducted by JPL for NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications.
Epsilon ring of Uranus
PIA01983
Uranus
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Epsilon ring of Uranus
Original Caption Released with Image Voyager 2 acquired this high-resolution image of the epsilon ring of Uranus on Jan. 23, 1986, from a distance of 1.12 million kilometers (690,000 miles). This clear-filter image from Voyager's narrow-angle camera has a resolution of about 10 km (6 mi). The epsilon ring, approximately 100 km (60 mi) wide at this location, clearly shows a structural variation. Visible here are a broad, bright outer component about 40 km (25 mi) wide, a darker middle region of comparable width, and a narrow, bright inner strip about 15 km (9 mi) wide. The epsilon-ring structure seen by Voyager is similar to that observed from the ground with stellar-occultation techniques. This frame represents the first Voyager image that resolves these features within the epsilon ring. The occasional fuzzy splotches on the outer and inner parts of the ring are artifacts left by the removal of reseau marks (used for making measurements on the image). The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Voyager picture of Jupiter
PIA01371
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Voyager picture of Jupiter
Original Caption Released with Image NASA's Voyager 1 took this picture of the planet Jupiter on Saturday, Jan. 6, the first in its three-month-long, close-up investigation of the largest planet. The spacecraft, flying toward a March 5 closest approach, was 35.8 million miles (57.6 million kilometers) from Jupiter and 371.7 million miles (598.2 million kilometers) from Earth when the picture was taken. As the Voyager cameras begin their meteorological surveillance of Jupiter, they reveal a dynamic atmosphere with more convective structure than had previously been thought. While the smallest atmospheric features seen in this picture are still as large as 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) across, Voyager will be able to detect individual storm systems as small as 3 miles (5 kilometers) at closest approach. The Great Red Spot can be seen near the limb at the far right. Most of the other features are too small to be seen in terrestrial telescopes. This picture was transmitted to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory through the Deep Space Network's tracking station at Madrid, Spain. The Voyager Project is managed for NASA by Caltech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Rings of Uranus at 1.44 kilo …
PIA01350
Uranus
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Rings of Uranus at 1.44 kilometers
Original Caption Released with Image The outer rings of Uranus are visible in this Voyager 2 image, obtained Jan. 23, 1986, from a distance of 1.44 million kilometers (890,000 miles). The outermost and brightest ring, called epsilon, is visible along with the fainter and narrower delta and gamma rings (from left). This clear-filter, 15-second exposure was shuttered by Voyager's narrow-angle camera. The resolution of this image is about 15 km (9 mi). The epsilon ring is resolved into two bright components separated by a darker lane of material. Voyager scientists believe this is caused by a thinning of the ring material away from the edges of the ring. This image was part of a sequence of pictures designed to search for moons orbiting within the rings and responsible for their narrow appearance. One of two such "shepherd" moons discovered by Voyager -- found Jan. 20 and designated 1986U7 -- is visible as the elongated bright feature midway between the epsilon and delta rings. The moon appears elongated because its orbital motion smeared its image during the long exposure. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Titania - Highest Resolution …
PIA00039
Uranus
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Titania - Highest Resolution Voyager Picture
Original Caption Released with Image This is the highest-resolution picture of Titania returned by Voyager 2. The picture is a composite of two images taken Jan. 24, 1986, through the clear filter of Voyager's narrow-angle camera. At the time, the spacecraft was 369,000 kilometers (229,000 miles) from the Uranian moon, the resolution was 13 km (8 mi). Titania is the largest satellite of Uranus, with a diameter of a little more than 1,600 km (1,000 mi). Abundant impact craters of many sizes pockmark the ancient surface. The most prominent features are fault valleys that stretch across Titania. They are up to 1,500 km (nearly 1,000 mi) long and as much as 75 km (45 mi) wide. In valleys seen at right-center, the sunward-facing walls are very bright. While this is due partly to the lighting angle, the brightness also indicates the presence of a lighter material, possibly young frost deposits. An impact crater more than 200 km (125 mi) in diameter distinguishes the very bottom of the disk, the crater is cut by a younger fault valley more than 100 km (60 mi) wide. An even larger impact crater, perhaps 300 km (180 mi) across, is visible at top. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Jupiter - Io In Front of Jup …
PIA00371
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Jupiter - Io In Front of Jupiter's Turbulent Clouds
Original Caption Released with Image This photograph of the southern hemisphere of Jupiter was obtained by Voyager 2 on June 25, 1979, at a distance of 12 million kilometers (8 million miles). The Voyager spacecraft is rapidly nearing the giant planet, with closest approach to occur at 4:23 pm PDT on July 9. Seen in front of the turbulent clouds of the planet is Io, the innermost of the large Galilean satellites of Jupiter. Io is the size of our moon. Voyager discovered in early March that Io is the most volcanically active planetary body known in the solar system, with continuous eruptions much larger than any that take place on the Earth. The red, orange, and yellow colors of Io are thought to be deposits of sulfur and sulfur compounds produced in these eruptions. The smallest features in either Jupiter or Io that can be distinguished in this picture are about 200 kilometers (125 miles) across, this resolution, it is not yet possible to identify individual volcanic eruptions. Monitoring of the erupture activity of Io by Voyager 2 will begin about July 5 and will extend past the encounter July 9. The Voyager Project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Voyager 'Blue Movie'
title Voyager 'Blue Movie'
date 01.06.1979
description This is the original Voyager "Blue Movie" (so named because it was built from Blue filter images). It records the approach of Voyager 1 during a period of over 60 Jupiter days. Notice the difference in speed and direction of the various zones of the atmosphere. The interaction of the atmospheric clouds and storms shows how dynamic the Jovian atmosphere is. 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/JPL
NASA TV's This Week @NASA, J …
During a special ceremony Mi …
07/12/10
Description During a special ceremony Michoud employees were honored by VIPs for building the final external tank and were recognized for the successful delivery over 37 years of 134 ETs to the Space Shuttle Program.* A full house crowd at the Langley Research Center's Pearl Young Theater heard Jaiwon Shin, NASA's Associate Administrator for Aeronautics, laud the quality and depth of work being done at the Center.* A new NASA video game is offering some daunting challenges to virtual space travelers. * A banner with patches featuring various aspects of operations at Yellowstone National Park was aboard space shuttle Endeavour on the STS-130 mission to the International Space Station last February. * For nearly 33 years, Voyager 2 has returned data about the giant outer planets, making important discoveries like Neptune's Great Dark Spot and its 1,000-mph winds. On June 28, Voyager 2 reached an operations milestone - 12,000 days.
Date 07/12/10
Artist's Concept of Voyager
title Artist's Concept of Voyager
description Artist's concept of Voyager in flight. *Image Credit*: NASA/JPL
AC89-7001
Photo by Voyager 2 (JPL) Dur …
8/21/89
Description Photo by Voyager 2 (JPL) During August 16 and 17, 1989, the Voyager 2 narrow-angle camera was used to photograph Neptune almost continuously, recording approximately two and one-half rotations of the planet. These images represent the most complete set of full disk Neptune images that the spacecraft will acquire. This picture from the sequence shows two of the four cloud features which have been tracked by the Voyager cameras during the past two months. The large dark oval near the western limb (the left edge) is at a latitude of 22 degrees south and circuits Neptune every 18.3 hours. The bright clouds immediately to the south and east of this oval are seen to substantially change their appearances in periods as short as four hours. The second dark spot, at 54 degrees south latitude near the terminator (lower right edge), circuits Neptune every 16.1 hours. This image has been processed to enchance the visibility of small features, at some sacrifice of color fidelity. The Voyager Mission is conducted by JPL for NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications. (JPL Ref: A-34611 Voyager 2-N29)
Date 8/21/89
Uranus and its five major mo …
Description Uranus and its five major moons are depicted in this montage of images acquired by the Voyager 2 spacecraft during its January 1986 flyby of the planet. Uranus appears as a uniformly blue globe, similar to how the eye would naturally see it, only with computer-aided image processing do subtle bands in the planet's upper atmosphere appear. The moons, from largest to smallest as they appear here, are Ariel, Miranda, Titania, Oberon and Umbriel. Voyager 2 also discovered 10 new, smaller moons and relayed images of Uranus's ring system during the planetary encounter nearly 2 billion miles from Earth.
Voyager Spacecraft During Vi …
Title Voyager Spacecraft During Vibration Testing
Full Description Two Voyager spacecraft were launched in 1977 to explore the outer planets and some of their satellites. A prototype Voyager spacecraft is shown at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, as it successfully passed vibration tests which simulated the expected launch environment. The large parabolic antenna at the top is 3.7 meters in diameter and was used at both S-band and X-band radio frequencies for communicating with Earth over the great distances from the outer planets. The spacecraft received electrical power from three nuclear power sources (lower left). The shiny cylinder on the left side under the antenna contained a folded boom, which extended after launch to hold a magnetometer instrument thirteen meters away from the body of the spacecraft. The truss-like structure on the right side is the stowed instrument boom which supported three science instruments and a scan platform. The scan platform allowed the accurate pointing of two cameras and three other science instruments at Jupiter, Saturn, the rings of Saturn, Jupiter's moons, Saturn's moons, Uranus, moons of Uranus, and Neptune.
Date 03/25/1977
NASA Center Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Rhea: Saturn's Second Larges …
Title Rhea: Saturn's Second Largest Moon
Explanation Rhea [ http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/rhea.html ] is the second largest moon of Saturn [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950705.html ], behind Titan [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950923.html ], and the largest without an atmosphere. It is composed mostly of water ice, but has a small rocky core. Rhea [ http://www.c3.lanl.gov/~cjhamil/SolarSystem/rhea.html ]'s rotation and orbit are locked together (just like Earth's Moon) so that one side always faces Saturn. A consequence of this is that one side always leads the other. Rhea's leading surface is much more heavily cratered than its trailing surface. The above photograph was taken with the Voyager 1 spacecraft in 1980.
Neptune's Moon Proteus
Title Neptune's Moon Proteus
Explanation Proteus is the second largest moon of Neptune [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950817.html ] behind the mysterious Triton [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950805.html ]. Proteus was discovered only in 1982 by the Voyager 2 spacecraft. This is unusual since Neptune has a smaller moon - Nereid - which was discovered 33 years earlier from Earth. The reason Proteus [ http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/proteus.html ] was not discovered sooner is that its surface is very dark and it orbits much closer to Neptune. Proteus [ http://www.c3.lanl.gov/~cjhamil/SolarSystem/proteus.html ] has an odd box-like shape and were it even slightly more massive, its own gravity would cause it to reform itself into a sphere.
Resurfacing of the Jupiter-f …
PIA00712
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
Title Resurfacing of the Jupiter-facing hemisphere of Io
Original Caption Released with Image Four views of the hemisphere of Io which faces Jupiter showing changes seen on June 27th, 1996 by the Galileo spacecraft as compared to views seen by the Voyager spacecraft during the 1979 flybys. Clockwise from upper left is a Voyager 1 high resolution image, a Voyager 1 color image, a Galileo color image, and a Voyager 2 color image. North is to the top of the picture. Voyager and Galileo images have been adjusted to provide comparable color balances similar to Voyager color. The most dramatic changes between Voyagers 1 and 2, just 4 months apart, were the effects of the eruptions of Surt (latitude +45 degrees) and Aten Patera (latitude -48 degrees) which darkened the caldera floors and left diffuse pyroclastic deposits covering areas about 1400 km in diameter (about the size of Alaska). In the Galileo image the Surt and Aten regions appear much more similar to the Voyager 1 pre-eruption images than to the Voyager 2 images. The plume deposits appear to have largely 'faded away' and the calderas have brightened. The Surt and Aten plume deposits had spectral properties similar to the plume deposits of Pele. Pele's deposits have not faded, suggesting that Pele had remained intermittently active whereas Surt and Aten are only rarely active. 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
Photograph of Saturns' satel …
PIA01397
Saturn
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Photograph of Saturns' satellite Tethys
Original Caption Released with Image This Voyager 2 photograph of Tethys shows objects about 5 kilometers (3 miles) in size and is one of the best images of the Saturnian satellite returned by the spacecraft or its predecessor, Voyager 1. Voyager 2 obtained this picture Aug. 26 from a range of 282,000 kilometers (175,000 miles). It has been specially processed by computer to bring out fine detail on the surface. A boundary between heavily cratered regions (top right) and more lightly cratered areas (bottom right) is very similar to boundaries on the moons Dione and Rhea, indicating a period of internal activity early in Tethys' history that partially resurfaced the older terrain. The large crater in the upper right lies almost on the huge trench system that girdles nearly three-fourths of the circumference of the satellite. The trench itself is seen in this image as a linear set of markings to the lower left of the crater. The trench, several kilometers deep, is indicative of a cold, stiff ice crust at the time of its formation. Formation of this trench system could have resulted from the expansion of Tethys as its warm interior froze. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Saturn - Tethys from 594,000 …
PIA01392
Saturn
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Saturn - Tethys from 594,000 kilometers (368,000 miles) away.
