Media Information
 
 
 
Collection:
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day Collection
Title:
Galileo, Cassini, and the Great Red Spot
Explanation:
Imagine a hurricane that lasted for 300 years! Jupiter's Great Red Spot indeed seems to be a giant hurricane-like storm system [ http://www.coaps.fs…] rotating with the Jovian clouds. Observed in 1655 by Italian-French astronomer Jean-Dominique Cassini [ http://www.jpl.nasa…] it is seen here over 300 years later - still going strong - in a mosaic of recent Galileo spacecraft images [ http://www.jpl.nasa…]. The Great Red Spot is a cold, high pressure area 2-3 times wider than planet Earth. Its outer edge rotates in a counter clockwise direction [ http://bang.lanl.go…] about once every six days. Jupiter's own [ http://seds.lpl.ari…] rapid rotation period [ http://www.kalmbach…] is a brief 10 hours. The Solar System's largest gas giant planet [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…], it is presently well placed [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] for evening viewing [ http://www.kalmbach…]. (APOD thanks to Alan Radecki for assembling a preliminary mosaic from the Galileo imagery!)
Credit and Copyright:
Galileo Project [ http://newproducts.…], JPL [ http://www.jpl.nasa…], and NASA [ http://www.nasa.gov/]
facet_when:
1655
facet_where:
Ganymede
facet_where:
Arizona
facet_where:
Jupiter
facet_where:
Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
facet_where:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_what:
Earth
facet_what:
Galileo
facet_what:
Ganymede
facet_what:
Cassini
facet_what:
Jupiter
facet_when_year:
1655
original url:
http://antwrp.gsfc.…
UID:
SPD-APOD-ap960802

Galileo, Cassini, and the Great Red Spot
Add To Workspace Export