Mosaic
of Jupiter's northern hemisphere between 10 and 50 degrees latitude. Jupiter's
atmospheric circulation is dominated by alternating eastward and westward
jets from equatorial to polar latitudes. The direction and speed of these
jets in part determine the color and texture of the clouds seen in this
mosaic. Also visible are several other common Jovian cloud features, including
large white ovals, bright spots, dark spots, interacting vortices, and turbulent
chaotic systems. The north-south dimension of each of the two interacting
vortices in the upper half of the mosaic is about 3500 kilometers. |
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This
mosaic uses the Galileo imaging camera's three near-infrared wavelengths
(756 nanometers, 727 nanometers, and 889 nanometers displayed in red, green,
and blue) to show variations in cloud height and thickness. Light blue clouds
are high and thin, reddish clouds are deep, and white clouds are high and
thick. The clouds and haze over the ovals are high, extending into Jupiter's
stratosphere. Dark purple most likely represents a high haze overlying a
clear deep atmosphere. Galileo is the first spacecraft to distinguish cloud
layers on Jupiter. |
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