Original Caption Released with Image Voyager 2 obtained this image of Tethys on Aug. 25, when the spacecraft was 594,000 kilometers (368,000 miles) from this satellite of Saturn. This photograph was compiled from images taken through the violet, clear and green filters of Voyager's narrow-angle camera. Tethys shows two distinct types of terrain--bright, densely cratered regions, and relatively dark, lightly cratered planes that extend in a broad belt across the satellite. The densely cratered terrain is believed to be part of the ancient crust of the satellite, the lightly cratered planes are thought to have been formed later by internal processes. Also clearly seen is a trough that runs parallel to the terminator (the day-night boundary, seen at right). This trough is an extension of the huge canyon system Voyager 1 saw last fall. This system extends nearly two-thirds the distance around Tethys. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Unusual Volcanic Pyroclastic …
PIA00711
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
Title Unusual Volcanic Pyroclastic Deposits on Io
Original Caption Released with Image Four views of Euboea Fluctus on Jupiter's moon Io showing changes seen on June 27th, 1996 by the Galileo spacecraft as compared to views seen by the Voyager spacecraft during the 1979 flybys. Clockwise from upper left is a Voyager 1 high resolution image, a Galileo enhanced color image, a Galileo image with simulated Voyager colors, and a Voyager 2 color image. North is to the top of the picture. The Galileo images show new diffuse deposits which have an unusual morphology for plume deposits. A diffuse yellowish deposit with a radius of 285 km extends to the northwest, whereas an intense reddish deposit marks a curving fallout margin to the southeast. This morphology may have resulted from the presence of a topographic obstruction to southeast of the vent. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo
Tethys
PIA02276
Saturn
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Tethys
Original Caption Released with Image The Saturn satellite Tethys was viewed by Voyager 2 on Aug. 25 from a distance of 1 million kilometers (620,000 mi.). Evident on the surface of this icy moon is an enormous impact crater almost 400 km. (250 mi.) in diameter and about 15 km. (10 mi.) deep. Tethys itself is only 1,050 km. (650 mi.) in diameter. The crater contains a central peak about as high as the crater is deep, it is the result of rebound after the impact. Tethys resembles its sister satellite Mimas, seen closeup by Voyager 1 last fall. That body has a crater 130 km. (80 mi.) in diameter. The Tethys crater, which is so large that Mimas would fit inside, is on the opposite side of the great rift valley observed by Voyager 1. Many other, smaller craters pock-mark the surface here. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Pele Comparisons Since 1979
PIA00717
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
Title Pele Comparisons Since 1979
Original Caption Released with Image These frames detail the changes around Pele on Jupiter's moon Io, as seen by Voyager 1 (left), Voyager 2 (middle), and Galileo (right). The Voyager frames were taken in 1979 when the two spacecraft flew past Jupiter and it's moon Io. The Galileo view was obtained in June, 1996. Note the changes in the shape of the deposits further from the vent while the radial dark features closer to the vent show little change. The Voyager images use orange, blue, and violet filters. The Galileo image uses the green and violet filters of the Solid State Imaging system aboard the Galileo spacecraft and a synthetic blue. All three images are in a simple cylindrical projection and are approximately 1700 km x 1500 km. North is to the top. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA'is Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo
Io - crescent with plumes
PIA02254
Jupiter
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Io - crescent with plumes
Original Caption Released with Image Voyager 2 took this picture of Io July 10, 1979, from a range of 1.2 million kilometers (750,000 miles). It was one of the last of an extensive sequence of "volcano watch" pictures planned as a time lapse study of the nearest of Jupiter's Galilean satellites. The sunlit crescent of Io is seen at the left, and the night side illuminated by light reflected from Jupiter can also be seen. Three volcanic eruption plumes are visible on the limb. All three were previously seen by Voyager 1. On the bright limb Plume 5 (upper) and Plume 6 (lower) are about 100 kilometers high, while Plume 2 on the dark limb is about 185 kilometers high and 325 kilometers wide. The dimensions of Plume 2 are about 1 1/2 times greater than during the Voyager 1 encounter, indicating that the intensity of the eruptions has increased during the four-month time interval between the Voyager encounters. The three volcanic eruptions and at least three others have apparently been active at roughly the same intensity or greater for a period of at least four months.
Jupiter's Violent Storms
PIA01527
Sol (our sun)
Title Jupiter's Violent Storms
Original Caption Released with Image This Voyager 2 image shows the region of Jupiter extending from the equator to the southern polar latitudes in the neighborhood of the Great Red Spot. A white oval, different from the one observed in a similar position at the time of the Voyager 1 encounter, is situated south of the Great Red Spot. The region of white clouds now extends from east of the red spot and around its northern boundary, preventing small cloud vortices from circling the feature. The disturbed region west of the red spot has also changed since the equivalent Voyager 1 image. It shows more small scale structure and cloud vortices being formed out of the wave structures. The picture was taken on July 3 from 6 million kilometers (3.72 million miles). JPL manages the Voyager project for NASA's Office of Space Science.
Saturn's ring region
PIA01964
Saturn
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Saturn's ring region
Original Caption Released with Image This long exposure of the ring region about 150,000 to 200,000 kilometers (90,000 to 120,000 miles) from the center of Saturn captured the very faint G-ring, seen at left. The ring was discovered by Voyager 1 last fall at a similar phase angle. Voyager 2 was about 305,000 km. (189,000 mi.) away when it took this image Aug. 26. The small rectangular dots forming a regular pattern are reseau (reference) marks on the Voyager vidicon camera. The high-resolution detail in the A-ring has been washed out by the very long exposure needed to bring out the very tenuous G-ring. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Saturn's shadow upon the rin …
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.
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.
Saturn's Ring Shadow, Then a …
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
Saturn Storms Observed by Vo …
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
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.
Voyager photographs of Neptu …
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.
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 …
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. #####
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.
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.
Southeast of the Great Red S …
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
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
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
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
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
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.
Jupiter, its great Red Spot …
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.
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.
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.
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.
Triton - Neptune's largest s …
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.
Neptune - three new satellit …
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Neptune - Great Dark Spot, S …
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.
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.
Dione - circular impact crat …
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.
Callisto From 7,000,000 kilo …
PIA01511
Jupiter
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
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.
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.
High resolution view of Teth …
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Neptune's rings
PIA02224
Neptune
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
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.
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.
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.
Northern Hemisphere of Satur …
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.
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
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.
Post-encounter View of Neptu …
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.
Uranus
PIA01391
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Uranus
Original Caption Released with Image 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.
Night side of Titan
PIA01393
Saturn
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Night side of Titan
Original Caption Released with Image Voyager 2 obtained this wide-angle image of the night side of Titan on Aug. 25 at a high phase angle of 154` and a range of 907,000 kilometers (563,000 miles). Green and violet images were combined to make this photograph. The result is a view of the extended atmosphere of this satellite of Saturn, the bright orangish ring being caused by the atmosphere's scattering of the incident sunlight. The bluish outer ring is further evidence of scattering by the submicron size particles that extend several hundred kilometers above the main clouds. This type of photograph is a direct indication of Titan's extensive atmosphere. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena.
The Saturnian moon Dione
PIA01366
Saturn
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title The Saturnian moon Dione
Original Caption Released with Image Many large impact craters are seen in this view of the Saturnian moon Dione taken by NASA's Voyager 1 on Nov. 12, 1980 from a range of about 240,000 kilometers (149,000 miles). Bright radiating patterns probably represent debris rays thrown out of impact craters, other bright areas may be topographic ridges and valleys. Also visible are irregular valleys that represent old fault troughs degraded by impacts. The center of the frame is at 26 degrees south latitude on the Saturn-facing hemisphere. The Voyager Project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Jupiter
PIA01353
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Jupiter
Original Caption Released with Image This is a view of Jupiter taken by Voyager 1. This image was taken through three color filters and recombined to produce the color image. This photo was assembled from three black and white negatives by the Image Processing Lab at Jet Propulsion Laboratory. JPL manages and controls the Voyager project for NASA's Office of Space Science.
Jupiter
PIA01324
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Jupiter
Original Caption Released with Image This crescent view of Jupiter was taken by Voyager 1 on March 24, 1979. This image was taken through three color filters and recombined to produce the color image. This photo was assembled from three black and white negatives by the Image Processing Lab at Jet Propulsion Laboratory. JPL manages and controls the Voyager project for NASA's Office of Space Science.
Neptune's Rings
PIA01493
Sol (our sun)
Title Neptune's Rings
Original Caption Released with Image In Neptune's outermost ring, 39,000 miles out, material mysteriously clumps into three arcs. Voyager 2 acquired this image as it encountered Neptune in August of 1989. JPL manages and controls the Voyager project for NASA's Office of Space Science.
Saturn System Montage
PIA01482
Sol (our sun)
Title Saturn System Montage
Original Caption Released with Image 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.
Uranus' Atmosphere
PIA01489
Sol (our sun)
Title Uranus' Atmosphere
Original Caption Released with Image A latitude-longitude grid superimposed on this Voyager 2 false color image shows that Uranus' atmosphere circulates in the same direction as the planet rotates. JPL manages and controls the Voyager project for NASA's Office of Space Science.
South Polar Region of Io
PIA01485
Jupiter
Title South Polar Region of Io
Original Caption Released with Image The South Polar region of Jupiter's moon Io, seen by Voyager 1 as it passed beneath. JPL manages and controls the Voyager project for NASA's Office of Space Science.
Uranus' Far-flung Rings
PIA01487
Uranus
Title Uranus' Far-flung Rings
Original Caption Released with Image Uranus' rings, photographed by Voyager 2 as it approached the plane of the Uranian ring system. JPL manages and controls the Voyager project for NASA's Office of Space Science.
Uranus' Upper Atmosphere
PIA01488
Sol (our sun)
Title Uranus' Upper Atmosphere
Original Caption Released with Image This computer enhancement of a Voyager 2 image, emphasizes the high-level haze in Uranus' upper atmosphere. Clouds are obscured by the overlying atmosphere. JPL manages and controls the Voyager project for NASA's Office of Space Science.
Saturn's A-Ring
PIA01988
Saturn
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Saturn's A-Ring
Original Caption Released with Image This view of Saturn's A-ring was obtained Aug. 23, when Voyager 2 was about 2.8 million kilometers (1.7 million miles) from the planet. Green, violet and ultraviolet image of the ring, which images were used to compile this is 15,000 km. (9,300 mi.) wide. Of note here are the Cassini Division, in the extreme lower right corner of this image, the Encke Division, the prominent gap in the A-ring, at upper left, and the inner F-ring shepherding satellite (1980S27), near the top of the frame. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
1989N1
PIA00055
Unknown target/parent relati …
Title 1989N1
Original Caption Released with Image Voyager 2 took this image of Neptune's irregularly - shaped satellite 1989N1 from a range of 870,000 kilometers (540,000 miles. The resolution is 8 kilometers (5 miles) per pixel. The satellite has an average radius of about 200 kilometers (120 miles) and is uniformly dark with an albedo of about 6 percent. The irregular shape suggests that 1989N1 has been cold and rigid throughout its history and subject to significant impact cratering. The Voyager Mission is conducted by JPL for NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications.
Satellite 1989N2
PIA02206
Unknown target/parent relati …
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Satellite 1989N2
Original Caption Released with Image These Voyager 2 images of satellite 1989N2 at a resolution of 4.2 kilometers (2.6 miles) per pixel reveal it to be and irregularly shaped, dark object. The satellite appears to have several craters 30 to 50 kilometers (18.5 to 31 miles) across. The irregular outline suggests that this moon has remained cold and rigid throughout much of its history. It is about 210 by 190 kilometers (130 by 118 miles), about half the size of 1989N1. It has a low albedo surface reflecting about 5 percent of the incident light. The Voyager Mission is conducted by JPL for NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications.
