NASA's Cassini Probe Sends New Shots Of Jupiter

NASA has released new images of Jupiter, captured by the Cassini probe, while the spacecraft is on its way to Saturn have been made public for the first time. The pictures, are being analyzed by scientists at the Astronomy Unit at Queen Mary, University of London.

Well, There Goes That Theory

As well as providing new views of Jupiter and its moons, they have turned at least one scientific assumption about the giant planet upside down. The new evidence, published in the journal Science, revises long held beliefs about Jupiter's dark belts and lighter zones.

For a long time, scientists studying Jupiter thought that the pale regions were areas of rising atmosphere while air in the dark bands was descending.

But Cassini's images suggest that the opposite is true - light-colored zones are full of sinking atmosphere while the darker areas indicate the noxious gases are rising. Cassini was launched in October 1997 on a mission to Saturn, which it should reach in July next year.

It carries the European Space Agency's Huygens probe. It will separate from Cassini and parachute into the atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan, thought to be rich in valuable gases.

While We Were In The Neighborhood...

Cassini speeded to within six million miles of Jupiter to use the "slingshot effect" - to pick up speed by getting a gravitational kick from the planet. Scientists took the opportunity to obtain thousands of images. The pictures clearly show Jupiter's swirling cloud bands and the planet's famous Red Spot - thought to be a giant storm system. Jupiter's largest moon, Ganymede, can also be seen, looking like a tiny pea.

FMI: www.nasa.gov