Jupiter's four largest moons, including Ganymede, are the small golden dots in front of Jupiter in this photograph taken by NASA's Cassini interstellar probe, which have fascinated people on Earth since they were discovered during one of Galileo's early astronomical observations using telescopes.
From this astonishing true-color photograph taken by the Cassini Interstellar Probe on December 13, 2000, Jupiter's well-known striped appearance has gradually transformed into a mottled and mixed appearance from the low and middle latitudes to the high latitudes.
The complex structures seen in the polar regions are clouds of different chemical compositions, which are at different heights and thicknesses. These clouds are formed by wind organization, and those mottled, mixed appearances in the polar regions actually mean more eddy current movements and weak winds at high latitudes.
The reason for the difference in the high and low latitudes of Jupiter's appearance is not clear for the time being. One possible factor is the horizontal division of geoscience deflection forces, which reaches its maximum in high latitudes and disappears at the equator, which is generated by the rotation of the planets and creates curved ocean current trajectories and wind trajectories on Earth. On Jupiter, geodesic deflection forces tend to create small, intense swirls in high latitudes.
Another possible factor is that Jupiter emits a large amount of heat overall, almost equal to the amount it gets from the Sun, and this internal heat flow is likely to be greatly enhanced at the poles. This condition will intensify the thermal convection at the poles, creating more vortex structures. Further analysis of the Cassini probe, including an analysis of sequences over time, will help us understand the organization and evolution of clouds from the equator to the polar region.
At the time of the photo, the Cassini probe also approached Jupiter to allow the returned photos to contain more details that nasa's Ring Hell Hubble planetary cameras on Earth could not capture. At such close quarters, the resolution is 114 kilometers (about 71 miles) per pixel. The probe was almost on the line between Jupiter and the Sun, so the Sun's illumination on Jupiter was almost full in the photo.
The Cassini probe is a collaborative project between NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. One of pasadena's Caltech divisions, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, runs the Cassini project for NASA's Office of Space Science in Washington, D.C.
Source: NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory/University of Arizona
This image taken by the Cassini probe on December 1, 2000, shows details of Jupiter's Great Red Spot, as well as features that were not visible in previous photos taken at cassini's distance.
This image is color composite, with enhanced contrast, taken at a distance of 286 million kilometers (about 106 miles). The resolution is 170 km (about 106 miles) per pixel. The large moon closest to Jupiter, Io, is visible on the left side of the figure.
The Great Red Spot has more clouds of ammonia fog at the edges than in the center. The slender structure in the center exhibits a tendency to spiral towards the edges. Previously, NASA's Galileo spacecraft observed that when the inner edge of the Great Red Spot rotates weakly clockwise, its outer edge rotates rapidly counterclockwise. This result will now be revealed when Cassini approaches Jupiter and the characteristics of the clouds inside become more pronounced. Cassini will reach its closest point to Jupiter on December 30, 2000, about 10 million kilometers (about 6 million miles) from Jupiter.
The Great Red Spot has changed significantly in recent years: In the images taken by NASA's Voyager and Galileo spacecraft, the area around the Great Red Spot appears darker, indicating that the clouds are relatively thinner. Now some bright white ammonia clouds have filled these areas. This is one of the characteristics of the overall brightening of Jupiter's clouds in the last two decades.
Jupiter has four large moons and a large number of small moons. In this picture, Ganymede is clearly visible. The white and reddish colors of Ganymede's surface layer are due to the presence of different sulfur substances, while the black areas are due to silicate rocks. Similar to other large moons , Io always remains one hemisphere constant in the face of Jupiter , known as the sub-Jupiter hemisphere. The opposite hemisphere, the half we can see, is called the anti-Jupiter hemisphere.
Io has more than 100 active volcanoes spewing hot magma and billowing gas and dust. Its largest column of smoke, Pellet, is near the left edge of the bottom of the round face of Ganymede visible here.
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