Saturn's F-ring
PIA02272
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Saturn's F-ring
Original Caption Released with Image The three separate components of Saturn's F-ring are seen in this image taken by NASA's Voyager l on Nov. 12, 1980, from a range of 750,000 kilometers (466,000) miles. Two prominent bright strands appear twisted and kinked, while the fainter, innermost third strand largely lacks such non-uniformities. The kinking appearance of the ring may be caused by the gravitational perturbations of two nearby satellites -- S-13 on the outside and S-14 on the inside -- or the effect may be caused by electromagnetic forces upon small F-ring particles. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Io 2x2 Mosaic
PIA02294
Jupiter
Title Io 2x2 Mosaic
Original Caption Released with Image Perhaps the most spectacular of all the Voyager photos of Io is this mosaic obtained by Voyager 1 on March 5 at a range of 400,000 kilometers. A great variety of color and albedo is seen on the surface, now thought to be the result of surface deposits of various forms of sulfur and sulfur dioxide. The two great volcanoes Pele and Loki (upper left) are prominent.
Saturn's F ring
PIA02283
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Saturn's F ring
Original Caption Released with Image Saturn's F, or outermost ring was photographed from the un-illuminated face of the rings by Voyager 1 at a range of 750,000 kilometers (470,000 miles). Complex structure is evident, with several components seen. Two narrow, braided, bright rings that trace distinct orbits are evident. Visible is a broader, very diffuse component about 35 kilometers (20 miles) in width. Also seen are "knots," which probably are local clumps of ring material, but may be mini-moons. The Voyager Project is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA.
Saturn's satellite 1980S1
PIA02284
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Saturn's satellite 1980S1
Original Caption Released with Image Two satellites of Saturn share an orbit 151,400 kilometers (94,075 miles) from the center of the planet. The leading co-orbital satellite, designated 1980S1, is seen in transit across Saturn in this image taken by NASA's Voyager 1 on Nov. 12, 1980, at a range of 611,000 kilometers (379,650 miles). It is ellipsoidal, almost disk-shaped, and rotates with its long axis, 200 kilometers (125 miles) in diameter, pointed at Saturn. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Io Caldera
PIA02288
Jupiter
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Io Caldera
Original Caption Released with Image Voyager 1 took this narrow-angle camera image on 5 March 1979 from a distance of 69,000 kilometers. The feature shown is a volcanic caldera which may be actively spewing material into space (dark gray fuzz near the upper-right part of the caldera rim). In addition, very dark lava has flowed out of the fissure and spread on the floor of the caldera. The Voyager Project is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Office of Space Science.
Io Pele plume
PIA02287
Jupiter
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Io Pele plume
Original Caption Released with Image Voyager 1 took this narrow-angle camera image on 5 March 1979 from a distance of 450,000 kilometers. At this geometry, the camera looks straight down through a volcanic plume at one of Io's most active volcanos, Pele. The large heart-shaped feature is the region where Pele's plume falls to the surface. At the center of the "heart" is the small dark fissure that is the source of the eruption. The Voyager Project is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Office of Space Science.
Saturn and its rings
PIA01969
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Saturn and its rings
Original Caption Released with Image Voyager 1 looked back at Saturn on Nov. 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. From Saturn, Voyager 1 is on a trajectory taking the spacecraft out of the ecliptic plane, away from the Sun and eventually out of the solar system (by about 1990). Although its mission to Jupiter and Saturn is nearly over (the Saturn encounter ends Dec. 18, 1980), Voyager 1 will be tracked by the Deep Space Network as far as possible in an effort to determine where the influence of the Sun ends and interstellar space begins. Voyager 1's flight path through interstellar space is in the direction of the constellation Ophiuchus. Voyager 2 will reach Saturn on August 25, 1981, and is targeted to encounter Uranus in 1986 and possibly Neptune in 1989. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California.
Neptune's Great Dark Spot: G …
Title Neptune's Great Dark Spot: Gone But Not Forgotten
Explanation When NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft flew by distant Neptune in August of 1989, astronomers were [ http://vraptor.jpl.nasa.gov/voyager/vgrnep_fs.html ] shocked. Since Neptune [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/photo_gallery/ photogallery-neptune.html ] receives only 3 percent the sunlight Jupiter does, they expected to find a dormant, dark, frigid planet. Instead, the Voyager images [ http://ic-www.arc.nasa.gov/ic/projects/bayes-group/ Atlas/Voyager/Neptune/by-description/ ] revealed evidence of a dynamic [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010821.html ] and turbulent world. One of the most spectacular discoveries was of the Great Dark Spot [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/photo_gallery/caption/ darkspot.txt ], shown here in close-up. Surprisingly, it was comparable in size and at the same relative southern latitude as Jupiter's Great Red Spot [ http://heritage.stsci.edu/public/aug5/displayjupgrs.html ], appearing to be a similar rotating storm system. Winds near the spot were measured up to 1500 miles per hour, the strongest recorded on any planet. The Voyager data also revealed that the Great Dark Spot varied significantly in size during the brief flyby. When the Hubble Space Telescope viewed [ http://www.stsci.edu/pubinfo/PR/95/09.html ] the planet in 1994, the spot had vanished [ http://www.stsci.edu/pubinfo/gif/Neptune.txt ] -- only to be replaced by another dark spot [ http://www.stsci.edu/pubinfo/gif/NeptDS.txt ] in the planet's northern hemisphere!
Voyager Views Titan's Haze
Title Voyager Views Titan's Haze
Explanation Launched in 1977, 25 years ago [ http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/science/ planetary.html ] today, the Voyager 1 [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/database/ MasterCatalog?sc=1977-084A ] spacecraft's historic tour of the outer Solar System took it past Saturn in late 1980. On November 12, 1980, Voyager 1 recorded this view [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/ PIAGenCatalogPage.pl?PIA01533 ] looking across the edge of Titan [ http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/ nineplanets/titan.html ], Saturn's largest moon, from a distance of about 22,000 kilometers. Seen in false color, the moon's [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990207.html ] hazy atmosphere [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/ PIAGenCatalogPage.pl?PIA02238 ] appears orange with further layers of blue haze suspended above. Titan's mostly nitrogen atmosphere, denser than planet Earth's, also contains methane [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020212.html ] and is thought to be laced with more complex hydrogen and carbon compounds. The composition is likened [ http://www.lifeinuniverse.org/noflash/ Titanstate-06-02-01-01.html ] to Earth's atmosphere before life began. Spotted by Voyager [ http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/science/ saturn_titan.html ], the detached layers of haze hundreds of kilometers above the surface, along with details of Titan's atmospheric chemistry, have intrigued earth-bound researchers [ http://amesnews.arc.nasa.gov/releases/2002/ 02_93AR.html ] who have recently proposed a model that links seasonal variations in the haze, winds, and sunlight. Their model accounts for [ http://skyandtelescope.com/news/current/ article_716_1.asp ] the early Voyager observations as well as subsequent studies [ http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~lemmon/titan/ ]. Further tests of the model are anticipated when the Huygens probe [ http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/cassini/english/spacecraft/ probe.shtml ], carried by the saturn-bound [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971016.html ] Cassini spacecraft, enters Titan's atmosphere in 2005.
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 looked back at Saturn on November 16, 1980, four days after the spacecraft flew past the planet, to observe Saturn and its rings from this unique perspective. A few of the spoke-like 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 higher resolution, click here.
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 This computer-enhanced photo of Saturn, taken November 13, 1980, by Voyager 1, shows Saturn's rings and their shadows against the lighted crescent of the planet. The photo was taken from a distance of 1,570,000 kilometers (930,000 miles) beyond the planet. The bright, overexposed limb of Saturn is visible through the rings. The inner or C-ring scatters light in a way that causes it to look bluer that the outer A- and B- rings. Radial spokes in the B-ring, which appeared dark in pictures taken when Voyager 1 was approaching Saturn, can be seen here as bright markings. The thin F-ring displays brightness variations that are caused by non-uniform distribution of material in the ring. (P-23346)
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 looked back at Saturn on November 16, 1980, four days after the spacecraft flew past the planet, to observe Saturn and its rings from this unique perspective. A few of the spoke-like 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 higher resolution, click here.
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 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 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 km. (1,100 mi.) apart, they passed each other about two hours later. (P-23911)
Rings of Uranus at 1.44 kilo …
Title Rings of Uranus at 1.44 kilometers
Description The outer rings of Uranus are visible in this Voyager 2 image, obtained Jan. 23, 1986, from a distance of 1.44 million kilometers (890,000 miles). The outermost and brightest ring, called epsilon, is visible along with the fainter and narrower delta and gamma rings (from left). This clear-filter, 15-second exposure was shuttered by Voyager's narrow-angle camera. The resolution of this image is about 15 km (9 mi). The epsilon ring is resolved into two bright components separated by a darker lane of material. Voyager scientists believe this is caused by a thinning of the ring material away from the edges of the ring. This image was part of a sequence of pictures designed to search for moons orbiting within the rings and responsible for their narrow appearance. One of two such "shepherd" moons discovered by Voyager -- found Jan. 20 and designated 1986U7 -- is visible as the elongated bright feature midway between the epsilon and delta rings. The moon appears elongated because its orbital motion smeared its image during the long exposure. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Date 01.24.1986
Epsilon ring of Uranus
Title Epsilon ring of Uranus
Description Voyager 2 acquired this high-resolution image of the epsilon ring of Uranus on Jan. 23, 1986, from a distance of 1.12 million kilometers (690,000 miles). This clear-filter image from Voyager's narrow-angle camera has a resolution of about 10 km (6 mi). The epsilon ring, approximately 100 km (60 mi) wide at this location, clearly shows a structural variation. Visible here are a broad, bright outer component about 40 km (25 mi) wide, a darker middle region of comparable width, and a narrow, bright inner strip about 15 km (9 mi) wide. The epsilon-ring structure seen by Voyager is similar to that observed from the ground with stellar-occultation techniques. This frame represents the first Voyager image that resolves these features within the epsilon ring. The occasional fuzzy splotches on the outer and inner parts of the ring are artifacts left by the removal of reseau marks (used for making measurements on the image). The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Date 01.25.1986
Approaching Jupiter
title Approaching Jupiter
date 02.03.1979
description This is the original Voyager 'Blue Movie' (so named because it was built from Blue filter images). It records Voyager 1's approach during a period of over 60 Jupiter days. Notice the difference in speed and direction of the various zones of the atmosphere. The interaction of the atmospheric clouds and storms shows how dynamic the Jovian atmosphere is. 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
Ariel - Highest Resolution C …
title Ariel - Highest Resolution Color Picture
date 01.29.1996
description The complex terrain of Ariel is viewed in this image, the best Voyager 2 color picture of the Uranian moon. The individual photos used to construct this composite were taken Jan. 24, 1986, from a distance of 170,000 kilometers (105,000 miles). Voyager captured this view of Ariel's southern hemisphere through the green, blue and violet filters of the narrow-angle camera, the resolution is about 3 km (2 mi). Most of the visible surface consists of relatively intensely cratered terrain transected by fault scarps and fault-bounded valleys (graben). Some of the largest valleys, which can be seen near the terminator (at right), are partly filled with younger deposits that are less heavily cratered. Bright spots near the limb and toward the left are chiefly the rims of small craters. Most of the brightly rimmed craters are too small to be resolved here, although one about 30 km (20 mi) in diameter can be easily distinguished near the center. These bright-rim craters, though the youngest features on Ariel, probably have formed over a long span of geological time. Although Ariel has a diameter of only about 1,200 km (750 mi), it has clearly experienced a great deal of geological activity in the past. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. *Image Credit*: JPL
A Parting Shot
title A Parting Shot
date 01.29.1996
description This false color photograph of Neptune was made from Voyager 2 images taken through three filters: blue, green, and a filter that passes light at a wavelength that is absorbed by methane gas. Thus, regions that appear white or bright red are those that reflect sunlight before it passes through a large quantity of methane. The image reveals the presence of a ubiquitous haze that covers Neptune in a semitransparent layer. Near the center of the disk, sunlight passes through the haze and deeper into the atmosphere, where some wavelengths are absorbed by methane gas, causing the center of the image to appear less red. Near the edge of the planet, the haze scatters sunlight at higher altitude, above most of the methane, causing the bright red edge around the planet. By measuring haze brightness at several wavelengths, scientists are able to estimate the thickness of the haze and its ability to scatter sunlight. The image is among the last full disk photos that Voyager 2 took before beginning its endless journey into interstellar space. The Voyager Mission is conducted by JPL for NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications. *Image Credit*: JPL
Uranus' innermost satellite …
title Uranus' innermost satellite Miranda
date 01.24.1986
