Media Information

 
 
 
Collection:
NASA Solarsystem Collection
title:
On Approach: Jupiter and Io
description:
This sequence of images was taken on Jan. 8, 2007, with the New Horizons Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI), while the spacecraft was about 81 million kilometers (about 50 million miles) from Jupiter. Jupiter's volcanic moon Io is to the right; the planet's Great Red Spot is also visible. The image was one of 11 taken during the Jan. 8 approach sequence, which signaled the opening of the New Horizons Jupiter encounter.

Even in these early approach images, Jupiter shows different face than what previous visiting spacecraft -- such as Voyager 1, Galileo and Cassini -- have seen. Regions around the equator and in the southern tropical latitudes seem remarkably calm, even in the typically turbulent "wake" behind the Great Red Spot.

The New Horizons science team will scrutinize these major meteorological features -- including the unexpectedly calm regions -- to understand the diverse variety of dynamical processes on the solar system's largest planet. These include the newly formed Little Red Spot, the Great Red Spot and a variety of zonal features.

Image Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute
date:
01.08.2007
keywords:
Solar System Exploration
keywords:
SSE
keywords:
Space
keywords:
NASA
keywords:
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
keywords:
JPL
keywords:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
keywords:
Planets
facet_what:
Moon
facet_what:
Voyager
facet_what:
Galileo
facet_what:
Jupiter
facet_what:
Cassini
facet_what:
Imager
facet_what:
Io
facet_what:
Voyager 1
facet_what:
New Horizons
facet_what:
Long Range Reconnaissance Imager
facet_what:
LORRI
facet_where:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
facet_where:
Jupiter
facet_where:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_when:
01-08-2007
facet_when_year:
2007
UID:
SPD-SLRSY-4923
original url:

On Approach: Jupiter and Io