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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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Cold Hole Over Jupiter's Pole
Title
Cold Hole Over Jupiter's Pole
Title
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Original Caption Released with Image:
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Observations with two NASA telescopes show that Jupiter has an arctic polar vortex similar to a vortex over Earth's Antarctica that enables depletion of Earth's stratospheric ozone.
These composite images of Jupiter's north polar region from the Hubble Space Telescope (right) and the Infrared Telescope Facility (left) show a quasi-hexagonal shape that extends vertically from the stratosphere down into the top of the troposphere. A sharp temperature drop, compared to surrounding air masses, creates an eastward wind that tends to keep the polar atmosphere, including the stratospheric haze, isolated from the rest of the atmosphere.
The linear striations in the composite projections are artifacts of the image processing. The area closest to the pole has been omitted because it was too close to the edge of the planet in the original images to represent the planet reliably.
The composite on the right combines images from the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 of the Hubble Space Telescope taken at a wavelength of 890 nanometers, which shows stratospheric haze particles.
The sharp boundary and wave-like structure of the haze layer suggest a polar vortex and a similarity to Earth's stratospheric polar clouds. Images of Jupiter's thermal radiation clinch that identification. The composite on the left, for example, is made from images taken with Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mid-Infrared Large-Well Imager at NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility at a wavelength of 17 microns. It shows polar air mass that is 5 to 6 degrees Celsius (9 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit) colder than its surroundings, with the same border as the stratospheric haze. Similar observations at other infrared wavelengths show the cold air mass extends at least as high as the middle stratosphere down to the top of the troposphere.
These images were taken Aug. 11 through Aug. 13, 1999, near a time when Jupiter's north pole was most visible from Earth. Other Infrared Telescope Facility images at frequencies sensitive to the polar haze were taken at frequent intervals from June to October 1999. They show that the quasi-hexagonal structure rotates slowly eastward at 1.2 degrees of longitude per day, a rate consistent with the average wind speeds measured from movement of visible clouds.
Scientists studying the Earth's atmosphere are interested in these results because Jupiter's atmosphere provides a natural laboratory in which models of the polar vortex phenomenon can be studied under different conditions - for example, without the interference of topography. Of particular interest but yet unknown is how deep into Jupiter's troposphere the phenomenon extends. The answer to this question might be supplied by instrumentation on a polar orbiter mission at Jupiter.
These images were taken as part of a program to support NASA's Galileo spacecraft reconnaissance of Jupiter. The Infrared Telescope Facility is on the summit of Hawaii's Mauna Kea and is operated by the University of Hawaii under a
Original_Caption_Rel eased_with_Image
Observations with two NASA telescopes show that Jupiter has an arctic polar vortex similar to a vortex over Earth's Antarctica that enables depletion of Earth's stratospheric ozone.
These composite images of Jupiter's north polar region from the Hubble Space Telescope (right) and the Infrared Telescope Facility (left) show a quasi-hexagonal shape that extends vertically from the stratosphere down into the top of the troposphere. A sharp temperature drop, compared to surrounding air masses, creates an eastward wind that tends to keep the polar atmosphere, including the stratospheric haze, isolated from the rest of the atmosphere.
The linear striations in the composite projections are artifacts of the image processing. The area closest to the pole has been omitted because it was too close to the edge of the planet in the original images to represent the planet reliably.
The composite on the right combines images from the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 of the Hubble Space Telescope taken at a wavelength of 890 nanometers, which shows stratospheric haze particles.
The sharp boundary and wave-like structure of the haze layer suggest a polar vortex and a similarity to Earth's stratospheric polar clouds. Images of Jupiter's thermal radiation clinch that identification. The composite on the left, for example, is made from images taken with Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mid-Infrared Large-Well Imager at NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility at a wavelength of 17 microns. It shows polar air mass that is 5 to 6 degrees Celsius (9 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit) colder than its surroundings, with the same border as the stratospheric haze. Similar observations at other infrared wavelengths show the cold air mass extends at least as high as the middle stratosphere down to the top of the troposphere.
These images were taken Aug. 11 through Aug. 13, 1999, near a time when Jupiter's north pole was most visible from Earth. Other Infrared Telescope Facility images at frequencies sensitive to the polar haze were taken at frequent intervals from June to October 1999. They show that the quasi-hexagonal structure rotates slowly eastward at 1.2 degrees of longitude per day, a rate consistent with the average wind speeds measured from movement of visible clouds.
Scientists studying the Earth's atmosphere are interested in these results because Jupiter's atmosphere provides a natural laboratory in which models of the polar vortex phenomenon can be studied under different conditions - for example, without the interference of topography. Of particular interest but yet unknown is how deep into Jupiter's troposphere the phenomenon extends. The answer to this question might be supplied by instrumentation on a polar orbiter mission at Jupiter.
These images were taken as part of a program to support NASA's Galileo spacecraft reconnaissance of Jupiter. The Infrared Telescope Facility is on the summit of Hawaii's Mauna Kea and is operated by the University of Hawaii under a
Original Caption Released with Image
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Original Caption Released with Image:
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cooperative agreement with NASA. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. The telescope is managed by the Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., for NASA, under contract with the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The California Institute of Technology, Pasadena manages JPL for NASA.
Original_Caption_Rel eased_with_Image
cooperative agreement with NASA. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. The telescope is managed by the Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., for NASA, under contract with the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The California Institute of Technology, Pasadena manages JPL for NASA.
Original Caption Released with Image
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Image Credit:
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NASA/JPL/HST/Univers ity of Hawaii
Image_Credit
NASA/JPL/HST/Univers ity of Hawaii
Image Credit
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Produced By:
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JPL
Produced_By
JPL
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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Galileo
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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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Infrared Telescope Facility
Spacecraft
Infrared Telescope Facility
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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Wide Field Planetary Camera 2
Instrument
Wide Field Planetary Camera 2
Instrument
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Product Size:
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650 samples x 300 lines
Product_Size
650 samples x 300 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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Galileo
facet_what
Galileo
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Polar
facet_what
Polar
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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Wide Field Planetary Camera 2
facet_what
Wide Field Planetary Camera 2
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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Jet Propulsion Laboratory
facet_where
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
facet_where
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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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California
facet_where
California
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Hawaii
facet_where
Hawaii
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_where:
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Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
facet_where
Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
facet_where
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facet_when:
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October 1999
facet_when
October 1999
facet_when
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facet_when_year:
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1999
facet_when_year
1999
facet_when_year
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Image #:
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PIA03864
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UID:
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SPD-PHOTJ-PIA03864
UID
SPD-PHOTJ-PIA03864
UID
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orignial url:
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orignial_url
orignial url
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