description Miranda, innermost of Uranus' large satellites, is seen at close range in this Voyager 2 image, taken Jan. 24, 1986, as part of a high-resolution mosaicing sequence. Voyager was some 36,000 kilometers (22,000 miles) away from Miranda. This clear-filter, narrow-angle image shows an area about 250 km (150 mi) across, at a resolution of about 800 meters (2,600 feet). Two distinct terrain types are visible: a rugged, higher-elevation terrain (right) and a lower, striated terrain. Numerous craters on the rugged, higher terrain indicate that it is older than the lower terrain. Several scarps, probably faults, cut the different terrains. The impact crater in the lower part of this image is about 25 km (15 mi) across. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. *Image Credit*: NASA
Miranda's Geologic History
title Miranda's Geologic History
date 01.24.1996
description Miranda reveals a complex geologic history in this view, acquired by Voyager 2 on Jan. 24, 1986, around its close approach to the Uranian moon. At least three terrain types of different age and geologic style are evident at this resolution of about 700 meters (2,300 feet). Visible in this clear-filter, narrow-angle image are, from left: (1) an apparently ancient, cratered terrain consisting of rolling, subdued hills and degraded medium-sized craters (2) a grooved terrain with linear valleys and ridges developed at the expense of, or replacing, the first terrain type: and (3) a complex terrain seen along the terminator, in which intersecting curvilinear ridges and troughs are abruptly truncated by the linear, grooved terrain. Voyager scientists believe this third terrain type is intermediate in age between the first two. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. *Image Credit*: JPL
Saturn taken from Voyager 2
title Saturn taken from Voyager 2
date 08.04.1998
description This true color picture was assembled from Voyager 2 Saturn images obtained Aug. 4 from a distance of 21 million kilometers (13 million miles) on the spacecraft's approach trajectory. Three of Saturn's icy moons are evident at left. They are, in order of distance from the planet: Tethys, 1,050 km. (652 mi.) in diameter, Dione, 1,120 km. (696 mi.), and Rhea, 1,530 km. (951 mi.). The shadow of Tethys appears on Saturn's southern hemisphere. A fourth satellite, Mimas, is less evident, appearing as a bright spot a quarter-inch in from the planet's limb about half an inch above Tethys, the shadow of Mimas appears on the planet about three-quarters of an inch directly above that of Tethys. The pastel and yellow hues on the planet reveal many contrasting bright and darker bands in both hemispheres of Saturn's weather system. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. *Image Credit*: NASA
Volcanic Explosion on Io
title Volcanic Explosion on Io
date 03.04.1979
description One of the most surprising discoveries of the Voyager 1 mission were the violent volcanoes of Jupiter's moon Io. 'This was really beyond our imagination,' recalls Dr. Ed Stone, Voyager project scientist. It was the first time active volcanoes had been seen on another body in the solar system. Voyager 1 acquired this image of Io on March 4, 1979 at 5:30 p.m. (PST) about 11 hours before closest approach to the Jupiter moon. The distance to Io was about 490,000 kilometers (304,000 miles). An enormous volcanic explosion can be seen silhouetted against dark space over Io's bright limb. The brightness of the plume has been increased by the computer as it is normally extremely faint, whereas the relative color of the plume (greenish white) has been preserved. At this time solid material had been thrown up to an altitude of about 100 miles. This requires an ejection velocity from the volcanic vent of about 1200 miles per hour, material reaching the crest of the fountain in several minutes. The vent area is a complex circular structure consisting of a bright ring about 300 kilometers in diameter and a central region of irregular dark and light patterns. Volcanic explosions similar to this occur on the Earth when magmatic gases expand explosively as material is vented. On Earth water is the major gas driving the explosion. Because Io is thought to be extremely dry, scientists are searching for other gases to explain the explosion. *Image Credit*: NASA
Voyager 1 Image of Ganymede
Title Voyager 1 Image of Ganymede
Full Description Voyager 1 took this picture of Ganymede from a distance of 1.6 million miles. Ganymede is Jupiter's largest satellite with a radius of approximately 2600 kilometers, about 1.5 times that of Earth's Moon. Ganymede is the seventh and largest of Jupiter's known satellites and is the third of the Galilean moons. Discovered in 1610 by Galileo and Marius, Ganymede is the largest satellite in the Solar System. It was named after the Greek mythical character, Ganymede, a handsome Trojan boy that Zeus took to Olympus to be a cupbearer for the gods (one of the only humans in Greek mythology who became immortal). Ganymede is larger than Mercury but has only half Mercury's mass. It has a bulk density of only two grams per cubic centimeter, almost half that of Earth's Moon. Ganymede is most likely composed of a mixture of rock and ice. The long white filaments resemble rays associated with impacts on the lunar surface. The various colors of different regions probably represent differing surface materials. Several dots of a single color (blue, green, and orange) on the picture are the result of markings on the camera used for pointing determinations and are not physical markings. Voyager scientists discovered that Ganymede has its own magnetosphere embedded inside Jupiter's large one. JPL manages and controls the Voyager Project for NASA's Office of Space Science.
Date 03/04/1979
NASA Center Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Voyager 1 View of Callisto
Title Voyager 1 View of Callisto
Full Description Voyager 1 took this picture of Callisto during Voyager's approach to Jupiter's outer large satellite in 1979. Both Galileo and Marius discovered Callisto in 1610. In Greek mythology, Callisto was a nymph loved by Zeus and thus hated by Hera. Hera turned her into a bear, which Zeus placed in the heavens as the constellation Ursa Major. Voyager was 350,000 kilometers from Callisto and took this picture that shows features about seven kilometers wide across the surface. Callisto is a little smaller than Ganymede (Callisto is about the size of Mercury) and it seems that it is composed of a mixture of ice and rock (about 40 percent ice and 60 percent rock and iron). The darker color of Callisto (about half as reflective as Ganymede but still twice as bright as the Moon) implies that the upper surface is "dirty ice" or water- rich rock frozen on Callisto's cold surface (approximately -243 Fahrenheit degrees at the equator). Callisto's atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide. Far more craters appear on the surface of Callisto than on the surface of Ganymede, leading scientists to believe that Callisto is the oldest of the Galilean satellites. Callisto could date back as far as four billion years ago and has remained relatively unchanged in the history of space.
Date 03/06/1979
NASA Center Jet Propulsion Laboratory
A79-7074
Photographer: JPL P-21739 BW …
7/4/79
Description Photographer: JPL P-21739 BW Range: 4.7 million kilometers (2.9 million miles) This picture of Io was taken as Voyager 2 closes in on the Jovian system. Scientists are studying these distant views of Io for evidences of changes since Voyager 1 observations in March of 79. Voyager 1 discovered that Io, the innermost of the Galilean satellites, is the most volcanically active body yet seen in the solar system, surpassing even earth. In this picture, the first volcano discovered by Voyager 1 is again visible in the lower left portion of the disk as a dark oval with a dark spot in the center. In March, this volcano appeared as a heart-shaped marking, not a symmetrical oval. Scientists believe that the non-symmetric markings earlier resulted from a constriction in the mouth of the volcanic vent causing erupting material to extrude preferentially in certain directions. Apparently, the volcanic eruptive activity, which sends material to altitudes of 280 kilometers (175 miles) or more above this volcano, has changed the vent geometry or dislodged an obstruction. Such changes in the form of eruptive fountains are common in terrestial volcanos, although on a much smaller scale than on Io.
Date 7/4/79
A79-7075
Photographer: JPL P-21740 BW …
7/7/79
Description Photographer: JPL P-21740 BW Range: 2,318,000 kilometers (1,438,000 miles) This picture of Callisto taken by Voyager 2 shows the moon covered with bright spots which are metoerite impact craters--a fact originally discovered from the high resolution pictures taken by Voyager 1. Scientists believe that heavily cratered terrains like these on Callisto are indicative of ancient planetary surfaces. Voyager 2 mapped the side of Callisto not seen by Voyager 1. The obsure dark streaks in this area may be fault zones, but higher resolution pictures are needed for identification.
Date 7/7/79
A89-7042
Photographer: JPL P-34578 BW …
8/11/89
Description Photographer: JPL P-34578 BW One of two new ring arcs, or partial rings, discovered by Voyager 2, is faintly visible just outside the orbit of the Neptunian moon 1989N4.The 155-second exposure taken by the spacecraft's narrow-angle camera shows the glare of an overexposed Neptune to the right of the moon and ring arc. The two bright streaks below the moon and ring arc are stars. The ring arc is approximately 50,000 kilometers (30,000 miles) long. The second ring arc, not apparent here, is about 10,000 kilometers (6,000 miles) long and is assoiciated with moon 1989N3. The ring arc, along with 1989N4, orbits about 62,000 kilometers (38,000 miles) from the planet's cloud tops. Astronomers long suspected the existence of such an irregular ring system around Neptune. Data from repeated ground-based observations hinted at the existence of irregular strands of partial rings orbiting Neptune. Voyager's photographs of the ring arcs are the first photographic evidence that such a ring system exists. Voyager scientists said the ring arcs may be comprised of debris associated with the nearby moons, or may be the remnants of moons that have been torn apart or ground down through collisions. Close-up studies of the ring arcs by Voyager 2 will help determine their composition.
Date 8/11/89
AC79-7075
Photographer: JPL P-21740 C …
7/7/79
Description Photographer: JPL P-21740 C Range: 2,318,000 kilometers (1,438,000 miles) This picture of Callisto taken by Voyager 2 shows the moon covered with bright spots which are metoerite impact craters--a fact originally discovered from the high resolution pictures taken by Voyager 1. Scientists believe that heavily cratered terrains like these on Callisto are indicative of ancient planetary surfaces. Voyager 2 mapped the side of Callisto not seen by Voyager 1. The obsure dark streaks in this area may be fault zones, but higher resolution pictures are needed for identification.
Date 7/7/79
AC89-7010
Voyager II Imagery - Neptune …
8/21/89
Description Voyager II Imagery - Neptune: This image of clouds in Neptune's atmosphere is the first that tests the accuracy of the weather forecast that was made eight days earlier to select targets for the Voyager narrow-angle camera. Three of the four targeted features are visible in this photograph, all three are close to their predicted locations. The Great Dark Spot with its bright white companion is slightly to the left of center. The small bright Scooter is below and to the left, and the second dark spot with its bright core is below the Scooter. Strong eastward winds -- up to 400 mph -- cause the second dark spot to overtake and pass the larger one every five days. The spacecraft was 6.1 million kilometers (3.8 million miles) from the planet at the time of camera shuttering, and the images use the orange, green and clear filters of the camera. The Voyager Mission is conducted by JPL for NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications. (JPL ref P-34632 Voyager 2 N-32C)
Date 8/21/89
Clumps in the F Ring
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 Scientists have only a rough idea of the lifetime of clumps in Saturn's rings - a mystery that Cassini may help answer. The latest images taken by the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft show clumps seemingly embedded within Saturn¿s narrow, outermost F ring. The narrow angle camera took the images on Feb. 23, 2004, from a distance of 62.9 million kilometers (39 million miles). The two images taken nearly two hours apart show these clumps as they revolve about the planet. The small dot at center right in the second image is one of Saturn's small moons, Janus, which is 181 kilometers, (112 miles) across. Like all particles in Saturn's ring system, these clump features orbit the planet in the same direction in which the planet rotates. This direction is clockwise as seen from Cassini's southern vantage point below the ring plane. Two clumps in particular, one of them extended, is visible in the upper part of the F ring in the image on the left, and in the lower part of the ring in the image on the right. Other knot-like irregularities in the ring's brightness are visible in the image on the right. The core of the F ring is about 50 kilometers (31miles) wide, and from Cassini's current distance, is not fully visible. The imaging team enhanced the contrast of the images and magnified them to aid visibility of the F ring and the clump features. The camera took the images with the green filter, which is centered at 568 nanometers. The image scale is 377 kilometers (234 miles) per pixel. NASA¿s two Voyager spacecraft that flew past Saturn in 1980 and 1981 were the first to see these clumps. The Voyager data suggest that the clumps change very little and can be tracked as they orbit for 30 days or more. No clump survived from the time of the first Voyager flyby to the Voyager 2 flyby nine months later. Scientists are not certain of the cause of these features. Among the theories proposed are meteoroid bombardments and inter-particle collisions in the F ring. 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 Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org . Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
Titan: Saturn's Smog Moon
Title Titan: Saturn's Smog Moon
Explanation The largest moon of Saturn [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950705.html ] is a rare wonder. Titan is the only one of Saturn [ http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/titan.html ]'s moons with an atmosphere, and one of only two moons in the Solar System [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950819.html ] with this distinction (Neptune [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950817.html ]'s Triton [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950805.html ] is the other). Titan [ http://www.c3.lanl.gov/~cjhamil/SolarSystem/titan.html ]'s thick cloudy atmosphere is mostly nitrogen, like Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950622.html ]'s, but contains much higher percentages of "smog-like" chemicals such as methane and ethane. The smog may be so thick that it actually rains "gasoline-like" liquids. The organic nature of some of the chemicals found in Titan's atmosphere cause some to speculate that Titan may harbor life! Because of its thick cloud cover, however, Titan's actual surface properties remain mysterious. Voyager [ http://vraptor.jpl.nasa.gov/voyager/voyager.html ] 1 flew by in 1980 taking the above picture, and recently much has been learned from Hubble Space Telescope observations [ http://www.stsci.edu/pubinfo/PR/94/55.html ]. The Cassini mission [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/mip/cassini.html ] currently scheduled for launch in 1997 will map Titan's surface, helping to solve some of its mysteries.
