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Explanation: The New Horizons spacecraft took some stunning images of Jupiter on its way out to Pluto. Famous for its Great Red Spot, Jupiter is also known for its regular, equatorial cloud bands, visible through even modest sized telescopes. The above image, horizontally compressed, was taken in 2007 near Jupiter's terminator and shows the Jovian giant's wide diversity of cloud patterns. On the far left are clouds closest to Jupiter's South Pole. Here turbulent whirlpools and swirls are seen in a dark region, dubbed a belt, that rings the planet. Even light colored regions, called zones, show tremendous structure, complete with complex wave patterns. The energy that drives these waves surely comes from below. New Horizons is the fastest space probe ever launched, has now passed the orbits of Saturn and Uranus and is on track to reach Pluto in 2015.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: spacecraft - Jupiter - clouds
Publications with words: spacecraft - Jupiter - clouds
See also:
- APOD: 2023 March 15 Á Jupiter and Venus Converge over Germany
- APOD: 2023 March 6 Á Jupiter and Venus from Earth
- APOD: 2023 March 5 Á Jupiter and Venus over Italy
- 10 Days of Venus and Jupiter
- Crescent Moon Occultation
- APOD: 2023 February 12 Á Mammatus Clouds over Nebraska
- Nacreous Clouds over Lapland