Jupiter: At The Belt-Zone Boundary
Explanation:
Jupiter's thick atmosphere
is striped by wind-driven cloud bands
that remain fixed in latitude -
dark colored bands are known as belts while light colored bands are zones.
At Jupiter's belt-zone boundaries
the shearing
wind velocities can reach nearly 300 miles per hour.
Near infrared images recently returned by the Galileo Spacecraft
were mapped to visible colors
in this close-up of a belt-zone boundary near
the gas giant's equator.
The color mapping reveals different layers, lower clouds are bluish,
higher ones pinkish.
The smallest features seen are tens of miles across.
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.