Mimas: Small Moon with A Big …
Title Mimas: Small Moon with A Big Crater
Explanation Mimas [ http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/mimas.html ] is one of the smaller moons of Saturn [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950705.html ] but shows one of the largest impact craters! In fact, if the impact had been much greater, it would have disrupted the entire satellite. The large crater has been named Herschel after the 1789 discoverer of Mimas, Sir William Herschel [ http://star.arm.ac.uk/history/herschel.html ]. Mimas' low mass produces a surface gravity just strong enough to create a spherical body but weak enough to allow such relatively large surface features. Mimas [ http://www.c3.lanl.gov/~cjhamil/SolarSystem/mimas.html ] is made of mostly water ice with a smattering of rock - so it is accurately described as a big dirty snowball. Voyager [ http://vraptor.jpl.nasa.gov/voyager/voyager.html ] 1 flew by in 1980 and took the above picture.
Uranus' Moon Miranda
Title Uranus' Moon Miranda
Explanation NASA's robot spacecraft Voyager 2 passed the planet Uranus [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950816.html ] and its moons in 1986. While the cloud tops of Uranus [ http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/uranus.html ] proved to be rather featureless, the surface of Miranda [ http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/miranda.html ], the innermost of Uranus [ http://www.c3.lanl.gov/~cjhamil/SolarSystem/uranus.html ]' large moons, showed several interesting features. Voyager 2 passed closer to Miranda [ http://www.c3.lanl.gov/~cjhamil/SolarSystem/miranda.html ] than to any Solar System [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950819.html ] body and hence photographed it with the clearest resolution. Miranda's heavily cratered terrain shows grooves like Jupiter [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap951208.html ]'s moon Ganymede [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950904.html ] and several valleys and cliffs. Miranda is made of a roughly equal mix of ice and rock. Miranda was discovered by Gerard Kuiper in 1948.
Uranus's Moon Umbriel: A Mys …
Title Uranus's Moon Umbriel: A Mysterious Dark World
Explanation Why is Umbriel so dark? This dark moon reflects only half the light of other Uranus' [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950816.html ] moons such as Ariel [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960303.html ]. And what is that bright ring at the top? Unfortunately, nobody yet knows. These questions presented themselves when Voyager [ http://vraptor.jpl.nasa.gov/voyager/voyager.html ] 2 passed this satellite of Uranus [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950816.html ] in January 1986. Voyager found an old surface with unusually large craters, and determined Umbriel [ http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/umbriel.html ]'s composition to be about half ice and half rock. Umbriel [ http://bang.lanl.gov/solarsys/umbriel.htm ] is the fourth largest and third most distant of Uranus' five large moons. Umbriel was discovered in 1851 by William Lassell [ http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/~naw96/lassell/lassell.htm ].
Mimas: Small Moon with a Big …
Title Mimas: Small Moon with a Big Crater
Explanation Mimas [ http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/mimas.html ] is one of the smaller moons of Saturn [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970921.html ] but shows one of the largest impact craters. In fact, if the impact had been much greater, it would have disrupted the entire satellite [ http://www.badastronomy.com/bitesize/mimas.html ]. The large crater has been named Herschel after the 1789 discoverer of Mimas, Sir William Herschel [ http://star.arm.ac.uk/history/herschel.html ]. Mimas' low mass produces a surface gravity just strong enough to create a spherical body but weak enough to allow such relatively large surface features. Mimas [ http://www.hawastsoc.org/solar/eng/mimas.htm ] is made of mostly water ice with a smattering of rock - so it is accurately described as a big dirty snowball. Voyager [ http://vraptor.jpl.nasa.gov/voyager/voyager.html ] 1 flew by in 1980 and took the above picture.
Neptune - partial rings
PIA02200
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Neptune - partial rings
Original Caption Released with Image One of two new ring arcs, or partial rings, discovered today by NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft, is faintly visible here just outside the orbit of the Neptunian moon 1989N4, also discovered by Voyager 2 earlier this month. The 155 second exposure taken by Voyager's narrow-angle camera shows the glare of an overexposed Neptune to the right of the moon and ring arc. The two bright streaks below the moon and ring arc are stars. The ring arc is approximately 50,000 kilometers (or 30,000 miles) long. (The second ring arc, not apparent here, is approximately 10,000 kilometers (6,000 miles) long and is associated with the moon 1989N3.) The ring arc, along with 1989N4, orbits about 62,000 kilometers (38,000 miles) from the planet's center, or about 37,000 kilometers (23,000 miles) from the planet's cloud tops. Astronomers have long suspected the existence of such an irregular ring system around Neptune. Data from repeated ground based observations hinted at the existence of irregular strands of partial rings orbiting Neptune. Voyager's photographs of the ring arcs are the first photographic evidence that such a ring system exists. Voyager scientists said the ring arcs may be comprised of debris associated with the nearby moons, or may be the remnants of moons that have been torn apart or ground down through collisions. Close-up studies of the ring arcs by Voyager 2 in coming days should help determine their composition. The Voyager mission is conducted by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications.
Io Mosaic
title Io Mosaic
description Io is the most volcanically active body in the Solar System. Volcanoes erupt massive volumes of silicate lava, sulphur and sulphur dioxide, constantly changing Io's appearance. This new basemap of Jupiter's moon Io was produced by combining the best images from both the Voyager 1 and Galileo Missions. Although the subjovian hemisphere of Io was poorly seen by Galileo, superbly detailed Voyager 1 images cover longitudes from 240 W to 40 W and th nearby southern latitudes. A monochrome mosaic of the highest resolution images from both Galileo and Voyager 1 was assembled that includes 51 Voyager 1 images with spatial exceeding the 1 km/pixel scale of the final mosaic. Because this mosaic is made up of images taken at various local times of day, care must be taken to note the solar illumination direction when deciding whether topographic features display positive or negative relief. In general, the illumination is from the west over longitudes 40 to 270 W, and from the east over longitudes 270 W to 40 W. Color information was later superimposed from Galileo low phase angle violet, green, and near-infrared (756 nanometer wavelength) images. The Galileo SSI camera's silicon CCD was sensitive to longer wavelengths than the vidicon cameras of Voyager, so that distinctions between red and yellow hues can be more easily discerned. The "true" colors that would be visible to the eye are similar but much more muted than shown here. Image resolutions range from 1 to 10 km/pixel along the equator, with the poorest coverage centered on longitude 50 W. This mosaic is in an equal area cylindrical map projection, centered on longitude 180, with grid lines at 30 degree intervals. Full scale versions of this mosaic, and the data products used to generate it, can be obtained from the USGS Astrogeology website - http://astrogeology.usgs.gov/Projects/JupiterSatellites/ Mosaic credit: Tammy Becker and Paul Geissler, USGS.
Saturn's rings - high resolu …
Title Saturn's rings - high resolution
Description Voyager 2 obtained this high-resolution picture of Saturn's rings Aug. 22, when the spacecraft was 4 million kilometers (2.5 million miles) away. Evident here are the numerous "spoke" features, in the B-ring, their very sharp, narrow appearance suggests short formation times. Scientists think electromagnetic forces are responsible in some way for these features, but no detailed theory has been worked out. Pictures such as this and analyses of Voyager 2's spoke movies may reveal more clues about the origins of these complex structures. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Date 08.24.1981
Titan's Brighter Southern He …
Title Titan's Brighter Southern Hemisphere
Description Titan, the largest of Saturn's 14 known satellites, shows little more than the upper layers of clouds covering the moon in this Voyager 1 picture, taken on November 4, 1980 at a range of 12 million kilometers (7,560,000 miles). The orange colored haze, believed to be composed of photochemically produced hydrocarbons, hides Titan's solid surface from the Voyager cameras. Some weak shadings in the clouds are becoming visible. However, note that the satellite's southern (lower) hemisphere is brighter than the northern. It is not known whether these subtle shadings are on the surface or are due to clouds below a high haze layer. The Voyager project is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA.
Date 11.06.1980
Saturn At Night
Title Saturn At Night
Explanation From a spectacular [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970829.html ] vantage point over 1.4 billion [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980620.html ] kilometers from the sun, the Voyager [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/voyager.html ] 1 spacecraft looked back toward the inner solar system to record this startling view [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/ PIAGenCatalogPage.pl?PIA00335 ] of Saturn's nightside. The picture was taken on November 16, 1980, some four days after the robot spacecraft's closest approach to the gorgeous gas giant [ http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/saturn.html ]. The crescent planet casts a broad shadow [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000212.html ] across its bright rings while the translucent rings themselves can be seen to cast a shadow on Saturn's cloud tops [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap951018.html ]. Since Earth is closer to the sun than Saturn [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/photo_gallery/photogallery-saturn.html ], only Saturn's dayside is visible to Earth-bound telescopes [ http://www.seds.org/billa/bigeyes.html ] which could never take a picture like this one. After this successful [ http://vraptor.jpl.nasa.gov/voyager/vgrsat_fs.html ] flyby two decades ago, Voyager 1 has continued outward bound [ http://vraptor.jpl.nasa.gov/flteam/weekly-rpts/current.html ] and is presently humanity's most distant spacecraft [ http://vraptor.jpl.nasa.gov/voyager/ vimdesc.html ]. The next spacecraft to approach Saturn will be Cassini [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/cassini/ ], on course to arrive in 2004.
Neptune's Great Dark Spot: G …
Title Neptune's Great Dark Spot: Gone But Not Forgotten
Explanation When NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft flew by distant Neptune in August of 1989, astronomers were shocked [ http://vraptor.jpl.nasa.gov/voyager/vgrnep_fs.html ]. Since Neptune [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/photo_gallery/photogallery-neptune.html ] receives only 3 percent the sunlight Jupiter does, they expected to find a dormant, dark, frigid planet. Instead, the Voyager images [ http://ic-www.arc.nasa.gov/ic/projects/bayes-group/ Atlas/Voyager/Neptune/by-description/ ] revealed evidence of a dynamic and turbulent world [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960507.html ]. One of the most spectacular discoveries was of the Great Dark Spot [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/photo_gallery/caption/darkspot.txt ], shown here in close-up. Surprisingly, it was comparable in size and at the same relative southern latitude as Jupiter's Great Red Spot [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950625.html ], appearing to be a similar rotating storm system. Winds near the spot were measured up to 1500 miles per hour, the strongest recorded on any planet. The Voyager data also revealed that the Great Dark Spot varied [ http://bang.lanl.gov/solarsys/neptune.htm#darkspot ] significantly in size during the brief flyby. When the Hubble Space Telescope viewed [ http://www.stsci.edu/pubinfo/PR/95/09.html ] the planet in 1994, the spot had vanished [ http://www.stsci.edu/pubinfo/gif/Neptune.txt ] -- only to be replaced by another dark spot [ http://www.stsci.edu/pubinfo/gif/NeptDS.txt ] in the planet's northern hemisphere!
