Jupiter (Planet) -- Photographs from space; Jupiter probes; Voyager Project
[Illustration: The plume is silhouetted against the black space,
although it is also possible to see dark “feet” where the falling
material reaches the surface. [P-21295]]
[Illustration: The complex jets of material are clearly seen as dark
streaks against the light background of the surface of Io. The plume
itself rose more than 100 kilometers above Io’s surface. [P-21294]]
Meanwhile, new information about Jupiter was released to the public. A
long-exposure (three minutes and twelve seconds) image of the dark side
of the planet, taken with the wide-angle camera while in the shadow of
the planet, caught Jupiter showing off some Jovian “fireworks.” A long,
broad, white streak across the picture was a visible aurora, the largest
aurora ever seen—almost 29 000 kilometers long. In addition, nineteen
smaller bright splotches, looking insignificant by comparison, were in
reality “superbolts” of lightning. Since huge electrical discharges such
as lightning can, under the right circumstances, power chemical
reactions that form complex organic molecules, the discovery of
lightning on Jupiter could have profound implications. Was
“lightning-inspired” organic synthesis going on in Jupiter’s atmosphere?
No one knew.
Returning to JPL on Sunday night, Brad Smith got his first look at the
Morabito picture of the volcanic cloud. Early Monday morning, other
Imaging Team scientists saw it. As soon as the JPL computers were
operating, Joseph Veverka and Robert Strom began working with the two
interactive TV terminals to look for evidence in other pictures of
ongoing eruptions. Faint clouds or plumes would not show up in normally
processed pictures, but could be brought out easily with the
computer-controlled displays. By midmorning, several additional volcanic
plumes had been found.
[Illustration: Linda Morabito shows the discovery photo of the
volcanic eruptions on Io. [P-21718]]
[Illustration: The dark side of Jupiter revealed many surprising
phenomena to Voyager 1. A wide-angle view, taken on March 5, led to
the discovery of a double auroral arc at north-polar latitudes and
numerous flashes of lightning illuminating the clouds during this
3-minute, 12-second exposure, taken at a range of half a million
kilometers. [260-460]]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account