Running Red Rings Around Jupiter
Explanation:
Jupiter has rings, too. Unlike
Saturn's bright rings
which are composed of chunks of ice,
Jupiter's rings
are darker and appear to consist of fine particles of rock. The
six pictures
above
were taken in infrared light from the
Infrared Telescope Facility
in
Hawaii in 1994, and cover a time
span of two hours. Quite visible are Jupiter's
rings,
bands and
spots
in the
outer atmosphere. Also visible
in the photos, however, are two small Jovian moons.
Metis,
only 40 kilometers across, appears in the second picture as a
dim spot on the rings to the right of Jupiter.
Amalthea,
much larger and brighter, appears in the third frame on the far left, and can
be seen to pass across the face of
Jupiter
in frames four and five. The origin of
Jupiter's rings
remains unknown,
although hypothesized to be created by material scattered from
meteorite impacts onto
Jupiter's moons.
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.