Hamlet of Oberon
Title Hamlet of Oberon
Explanation What's in a name? [ http://the-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/Quotes/bart.RJ.html#22 ] Since 1919, the International Astronomical Union [ http://www.intastun.org ] has been charged with the task [ http://the-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/Quotes/bart.LoveLost.html#3 ] of establishing "conventional" nomenclature [ http://wwwflag.wr.usgs.gov/USGSFlag/Space/nomen/nomen.html ] for planets, satellites, and surface features. For the remote Uranian system [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971126.html ] of moons, namesakes from Shakespearean works [ http://the-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/works.html ] have been chosen. Thus Oberon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960408.html ], king of the mid-summer night fairies, is also Uranus' most distant and second largest moon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970111.html ]. Hamlet is the tragically dark, large and princely crater on its surface [ http://wwwflag.wr.usgs.gov/USGSFlag/Space/nomen/uranus/obercrat.html ] (right of center). The above image represents known surface features of Oberon [ http://wwwflag.wr.usgs.gov/USGSFlag/Space/wall/oberon.html ] and was constructed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) based on data from NASA's robot explorer Voyager 2 [ http://vraptor.jpl.nasa.gov/voyager/voyager_fs.html ]. In 1986, Voyager 2 flew through the Uranian system [ http://vraptor.jpl.nasa.gov/voyager/vgrur_fs.html ] - so far it has been the only spacecraft to do so [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/imgcat/html/mission_page/ UR_Voyager_2_page1.html ].
Callisto
PIA02253
Jupiter
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Callisto
Original Caption Released with Image This black and white image of Callisto was taken by Voyager 2 about 3:20 A.M PDT Saturday, July 7, from a range of about 1.1 million kilometers (675,000 miles). The picture has been enhanced to reveal detail in the scene. Voyager l's high resolution coverage was of the hemisphere just over the right-hand (eastern) horizon, and the large ring structure discovered by Voyager 1 is just over the eastern limb. This image shows yet another ring structure in the upper part of the picture. Callisto exhibits some of the most ancient terrain seen on any of the satellites. Scientists think Callisto's surface is a mixture of ice and rock dating back to the final stages of planetary accretion (over 4 billion years ago) when the surface was pockmarked by a torrential bombardment of meteorites. Younger craters show as bright spots, probably because they expose fresh ice and frost.
Two-image mosaic of Saturn's …
PIA02227
Saturn
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Two-image mosaic of Saturn's rings
Original Caption Released with Image This computer-assembled two-image mosaic of Saturn's rings, taken by NASA's Voyager 1 on Nov. 6, 1980 at a range of 8 million kilometers (5 million miles), shows approximately 95 individual concentric features in the rings. The extraordinarily complex structure of the rings is easily seen across the entire span of the ring system. The ring structure, once thought to be produced by the gravitational interaction between Saturn's satellites and the orbit of ring particles, has now been found to be too complex for this explanation alone. The 14th satellite of Saturn, discovered by Voyager 1, is seen (upper left) just inside the narrow F-ring, which is less than 150 kilometers (93 miles wide). The Voyager Project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Disturbed Region West of the …
PIA01519
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Disturbed Region West of the Great Red Spot
Original Caption Released with Image This photo from Voyager 2 was taken on June 9, 1979 and is centered over the long-lived disturbed region west of the Great Red Spot (GRS). Note that the White Oval to the lower left of the GRS has a similar chaotic region of clouds to its west. This particular White Oval, which is not the same one as that seen below the GRS by Voyager 1 in March, 1979, is moving to the right relative to the Red Spot. By the time of Voyager 2's closest approach to Jupiter on July 9, 1979 this Oval will lie just south of the Red Spot. At the time this composite was taken the spacecraft was over 24 million kilometers (15 million miles) from Jupiter. The smallest features which can be seen are roughly 450 kilometers (280 miles) across.
Jupiter from Voyager 2
PIA01369
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Jupiter from Voyager 2
Original Caption Released with Image This image was obtained on June 29, 1979, when Voyager 2 was 9.3 million kilometers (5.6 million miles) from the planet. The view extends from +40 to -40 latitude with size of the smallest discernable features equal to 172 kilometers (106 miles). The broad, orange band extending across the lower half of the picture is the equatorial region of the planet. All brown and white oval-shaped clouds visible in this image were observed by Voyager 1 in early March, illustrating the stability of this type of feature in the Jovian atmosphere. The turbulent region in the lower right-hand corner lies to the west of the Great Red Spot. High velocity westward winds along the southern edge combine with eastern winds along the northern edge to produce the observed effect. These individual features are short-lived.
A view of Saturn's B-ring
PIA01380
Saturn
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title A view of Saturn's B-ring
Original Caption Released with Image This Voyager 2 photograph of the lit face of Saturn's B-ring was obtained Aug. 25 from a distance of 743,000 kilometers (461,000 miles). It covers a range of about 6,000 km. (3,700 mi.) and shows the ring structure broken up into about 10 times more ringlets than previously suspected. The narrowest features here are about 15 km. (10 mi.) wide. Variations in brightness are due to a combination of differences in ring particle number density and light scattering properties. The B-ring is the most opaque of Saturn's rings, the highest-resolution Voyager 1 observations were of its unlit face, where little detail is visible. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Image of Saturn's F-ring
PIA01387
Saturn
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Image of Saturn's F-ring
Original Caption Released with Image Voyager 2 took this high-resolution image of Saturn's F-ring Aug. 26 from a distance of 51,500 kilometers (32,000 miles). This closeup view shows that the ring is made up of at least four distinct components. A higher-resolution scan through the F-ring, the result of the star occultation experiment conducted by the spacecraft's photopolarimeter, showed even finer structure in the ring. Voyager 1 showed a braiding effect not evident in this picture. The small black dots are reseau (reference) marks on the camera. The small bright dash in the middle right of the image is a star trail. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Ganymede - Galileo Mosaic Ov …
PIA00281
Jupiter
Solid-State Imaging
Title Ganymede - Galileo Mosaic Overlayed on Voyager Data in Uruk Sulcus Region
Original Caption Released with Image A mosaic of four Galileo high-resolution images of the Uruk Sulcus region of Jupiter's moon Ganymede is shown within the context of an image of the region taken by Voyager 2 in 1979. The image shows details of parallel ridges and troughs that are the principal features in the brighter regions of Ganymede. The Galileo frames unveil the fine-scale topography of Ganymede's ice-rich surface, permitting scientists to develop a detailed understanding of the processes that have shaped Ganymede. Resolution of the Galileo images is 74 meters (243 feet) per pixel, while resolution of the Voyager image is 1.3 kilometers (0.8 mile) per pixel. In this view, north is to the top, and the sun illuminates the surface from the lower left nearly overhead. The area shown, at latitude 10 degrees north, longitude 168 degrees west, is about 120 by 110 kilometers (75 by 68 miles) in extent. The image was taken June 27 at a range of 7,448 kilometers (4,628 miles). The Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the Galileo mission for NASA's Office of Space Science.
Saturn's F-ring and inner sa …
PIA01951
Saturn
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Saturn's F-ring and inner satellite
Original Caption Released with Image Saturn's F-ring and its inner shepherding satellite (1980S27) are pictured in this closeup Voyager 2 image acquired Aug. 25 from a range of 365,000 kilometers (227,000 miles). Features as small as 6 km. (3.7 mi.) across are visible. The satellite is elongated and irregular, with its longest axis pointing toward the center of Saturn (toward the upper right in this view). As seen here, the F-ring is thin and does not show the multiple, braided structure Voyager 1 saw last fall. Nor is there any indication of a band or kink in the ring at its closest point to the shepherd, such a feature would be consistent with some of the theories advanced on the formation of the braids. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Outer edge of Saturn's A-rin …
PIA01953
Saturn
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Outer edge of Saturn's A-ring
Original Caption Released with Image The outer edge of Saturn's A-ring is detailed in this image obtained by Voyager 2 on Aug. 26, just half an hour before closest approach, at a range of about 51,000 kilometers (31,700 miles). Resolution in this wide-angle view is about 4 km. (2.5 miles). The many sharp linear features parallel to the ring edge are most probably locations where ring particles are in resonance with one of the several small nearby satellites of about 100-km. radius discovered last fall by Voyager 1. Such regions are likely characterized by more intense particle collisions and a greater density of small "chips." The entire outer band of the A-ring has different scattering properties and therefore different particle characteristics than the main body of the rings to the upper left. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Photograph of Saturns' satel …
Title Photograph of Saturns' satellite Tethys
Description This Voyager 2 photograph of Tethys shows objects about 5 kilometers (3 miles) in size and is one of the best images of the Saturnian satellite returned by the spacecraft or its predecessor, Voyager 1. Voyager 2 obtained this picture Aug. 26 from a range of 282,000 kilometers (175,000 miles). It has been specially processed by computer to bring out fine detail on the surface. A boundary between heavily cratered regions (top right) and more lightly cratered areas (bottom right) is very similar to boundaries on the moons Dione and Rhea, indicating a period of internal activity early in Tethys' history that partially resurfaced the older terrain. The large crater in the upper right lies almost on the huge trench system that girdles nearly three-fourths of the circumference of the satellite. The trench itself is seen in this image as a linear set of markings to the lower left of the crater. The trench, several kilometers deep, is indicative of a cold, stiff ice crust at the time of its formation. Formation of this trench system could have resulted from the expansion of Tethys as its warm interior froze. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Date 08.31.1981
Saturn - Tethys from 594,000 …
Title Saturn - Tethys from 594,000 kilometers (368,000 miles) away.
Description Voyager 2 obtained this image of Tethys on Aug. 25, when the spacecraft was 594,000 kilometers (368,000 miles) from this satellite of Saturn. This photograph was compiled from images taken through the violet, clear and green filters of Voyager's narrow-angle camera. Tethys shows two distinct types of terrain--bright, densely cratered regions, and relatively dark, lightly cratered planes that extend in a broad belt across the satellite. The densely cratered terrain is believed to be part of the ancient crust of the satellite, the lightly cratered planes are thought to have been formed later by internal processes. Also clearly seen is a trough that runs parallel to the terminator (the day-night boundary, seen at right). This trough is an extension of the huge canyon system Voyager 1 saw last fall. This system extends nearly two-thirds the distance around Tethys. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Date 08.27.1981
Saturn's Atmospheric Changes
Title Saturn's Atmospheric Changes
Description 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.
Date 08.22.1981
Tethys
Title Tethys
Description The Saturn satellite Tethys was viewed by Voyager 2 on Aug. 25 from a distance of 1 million kilometers (620,000 mi.). Evident on the surface of this icy moon is an enormous impact crater almost 400 km. (250 mi.) in diameter and about 15 km. (10 mi.) deep. Tethys itself is only 1,050 km. (650 mi.) in diameter. The crater contains a central peak about as high as the crater is deep, it is the result of rebound after the impact. Tethys resembles its sister satellite Mimas, seen closeup by Voyager 1 last fall. That body has a crater 130 km. (80 mi.) in diameter. The Tethys crater, which is so large that Mimas would fit inside, is on the opposite side of the great rift valley observed by Voyager 1. Many other, smaller craters pock-mark the surface here. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Date 08.25.1981
Voyager aircraft return from …
Title Voyager aircraft return from non-stop trip around the world
Description The Voyager aircraft circles before landing at Edwards Air Force Base, Edwards, California, to complete it's record breaking, nonstop unfueled flight around the world. The Voyager landed at Edwards at 8:06 a.m. PST Dec. 23, 1986, after a nine-day flight. Richard Rutan and Jeana Yeager piloted the aircraft from a cramped cockpit. Voyager's takeoff weight was more than 10 times the structural weight, but its drag was lower than almost any other powered aircraft. The aircraft's design and light-weight structural materials allowed it to carry an unprecedented amount of fuel on its 25,000 mile flight. Voyager took off from Edwards Dec. 14, and traveled at an average speed of 115.8 mph. The 9 day, 3 minute, 44 sec. flight nearly doubled the previous distance record set in 1962 by a USAF/Boeing B-52H.
