Collection:
NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection Collection NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection Collection
Title:
Thunderheads on Jupiter Title Thunderheads on Jupiter Title
Original Caption Released with Image:
Scientists have spotted what appear to be thunderheads on Jupiter bright white cumulus clouds similar to those that bring thunderstorms on Earth - at the outer edges of Jupiter's Great Red Spot. Images from NASA's Galileo spacecraft now in orbit around Jupiter are providing new evidence that thunderstorms may be an important source of energy for Jupiter's winds that blow at more than 500 kilometers per hour (about 300 miles per hour). The photos were taken by Galileo's solid state imager camera on June 26, 1996 at a range of about 1.4 million kilometers (about 860,000 miles). The image at top is a mosaic of multiple images taken through near-infrared filters. False coloring in the image reveals cloud-top heights. High, thick clouds are white and high, thin clouds are pink. Low-altitude clouds are blue. The two black-and-white images at bottom are enlargements of the boxed area; the one on the right was taken 70 minutes after the image on the left. The arrows show where clouds have formed or dissipated in the short time between the images. The smallest clouds are tens of kilometers across. On Earth, moist convection in thunderstorms is a pathway through which solar energy, deposited at the surface, is transported and delivered to the atmosphere. Scientists at the California Institute of Technology analyzing data from Galileo believe that water, the most likely candidate for what composes these clouds on Jupiter, may be more abundant at the site seen here than at the Galileo Probe entry site, which was found to be unexpectedly dry. The Galileo mission is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. . This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the Galileo mission home page on the World Wide Web at http://galileo.jpl.n asa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at http://www.jpl.nasa… Original_Caption_Rel eased_with_Image Scientists have spotted what appear to be thunderheads on Jupiter bright white cumulus clouds similar to those that bring thunderstorms on Earth - at the outer edges of Jupiter's Great Red Spot. Images from NASA's Galileo spacecraft now in orbit around Jupiter are providing new evidence that thunderstorms may be an important source of energy for Jupiter's winds that blow at more than 500 kilometers per hour (about 300 miles per hour). The photos were taken by Galileo's solid state imager camera on June 26, 1996 at a range of about 1.4 million kilometers (about 860,000 miles). The image at top is a mosaic of multiple images taken through near-infrared filters. False coloring in the image reveals cloud-top heights. High, thick clouds are white and high, thin clouds are pink. Low-altitude clouds are blue. The two black-and-white images at bottom are enlargements of the boxed area; the one on the right was taken 70 minutes after the image on the left. The arrows show where clouds have formed or dissipated in the short time between the images. The smallest clouds are tens of kilometers across. On Earth, moist convection in thunderstorms is a pathway through which solar energy, deposited at the surface, is transported and delivered to the atmosphere. Scientists at the California Institute of Technology analyzing data from Galileo believe that water, the most likely candidate for what composes these clouds on Jupiter, may be more abundant at the site seen here than at the Galileo Probe entry site, which was found to be unexpectedly dry. The Galileo mission is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. . This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the Galileo mission home page on the World Wide Web at http://galileo.jpl.n asa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at http://www.jpl.nasa… Original Caption Released with Image
Addition Date:
1997-09-08 Addition_Date 1997-09-08 Addition Date
Produced By:
California Institute of Technology Produced_By California Institute of Technology Produced By
Mission:
Galileo Mission Galileo Mission
Spacecraft:
Galileo Orbiter Spacecraft Galileo Orbiter Spacecraft
Target Name:
Jupiter Target_Name Jupiter Target Name
Is a satellite of:
Sol (our sun) Is_a_satellite_of Sol (our sun) Is a satellite of
Instrument:
Solid-State Imaging Instrument Solid-State Imaging Instrument
Product Size:
700 samples x 800 lines Product_Size 700 samples x 800 lines Product Size
Primary Data Set:
Galileo EDRs Primary_Data_Set Galileo EDRs Primary Data Set
Producer ID:
P48063 MRPS77348 Producer_ID P48063 MRPS77348 Producer ID
facet_what:
Sun facet_what Sun facet_what
facet_what:
Jupiter facet_what Jupiter facet_what
facet_what:
Earth facet_what Earth facet_what
facet_what:
Galileo facet_what Galileo facet_what
facet_what:
Galileo Orbiter facet_what Galileo Orbiter facet_what
facet_what:
Solid-State Imaging facet_what Solid-State Imaging facet_what
facet_what:
Imager facet_what Imager facet_what
facet_what:
Galileo Probe facet_what Galileo Probe facet_what
facet_where:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory facet_where Jet Propulsion Laboratory facet_where
facet_where:
Jupiter facet_where Jupiter facet_where
facet_where:
California facet_where California facet_where
facet_where:
Washington facet_where Washington facet_where
facet_where:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) facet_where Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) facet_where
facet_where:
Washington, D.C. facet_where Washington, D.C. facet_where
facet_when:
June 26, 1996 facet_when June 26, 1996 facet_when
facet_when_year:
1996 facet_when_year 1996 facet_when_year
Image #:
PIA00506 Image_# PIA00506 Image #
UID:
SPD-PHOTJ-PIA00506 UID SPD-PHOTJ-PIA00506 UID
orignial url:
http://photojournal… orignial_url http://photojournal… orignial url

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Thunderheads on Jupiter