A Storm on Saturn
Credit & Copyright: NASA,
HST, WFPC 2, Reta Beebe
(NMSU), D. Gilmore, L. Bergeron
(STScI)
Explanation:
The
white wisp
shown on
Saturn's cloud tops is actually a major storm system only discovered
in December of 1994.
Saturn's
clouds are composed of primarily
hydrogen and
helium, but the storm's white
clouds are actually ammonia ice crystals that have frozen upon upheaval to
the top of the atmosphere. The storm may look small but has an extent similar
to the diameter of the
Earth. This picture is a color composite of
several taken by the
Hubble Space Telescope.
Saturn is the second largest planet in the
Solar System and has the most elaborate
ring system.
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.