Date 12.23.1986
Hubble Photo Gallery of Jupi …
title Hubble Photo Gallery of Jupiter's Galilean Satellites
date 10.10.1995
description This is a Hubble telescope "family portrait" of Jupiter's four largest moons. Located approximately a half billion miles away, the moons are so small that, in visible light, they appear as fuzzy disks in the largest ground-based telescopes. Hubble can resolve surface details seen previously only by the Voyager space probes in the early 1980s. While the Voyager probes provided close-up snapshots of the satellites, Hubble can now follow changes on the moons and reveal other characteristics at ultraviolet and near-infrared wavelengths. *Image Credit*: K. Noll (STScI), J. Spencer (Lowell Observatory), NASA
Iapetus' New Year's Flyby
Description Iapetus' New Year's Flyby
Full Description This map of the surface of Saturn's moon Iapetus (1,436 kilometers, or 892 miles across), generated from images taken by NASA's Voyager spacecraft, illustrates the imaging coverage planned during Cassini's flyby on Dec. 31, 2004. Cassini will glide past Iapetus at a distance of approximately 123,400 kilometers (76,700 miles) on New Year's Eve, at a speed of about 2 kilometers per second (4,474 miles per hour). Imaging coverage will be focused primarily on the dark terrain of Iapetus' leading hemisphere, in the area known as Cassini Regio. The spacecraft's namesake, Jean-Dominique Cassini, discovered Iapetus in 1672 and was only able to see the moon's bright trailing hemisphere. Colored lines on the map enclose regions that will be covered at different imaging scales as Cassini approaches Iapetus. Images from Cassini's flyby will be superior in resolution to those obtained by Voyager 2 in August 1981. Voyager 2 passed Iapetus at a distance of approximately 909,000 kilometers (564,800 miles) at closest approach, yielding a best resolution image of about 8 kilometers per pixel. The resolution of Cassini images from this flyby will be 1.5 kilometers per pixel and better. 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 mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . For additional images visit the Cassini imaging team homepage http://ciclops.org . *Credit*: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
Date December 30, 2004
Saturn With Tethys and Dione
Description Saturn With Tethys and Dione
Full Description Saturn and two of its moons, Tethys (above) and Dione, were photographed by Voyager 1 on November 3, 1980, from 13 million kilometers (8 million miles). The shadows of Saturn's three bright rings and Tethys are cast onto the cloud tops. The limb of the planet can be seen easily through the 3,500-kilometer-wide (2,170 mile) Cassini Division, which separates ring A from ring B. The view through the much narrower Encke Division, near the outer edge of ring A is less clear. Beyond the Encke Division (at left) is the faintest of Saturn's three bright rings, the C-ring or crepe ring, barely visible against the planet. The Voyager Project is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA. *Credit*: NASA/JPL
Date January 29, 1996
The 'Voyager' Mountains
Description The 'Voyager' Mountains
Full Description Cassini zooms in, for the first time, on the patchy, bright and dark mountains originally identified in images from the NASA Voyager spacecraft taken more than 25 years earlier. The image was acquired during Cassini's only close flyby of Iapetus, a two-toned moon of Saturn. The terrain seen here is located on the equator of Iapetus at approximately 199 degrees west longitude, in the transition region between the moon's bright and dark hemispheres. North is up. The image was taken on Sept. 10, 2007, with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera at a distance of approximately 9,240 kilometers (5,740 miles) from Iapetus. Image scale is 55 meters (180 feet) per pixel. 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 mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org . Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
Date September 12, 2007
Jupiter's Rings
title Jupiter's Rings
date 02.24.2007
description The New Horizons Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) snapped this photo of Jupiter's ring system on February 24, 2007, from a distance of 7.1 million kilometers (4.4 million miles). This processed image shows a narrow ring, about 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) wide, with a fainter sheet of material inside it. The faint glow extending in from the ring is likely caused by fine dust that diffuses in toward Jupiter. This is the outer tip of the "halo," a cloud of dust that extends down to Jupiter's cloud tops. The dust will glow much brighter in pictures taken after New Horizons passes to the far side of Jupiter and looks back at the rings, which will then be sunlit from behind. Jupiter's ring system was discovered in 1979, when astronomers spied it in a single image taken by the Voyager 1 spacecraft. Months later, Voyager 2 carried out more extensive imaging of the system. It has since been examined by NASA's Galileo and Cassini spacecraft, as well as by the Hubble Space Telescope and large ground-based observatories. Image Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute
D Ring Revelations
Description D Ring Revelations
Full Description This montage of images from the NASA Cassini and Voyager missions shows that structural evolution has occurred in Saturn's D ring (the innermost ring) during the quarter century separating the two missions. The inset image reveals structure with an unprecedented level of fine detail. The lower panel was taken in 1980 by Voyager 1 from a distance of about 250,000 kilometers (155,000 miles). The bright material at the lower left is the inner edge of the C-ring. Interior to this feature, we see three discrete ringlets. From right to left, these are called D73, D72 and D68, respectively. The upper panel, obtained by Cassini from a distance of 272,000 kilometers (169,000 miles) on May 3, 2005, shows the same region from a similar viewing geometry. The green line marks the edge of the C-ring, which was not overexposed like the Voyager image. Image scale in this Cassini view is about 13 kilometers (8 miles). There have been some very significant changes in the appearance of the D ring since observed by Voyager. The most dramatic changes involve D72, which was the brightest feature in the D-ring 25 years ago. Since then, D72 has decreased in brightness by more than an order of magnitude relative to the other ringlets. It also has moved inward about 200 kilometers (125 miles) relative to the other features in the D ring. Cassini has also observed the D-ring at much higher resolution than was possible for Voyager, revealing surprising fine-scale structures. The inset narrow-angle camera image (upper right) was taken on May 21, 2005, in a very different geometry from the larger scale Cassini panel to its left. This close-up shows the region between D73 and the C-ring at 2 kilometer (1 mile) per pixel resolution. This region contains a periodic wave-like structure with a wavelength of 30 kilometers (19 miles). The faint vertical bands in the image are instrumental artifacts. As for the significance of these findings, the time-variability of the rings over only decades can provide information about how the rings are maintained and confined, and how long they last. The fine structure in the D-ring (visible in the inset) could be related to perturbations from the planet or its magnetic field. The Cassini results provide information about the dynamics of ring particles in a new regime -- one very close to the planet and sparsely populated by icy particles the size of dust. 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 mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging, team homepage is at http://ciclops.org . Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
Date September 5, 2005
A79-7029
Photographer: JPL This mosai …
2/28/79
Description Photographer: JPL This mosaic of Jupiter was assembled from nine individual photos taken through an orange filter by Voyager 1 on Feb. 6, 1979, when the spacecraft was 4.7 million miles (7.8 million kilometers) from Jupiter. Distortion of the mosaic, especially where portions of the limb have been fitted together, is caused by rotation of the planet during the 96-second intervals between individual pictures. The large atmospheric feature just below and to the right of center is the Great Red Spot. The complex structure of the cloud formations seen over the entire planet gives some hint of the equally complex motions in the Voyager 1 time-lapse photography. The smallest atomospheric features seen in this view are approximately 85 miles (140 kilometers) across. Voyager project is managed and controlled by Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Office of Space Science. (JPL ref. No. P-21146)
Date 2/28/79
A79-7082
Photographer: JPL P-21749 BW …
7/8/79
Description Photographer: JPL P-21749 BW Range: 6 million kilometers (4 million miles) This photograph of Ganymede, the largest satellite of Jupiter, is shown at approximately the same distance as that photographed at close range by Voyager 1 in March. This picture, taken by Voyager 2, illustrates well the light, bluish regions near the north and south poles. It is known that there is exposed water ice on the surface of Ganymede, and pehaps these polar caps are composed of a light covering of water ice or frost. Voyager 2 will pass within 63,000 kilometers (39,000 miles) of Ganymede.
Date 7/8/79
AC79-7082
Photographer: JPL P-21749 C …
7/8/79
Description Photographer: JPL P-21749 C Range: 6 million kilometers (4 million miles) This photograph of Ganymede, the largest satellite of Jupiter, is shown at approximately the same distance as that photographed at close range by Voyager 1 in March. This picture, taken by Voyager 2, illustrates well the light, bluish regions near the north and south poles. It is known that there is exposed water ice on the surface of Ganymede, and pehaps these polar caps are composed of a light covering of water ice or frost. Voyager 2 will pass within 63,000 kilometers (39,000 miles) of Ganymede.
Date 7/8/79
AC86-7014
Photographer : JPL Range : 2 …
1/22/86
Description Photographer : JPL Range : 2.7 million miles (1.7 million miles) P-29497C Tis Voyager 2, false color composite of Uranus demonstrates the usefulness of special filters in the Voyager cameras for revealing the presence of high altitude hazes in Uranus' atmosphere. The picture is a composite of images obtained through the single orange and two methane filters of Voyager's wide angle camera. Orange, short wavelength and long wavelength methane images are displayed, retrospectively, as blue, green, and orange. The pink area centered on the pole is due to the presence of hazes high in the atmosphere that reflect the light before it has traversed a long enough path through the atmosphere to suffer absorbtion by methane gas. The bluest region at mid-latitude represent the most haze free regions on Uranus, thus, deeper cloud levels can be detected in these areas.
Date 1/22/86
AC89-7013
Photographer : JPL P-34648 T …
8/23/89
Description Photographer : JPL P-34648 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 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.
Date 8/23/89
AC89-7055
Vouager II Imagery, Neptune: …
8/25/89
Description Vouager II Imagery, Neptune: This is one of the most detailed views of the surface of Triton taken by Voyager 2 on its flyby of the large satellite of Neptune early in the morning of August 25, 1989. The picture was stored on the tape recorder and relayed to Earth later. Taken from a distanT ce of only 40,000 km (25, 000 miles), the frame is about 220 kilometers (140 miles) across and shows details as small as 750 meters (0.5 miles). Most of the area is covered by a peculiar landscape of roughly circular depressions separated by rugged ridges. This type of terrain, which covers large tracts of Triton's northern hemisphere, is unlike anything seen elsewhere in the solar system. The depressions are probably not impact craters: They are too similar in size and too regularly spaced. Their origin is still unknown, but may involve local melting and collapse of the icy surface. A conspicuous set of grooves and ridges cuts across the landscape, indicating fracturing and deformation of Triton's surface. The rarity of impact craters suggests a young surface by solar-system standards, probably less than a few billion years old. The Voyager Mission is conducted by JPL for NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications. (JPL ref: P-34722 Voyager N-60 )
Date 8/25/89
Neptune: Big Blue Giant
Title Neptune: Big Blue Giant
Explanation This picture was taken by the Voyager 2 [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/voyager.html ] spacecraft in 1986 - the only spacecraft ever to visit Neptune. Neptune [ http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/neptune.html ] will be the farthest planet from the Sun [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950813.html ] until 1999, when the elliptical orbit of Pluto will cause it to once again resume this status. Neptune [ http://www.c3.lanl.gov/~cjhamil/SolarSystem/neptune.html ], like Uranus [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950816.html ], is composed mostly of liquid water, methane and ammonia, is surrounded by a thick gas atmosphere of mostly hydrogen and helium, and has many moons and rings. Neptune [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/photo_gallery/photogallery-neptune.html ]'s moon Triton [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950805.html ] is unlike any other and has active volcanoes. The nature of Triton [ http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/triton.html ]'s unusual orbit around Neptune is the focus of much discussion and speculation. Tomorrow's picture: Pluto: The Frozen Planet
Stereo Saturn
Title Stereo Saturn
Explanation Get out your red/blue glasses [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/mpf/glasses.html ] and launch [ http://beacon.jpl.nasa.gov/exhibits/voyager/ default.html ] yourself into this stereo [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/research/stereo_atlas/ SS3D.HTM ] picture of Saturn! The picture is actually composed from two images recorded weeks apart by the Voyager 2 spacecraft [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/database/ MasterCatalog?sc=1977-076A ] during its visit to [ http://sse.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/sat_missns/ sat-voy2.html ] the Saturnian System in August of 1981. Traveling at about 35,000 miles per hour, the spacecraft's changing viewpoint from one image to the next produced this exaggerated but pleasing stereo effect [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970404.html ]. Saturn is the second largest planet [ http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/ saturn.html ] in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Its spectacular ring system [ http://ringmaster.arc.nasa.gov/saturn/saturn.html ] is so wide that it would span the space between the Earth and Moon. Although they look solid here, Saturn's [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000129.html ] rings consist of individually orbiting bits of ice and rock ranging in size from grains of sand to barn-sized boulders.
