|
|
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. |
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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. |
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Saturn's ring region
PIA01964
Saturn
Imaging Science Subsystem -
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| 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. |
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