Farewell Jupiter
Explanation:
Next stop: Saturn.
The
Cassini spacecraft,
launched from Earth in 1997,
has now swung
past Jupiter and should arrive at
Saturn
in the year 2004.
Pictured to the left is a
parting shot from Cassini in January that
would not have been possible from Earth: Jupiter showing a
crescent phase.
From the Earth and all points sunward of
Jupiter,
the gas giant will always appear more fully lit than a
crescent.
Recent
analysis of Jupiter images taken from Cassini bolsters
indications that
clouds well up from below in the light
colored zones, not the
dark colored belts,
as believed previously.
After arriving at Saturn,
Cassini will decelerate to
orbit the ringed world and send a
probe to its enigmatic moon
Titan.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
