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Collection:
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NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection
Collection
NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection
Collection
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Title:
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Best Color Image of Jupiter's Little Red Spot
Title
Best Color Image of Jupiter's Little Red Spot
Title
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Original Caption Released with Image:
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This amazing color portrait of Jupiter's "Little Red Spot" (LRS) combines high-resolution images from the New Horizons Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI), taken at 03:12 UT on February 27, 2007, with color images taken nearly simultaneously by the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) on the Hubble Space Telescope. The LORRI images provide details as fine as 9 miles across (15 kilometers), which is approximately 10 times better than Hubble can provide on its own. The improved resolution is possible because New Horizons was only 1.9 million miles (3 million kilometers) away from Jupiter when LORRI snapped its pictures, while Hubble was more than 500 million miles (800 million kilometers) away from the Gas Giant planet.
The Little Red Spot is the second largest storm on Jupiter, roughly 70% the size of the Earth, and it started turning red in late-2005. The clouds in the Little Red Spot rotate counterclockwise, or in the anticyclonic direction, because it is a high-pressure region. In that sense, the Little Red Spot is the opposite of a hurricane on Earth, which is a low-pressure region - and, of course, the Little Red Spot is far larger than any hurricane on Earth.
Scientists don't know exactly how or why the Little Red Spot turned red, though they speculate that the change could stem from a surge of exotic compounds from deep within Jupiter, caused by an intensification of the storm system. In particular, sulfur-bearing cloud droplets might have been propelled about 50 kilometers into the upper level of ammonia clouds, where brighter sunlight bathing the cloud tops released the red-hued sulfur embedded in the droplets, causing the storm to turn red. A similar mechanism has been proposed for the Little Red Spot's "older brother," the Great Red Spot, a massive energetic storm system that has persisted for over a century.
New Horizons is providing an opportunity to examine an "infant" red storm system in detail, which may help scientists understand better how these giant weather patterns form and evolve.
Original_Caption_Rel eased_with_Image
This amazing color portrait of Jupiter's "Little Red Spot" (LRS) combines high-resolution images from the New Horizons Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI), taken at 03:12 UT on February 27, 2007, with color images taken nearly simultaneously by the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) on the Hubble Space Telescope. The LORRI images provide details as fine as 9 miles across (15 kilometers), which is approximately 10 times better than Hubble can provide on its own. The improved resolution is possible because New Horizons was only 1.9 million miles (3 million kilometers) away from Jupiter when LORRI snapped its pictures, while Hubble was more than 500 million miles (800 million kilometers) away from the Gas Giant planet.
The Little Red Spot is the second largest storm on Jupiter, roughly 70% the size of the Earth, and it started turning red in late-2005. The clouds in the Little Red Spot rotate counterclockwise, or in the anticyclonic direction, because it is a high-pressure region. In that sense, the Little Red Spot is the opposite of a hurricane on Earth, which is a low-pressure region - and, of course, the Little Red Spot is far larger than any hurricane on Earth.
Scientists don't know exactly how or why the Little Red Spot turned red, though they speculate that the change could stem from a surge of exotic compounds from deep within Jupiter, caused by an intensification of the storm system. In particular, sulfur-bearing cloud droplets might have been propelled about 50 kilometers into the upper level of ammonia clouds, where brighter sunlight bathing the cloud tops released the red-hued sulfur embedded in the droplets, causing the storm to turn red. A similar mechanism has been proposed for the Little Red Spot's "older brother," the Great Red Spot, a massive energetic storm system that has persisted for over a century.
New Horizons is providing an opportunity to examine an "infant" red storm system in detail, which may help scientists understand better how these giant weather patterns form and evolve.
Original Caption Released with Image
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Image Credit:
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NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute
Image_Credit
NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute
Image Credit
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Produced By:
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Johns Hopkins University/APL
Produced_By
Johns Hopkins University/APL
Produced By
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Mission:
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Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
Mission
Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
Mission
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Mission:
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New Horizons
Mission
New Horizons
Mission
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Spacecraft:
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Hubble Space Telescope
Spacecraft
Hubble Space Telescope
Spacecraft
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Spacecraft:
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New Horizons
Spacecraft
New Horizons
Spacecraft
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Target Name:
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Jupiter
Target_Name
Jupiter
Target Name
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Is a satellite of:
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Sol (our sun)
Is_a_satellite_of
Sol (our sun)
Is a satellite of
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Instrument:
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LORRI
Instrument
LORRI
Instrument
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Product Size:
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962 samples x 682 lines
Product_Size
962 samples x 682 lines
Product Size
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facet_what:
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Sun
facet_what
Sun
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Jupiter
facet_what
Jupiter
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Earth
facet_what
Earth
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Opportunity
facet_what
Opportunity
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Camera 2
facet_what
Camera 2
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Imager
facet_what
Imager
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Pluto
facet_what
Pluto
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Wide Field Planetary Camera 2
facet_what
Wide Field Planetary Camera 2
facet_what
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facet_what:
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New Horizons
facet_what
New Horizons
facet_what
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facet_what:
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LORRI
facet_what
LORRI
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
facet_what
Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
facet_what
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facet_where:
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Jupiter
facet_where
Jupiter
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Pluto
facet_where
Pluto
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
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facet_when:
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February 27, 2007
facet_when
February 27, 2007
facet_when
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facet_when_year:
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2007
facet_when_year
2007
facet_when_year
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Image #:
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PIA09341
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UID:
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SPD-PHOTJ-PIA09341
UID
SPD-PHOTJ-PIA09341
UID
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orignial url:
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orignial_url
orignial url
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