Triton: Neptune's Largest Mo …
Title Triton: Neptune's Largest Moon
Explanation On October 10th, 1846, William Lassell was observing the newly discovered planet Neptune. He was attempting to confirm his observation, made just the previous week, that Neptune had a ring. But this time he discovered that Neptune had a satellite as well. Lassell soon proved that the ring was a product of his new telescope's distortion, but the satellite Triton remained. The above picture of Triton was taken in 1989 by the only spacecraft ever to pass Triton: Voyager 2. Voyager 2 found fascinating terrain, a thin atmosphere, and even evidence for ice volcanoes on this world of peculiar orbit and spin. Ironically, Voyager 2 also confirmed the existence of complete thin rings around Neptune - but these would have been quite invisible to Lassell!
Jupiter from Voyager
Title Jupiter from Voyager
Explanation This picture [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/photo_gallery/caption/redspot.txt ] of the planet Jupiter [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/jupiter.html ] was taken by the Voyager 1 [ http://vraptor.jpl.nasa.gov/voyager/vgrfaqs.html ] spacecraft as it passed the planet in 1979. Jupiter [ http://www.hawastsoc.org/solar/eng/jupiter.htm ], a gas giant planet with no solid surface, is the largest planet in the Solar System [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/overview.html ] and is made mostly of the hydrogen and helium. Clearly visible in the above photo [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/photo_gallery/photogallery-jupiter.html ] is the Great Red Spot [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960827.html ], a giant, hurricane [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970819.html ]-like storm system that rotates with the clouds of Jupiter [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970920.html ]. It is so large three complete Earths could fit inside it. Astronomers have recorded this giant storm [ http://tnj.phys.tue.nl/Intro/redspot.html ] on Jupiter for over 300 years.
Triton: Neptune's Largest Mo …
Title Triton: Neptune's Largest Moon
Explanation One hundred and fifty three years ago, on October 10th, 1846, William Lassell was observing the newly discovered planet Neptune [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/neptune.html ]. He was attempting to confirm his observation, made just the previous week, that Neptune had a ring. But this time he discovered that Neptune had a satellite as well. Lassell soon proved that the ring was a product of his new telescope's distortion, but the satellite Triton remained. The above picture [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/imgcat/html/object_page/vg2_p34764.html ] of Triton was taken in 1989 by the only spacecraft ever to pass Triton: Voyager 2. Voyager 2 found fascinating terrain [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/photo_gallery/caption/triton_close.txt ], a thin atmosphere, and even evidence for ice volcanoes [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950805.html ] on this world of peculiar orbit and spin. Ironically, Voyager 2 also confirmed the existence of complete thin rings [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/imgcat/html/object_page/vg2_1135023.html ] around Neptune - but these would have been quite invisible to Lassell!
Callisto's Icy Surface
PIA00362
Jupiter
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Callisto's Icy Surface
Original Caption Released with Image This color photo of Jupiter's satellite Callisto was made from three black-and-white images taken March 5 from a distance of 746,000 miles (1.2 million kilometers). It shows the entire hemisphere of Callisto that was photographed at high resolution by Voyager 1 during the close encounter with the satellite on March 6. Visible near the upper left limb is the large basin-like structure discovered by Voyager 1. The central region of the basin is much brighter than the average surface of the satellite. Near the south polar region are two bright areas associated with smaller basin-like structures. These bright areas are believed to contain more clean ice than the rest of Callisto's generally 'dirty-ice' surface. The Voyager project is managed and controlled by Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Office of Space Science.
Titan's Brighter Southern He …
PIA00733
Saturn
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Titan's Brighter Southern Hemisphere
Original Caption Released with Image Titan, the largest of Saturn's 14 known satellites, shows little more than the upper layers of clouds covering the moon in this Voyager 1 picture, taken on November 4, 1980 at a range of 12 million kilometers (7,560,000 miles). The orange colored haze, believed to be composed of photochemically produced hydrocarbons, hides Titan's solid surface from the Voyager cameras. Some weak shadings in the clouds are becoming visible. However, note that the satellite's southern (lower) hemisphere is brighter than the northern. It is not known whether these subtle shadings are on the surface or are due to clouds below a high haze layer. The Voyager project is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA.
Triton
PIA02247
Neptune
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Triton
Original Caption Released with Image Voyager 2 obtained this parting shot of Triton, Neptune's largest satellite, shortly after closest approach to the moon and passage through its shadow on the morning of Aug. 25, 1989. The distance to Triton was 90,000 kilometers (56,000 thousand miles) and the phase angle was 155 degrees, so that only a thin crescent of Triton's south polar region can be seen. This image was assembled using the green, blue and violet filters of Voyager's wide angle camera. Because of the high phase angle, and perhaps because of scattering sunlight in Triton's hazy atmosphere, few surface features are discernible. Faint linear markings near the center of the crescent may be shadows case by surface features or by clouds, and the brightness of the left (western) horn of the crescent compared to the right horn may be a result of variable haze in the atmosphere. The Voyager Mission is conducted by JPL for NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications.
Neptune: Ring Arcs
PIA02256
Neptune
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Neptune: Ring Arcs
Original Caption Released with Image The Voyager spacecraft was 8.6 million kilometers (5.3 million miles) from Neptune when it took this 61 second exposure through the clear filter with the narrow angle camera on August 19, 1989. The Voyager cameras were programmed to make a systematic search for faint ring arcs and new satellites. The bright upper corner of the image is due to a residual image from a previous long exposure of the planet. The portion of the arc visible here is approximately 35 degrees in longitudinal extent, making it approximately 38,000 kilometers (24,000 miles) in length, and is broken up into three segments separated from each other by approximately 5 degrees. The trailing edge is at the upper right and has an abrupt end while the leading edge seems to fade into the background more gradually. This arc orbits very close to one of the newly discovered Neptune satellites, 1989N4. Close-up studies of this ring arc will be carried out in the coming days which will give higher spatial resolution at different lighting angles. The Voyager Mission is conducted by JPL for NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications.
Saturn With Rhea and Dione ( …
PIA01143
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Saturn With Rhea and Dione (false color)
Original Caption Released with Image NASA's Voyager 2 took this 'false color' photograph of Saturn on July 21, 1981, when the spacecraft was 33.9 million kilometers (21 million miles) from the planet. Two bright, presumably convective cloud patterns are visible in the mid-northern hemisphere and several dark spoke-like features can be seen in the broad B-ring (left of planet). The moons Rhea and Dione appear as blue dots to the south and southeast of Saturn, respectively. Voyager 2 made its closest approach to Saturn on Aug. 25, 1981. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California
Neptune
PIA02205
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Neptune
Original Caption Released with Image This image of the planet Neptune was taken by the Voyager 2spacecraft on January 23, 1989, about seven months before its scheduled August 25 encounter. The spacecraft was 310 million kilometers (192 million miles) from the planet, looking from 34 degrees south of Neptune's equator through the "clear" filter. Similar images from Earth-based telescopes had shown a featureless disk, through red filters, chosen to mark methane gas, revealed irregular-shaped features associated with high-altitude hazes. The Voyager data reveal cloud structure at lower altitudes where the circulation is apparently arranged in parallel east-west bands, as is the case on Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus. In the original image, the bright bands are about 10 percent brighter than the dark band circling the South pole. This is about the same contrast shown by Saturn, and ten times more than Uranus. The brightening and sawtooth edge around the right side are artifacts of the data processing. The Voyager project is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for the NASA Office of Space Science and Applications.
Voyager 1 Red Spot Movie
PIA02259
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Voyager 1 Red Spot Movie
Original Caption Released with Image 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 how dynamic the Jovian atmosphere is. 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.
Neptune
PIA02219
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Neptune
Original Caption Released with Image This photograph of Neptune shows three of the features that Voyager 2 has been photographing during recent weeks. At the north 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.
Voyager 2 Jupiter Eruption M …
PIA02257
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Voyager 2 Jupiter Eruption Movie
Original Caption Released with Image This movie records an eruptive event in the southern hemisphere of Jupiter over a period of 8 Jupiter days. Prior to the event, an undistinguished oval cloud mass cruised through the turbulent atmosphere. The eruption occurs over avery short time at the very center of the cloud. The white eruptive material is swirled about by the internal wind patterns of the cloud. As a result of the eruption, the cloud then becomes a type of feature seen elsewhere on Jupiter known as "spaghetti bowls". As Voyager 2 approached Jupiter in 1979, it took images of the planet at regular intervals. This sequence is made from 8 images taken once every Jupiter rotation period (about 10 hours). These images were acquired in the Violet filter around May 6, 1979. The spacecraft was about 50 million kilometers from Jupiter at that time. This time-lapse movie was produced at JPL by the Image Processing Laboratory in 1979.
Triton
PIA02208
Neptune
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Triton
Original Caption Released with Image Voyager 2 took this picture of Neptune's largest satellite,Triton, from less than 80,000 km (50,000 miles). The image shows an area in Triton's northern hemisphere. The Sun is just above the horizon, so features cast shadows that accentuate height differences. The large, smooth area in the right-hand side of the image shows a single, fresh, impact crater. Otherwise there is no evidence of impacts such as those that have pocked the faces of most of the satellites Voyager 2 has visited. Many low cliffs in the area, bright where they face the Sun, and when they face away from it, suggest and intricate history for Triton. The cliffs might be due either to melting of surface materials or, possibly, caused by unusual fluid materials that flowed sometime in Triton's past. The Voyager Mission is conducted by JPL for NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications.
Neptune
PIA02209
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Neptune
Original Caption Released with Image These pictures of Neptune were obtained by Voyager 2 on April 26,1989, at a distance of 176 million kilometers (109 million miles). At the center of the Neptune disc, each pixel covers a square 4 degrees by 4 degrees in latitude. (Each Voyager image contains 800 pixels, picture elements, per line and 800 lines.) Resolution here was 3256 kilometers (2020 miles) per line pair. The violet, clear and orange filters of Voyager's narrow-angle camera were used to produce the color pictures. Image processing enhances contrast of the features. The picture on the right was taken five hours after that at left, during which time the planet rotated 100 degrees. The dark spot visible in the left picture appeared in clear filter images obtained three months earlier. A much brighter, white spot, prominent in the earlier images, has now apparently faded. The white spot near the south pole in the right picture is new. It was visible only faintly in a picture taken 18 hours earlier at the same longitude. This evidence of dynamic activity was unexpected in Neptune's atmosphere because Neptune receives only one-tenth of one percent as much solar energy as does the Earth.
Neptune's Dark Spot (D2) at …
PIA00064
Sol (our sun)
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Neptune's Dark Spot (D2) at High Resolution
Original Caption Released with Image This bulls-eye view of Neptune's small dark spot (D2) was obtained by Voyager 2's narrow-angle camera on Aug. 24, 1989, when Voyager 2 was within 1.1 million km (680,000 miles) of the planet. The smallest structures that can be seen are 20 km (12 miles) across. This unplanned photograph was obtained when the infrared spectrograph was mapping the planet, and is the highest resolution view of the feature taken during the flyby. Banding surrounding the feature indicates unseen strong winds, while structures within the bright spot suggest both active upwelling of clouds and rotation about the center. A rotation rate has not yet been measured, but the V-shaped structure near the right edge of the bright area indicates that the spot rotates clockwise. Unlike the Great Red Spot on Jupiter, which rotates counterclockwise, if the D2 spot on Neptune rotates clockwise, the material will be descending in the dark oval region. The fact that infrared data will yield temperature information about the region above the clouds makes this observation especially valuable. The Voyager Mission is conducted by JPL for NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications.
Io
PIA02248
Jupiter
Imaging Science Subsystem - …
Title Io
Original Caption Released with Image This photo of Io, innermost of the four large Galilean satellites of Jupiter, was taken through an ultraviolet filter by the narrow angle camera of Voyager 1. The photo was taken at 2 a.m. (PST) Feb. 27, when Voyager 1 was 4.3 million miles (7 million kilometers) from Io, seen against the background of a part of Jupiter's disk. North is at the top, and the central longitude of Io is 180 degrees. Io shows a contrasting surface, with generally very dark polar areas and numerous light and dark regions around the equator. At this resolution (about 100 miles or 160 kilometers), no topographic features, such as craters, can be seen. The brighter regions are believed to contain sulfur and various salts, making Io highly reflective (about six times brighter than Earth's Moon) in visible and enhanced light. This satellite of Jupiter has almost exactly the same size and density as our own Moon, but it apparently has followed a very different evolutionary path, influenced by its proximity to Jupiter and the intense bombardment it receives from the Jovian radiation belts of energetic charged particles. JPL manages and controls the Voyager project for NASA's Office of Space Science.
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