Jupiter Mosaics and Movies - Rings, Satellites, Atmosphere (NASA Cassini Jupiter Images)

CICLOPS: Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for OPerationS

Jupiter Mosaics and Movies - Rings, Satellites, Atmosphere

[For trouble viewing the images/movies on this page, go here]

Avg Rating: 8.61/10

Zoom movie 1 720x486 197 frames:
GIF 26.5 MB

Avg Rating: 7.63/10

Zoom movie 2 720x486 197 frames:
GIF 21.7 MB

Avg Rating: 8/10

Zoom movie 3 720x486 197 frames:
GIF 25.0 MB

Images and movies shown during the NASA press conference held on December 30, 2000 for Cassini's closest approach to Jupiter:

Movie 1: Red Spot and western turbulance

Movie 2: Southern Ovals

Movie 3: Sliding "ball bearing" eddies east of the Red Spot

Movie 4: Brown Spot/White Storm (in North Equatorial belt)

Movie 5: Tracking a Hot Spot

Movie 6: Northern Hemisphere "Brain" features and dark vorticies

Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona, Cosmos Studios, Diamond Sky Productions LLC
Released: December 30, 2000
Image/Caption Information

Avg Rating: 9.12/10

Zoom movie 4 720x486 197 frames:
GIF 29.6 MB

Avg Rating: 9.75/10

Zoom movie 5 720x486 197 frames:
GIF 26.6 MB

Avg Rating: 7.80/10

Zoom movie 6 720x486 197 frames:
GIF 24.3 MB

Jupiter Satellite/Ring movie

This brief movie clip is made from images taken during 40 hour sequence targetted to the Jovian ring on December 11, 2000. The segment shown here is 16 hours long and shows the motions of the two ring-embedded satellites Adrastea (the fainter of the two) and Metis (the brighter of the two). The satellites each go around twice during this movie. Images such as these, and others taken throughout the encounter, will be used to refine the orbits of these two bodies.

Avg Rating: 483.35/10

284x152 300 frames:
GIF 3.2 MB
MPEG 1.7 MB

High Resolution globe of Jupiter

A true color simulated view of Jupiter made from images taken on December 7. At that time, 4 images were necessary to cover the globe of Jupiter. Those images have been mosaicked together and composited to make a true color cylindrical map. The map was projected onto an oblate spheroid to illustrate what Jupiter would have looked like if the cameras had a field of view large enough to capture the entire planet. The resolution is ~ 144 km/pixel.

Avg Rating: 8.36/10

1920x1080:
JPEG 101 KB
GIF 485 KB
TIFF 2.0 MB

2D Interpolated Movie

This smooth movie sequence covering 10 days, from October 31 to November 9, 2000 was made by interpolating in time between cylindrical projections of Jupiter's atmosphere created from real Cassini narrow angle images. The timestep in between frames is 1.1 hours. The interpolation was carried out using the velocity field of the Jovian atmosphere derived from Voyager images 20 years ago.

Avg Rating: 9.11/10

720x486 197 frames:
GIF 13.3 MB

3D Interpolated Movie

This is what Jupiter would look like if it were in perpetual sunlight, and one could hover above the Red Spot for 10 days. It is made by wrapping the 2D movie above onto an oblate spheroid matching Jupiter's size and shape.

Avg Rating: 8.46/10

720x486 197 frames:
GIF 3.7 MB

Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona, Cosmos Studios, Diamond Sky Productions LLC
Released: December 30, 2000
Image/Caption Information

Alliance Member Comments

Pedro Diaz-Rubin (Dec 20, 2008 at 1:11 PM):

Hi everybody,

With regards to my comment on what seams to be an inner moon orbiting under Jupiter's cloud deck (In Movie 1, "Red Spot and western turbulence"), the phenomenon I described last year is larger than a pixel, it comes out into view when the cloud deck covering it clears out and it fades out when it catches up with a thicker cloud deck section. It also seams to be round.

I understand the skepticism of Carolyn, and the only other explanation I could think, other than a moon orbiting under the cloud deck of Jupiter, is a reflection of the sun on atmospheric crystals. It would be interesting to calculate the reflected diameter of the sun on Jupiter's top clouds decks.

What ever it is, definitely is round, and its bright green hue contrast against the pale hues of the cloud deck background.

carolyn (CICLOPS) (Mar 1, 2007 at 6:01 PM):

Vista.... You won't see Phoebe again like you saw it back in 2004 because it is an outer moon of Saturn, and it was just by luck that our approach to Saturn brought us close to Phoebe. Now our orbits around Saturn are so much smaller, we never get out to Phoebe's distance again. But it was a grand opening to a spectacular show, wasn't it?

vista (Feb 19, 2007 at 2:48 PM):

Hi,
I agree with Carolyn, not likely that there would be moons inside Jupiters Clouds, But moons have been found inside the Rings of Saturn.

Speaking of moons i have not seen much more about Saturn moon Pheope the first moon of Saturn that Cassini imaged after arriving at Saturn.
I thing those first images of Pheope are amazing Cassini really Buzzed Pheope.

Vista

carolyn (CICLOPS) (Feb 19, 2007 at 12:18 PM):

Pedro...

Very imaginative idea but not likely. This is almost certainly an artifact of the processing....probably a bad pixel that got reproduced, from frame to frame, in the interpolation scheme that was used to make the atmospheric motions look smooth between the actual image frames.

Moonsister (Feb 16, 2007 at 6:06 PM):

Now wouldn't that be something, moons INSIDE Jupiter and Saturn... and on/in those moons? One can only dream, right now.... What kind of beings might inhabit such a place we can only ponder. We must keep the dream alive so we can fnd out! Imagine floating gas cows feasting on ?? and propelling themselves with methane.."What a world, what a world" to quote a famous witch, now deceased..

Pedro Diaz-Rubin (Feb 16, 2007 at 11:59 AM):

Hi, I sent an e-mail before a few years ago, but I think it is important to bring back this issue again:

In Movie 1, "Red Spot and western turbulence," there seams to be a bright green spherical moon orbiting high within the cloud decks of Jupiter. The object is visible at the end of the animation when it passes under a cloud deck hole and then is cover again by the clouds (white band just lower right of the Red Spot). It is smaller than Io's shadow would be at that spot. I believe it compares to Pluto's moon Charon in size.

The bright green color might indicate its surface is warmer than Io's since it is under tremendous gravitational tide forces from Jupiter. Its surface might be boiling which might be contributing gases into Jupiter's atmosphere. It makes me wonder if there is a family of Jovian moons orbiting under the deck clouds of Jupiter. Would this be true also for Saturn the other gas giant planets?

Want to add a comment? Login (for Alliance Members) ... or ... Join the CICLOPS Alliance!