Welcome to the PDS Atmospheres Node

Galileo Support Information



  • NEW! Galileo Support Observations from Pic du Midi


  • Voyager 1 Red Spot Reference Mosaic

    This mosaic has been constructed from Voyager violet and green images from the narrow angle camera that were obtained at a range of about 2,350,000 to 2,360,000 km (images FDS 16341.45-.59) yielding a sample rate of about 22 km/pixel. The map is projected as equal spacing in west longitude and planetographic latitude. It is centered at -23 deg latitude and 78 deg longitude and spans +/-15 degrees in both latitude and longitude. It is projected at 50 pixels/degree which at -23 degrees latitude yields a pixelation of about 23 km/deg, preserving the resolution of the original images.

    Should you wish to convert to planetocentric latitude use the following formula

    tan lat(centric) = (67040/71398)**2 tan lat(graphic)

    where 67040 is the polar radius and 71398 the equatorial radius.

    The orange and purple bands cover regions where the violet and green frames did not overlap, (the green frame was generated by adding parts of the other filters, therefore, generating these colors).

    Map by Reta Beebe and Dasan Washburn and is a product of the New Mexico State University Atmospheres Discipline Node of the NASA Planetary Data System under the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Contract Number 960508.


  • Jupiter's Equatorial Region

    This map has been constructed from Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2/PC images [U2YH150A, 150K, 150S, 1512, 151B, 151L, and 151V] obtained on May 14 (day 135) at 14:50 UT to May 15 00:18 UT with the F953N (central wavelength 953.4 nm, bandwidth 6.1 nm). Limb-darkening has been removed but no correction has been made for cloud displacement over the 10-hr period (see displacement in equatorial region above the Red Spot).

    This is an equally spaced latitude-longitude projection centered on (0,180) = (lat(graphic),long(Sys III-W)) and extending +/- 25 deg in latitude and 180 deg in longitude. The data are mapped on a scale of 6 pixels/degree or approximately 200 km/pixel at the subspacecraft point [This data was obtained when Jupiter was at a range of 681,690,000 km, resulting in a sampling of 152 km/pixel at the subsolar point- the sampling rate was chosen to accommodate latitudinal and projection effects of off-CM pixels] and represents WFPC2/PC resolution. The feature near 319 deg longitude is the "Hot Spot" the probe entered. It is translating eastward at about 7.2 deg/day.

    Map by Reta Beebe and Amy Simon and is a product of the New Mexico State University Atmospheres Discipline Node of the NASA Planetary Data System under the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Contract Number 960508.


  • Global Map Of Jupiter

    This map has been constructed from Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2/PC images [u2mo0106, 0206, 0306, 0406, 0506, and 0606] obtained on Feb. 17, 1995 (day 48) 18:22 UT to Feb. 18 02:19 UT with the F410M (central wavelength 409.0 nm, bandwidth 14.6 nm). Limb-darkening has been removed but no correction has been made for cloud displacement over the 8-hr period.

    This is an equally spaced latitude-longitude projection centered on (0,265) = (lat(graphic),long(Sys III-W)) and extending +/- 65 deg in latitude and 180 deg in longitude. The data are mapped on a scale of 4 pixels/degree or approximately 410 km/pixel at the subspacecraft point [This data was obtained when Jupiter was at a range of 826,046,000 km, resulting in a sampling of 182 km/pixel at the subsolar point] and represents WFPC2/PC resolution.

    Map by Reta Beebe and Amy Simon and is a product of the New Mexico State University Atmospheres Discipline Node of the NASA Planetary Data System under the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Contract Number 960508.


  • A Hubble Space Telescope Sequence of the Red Spot:
    Aug 24, 1994, Feb 17, 1995, Oct 05, 1995, May 14, 1996

    These maps have been constructed from Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2/PC images [u2fi2O06, u2mo0208, u2yh0114 and u2yh150a] obtained on Aug 24, 1994, Feb 17, 1995, Oct 05, 1995 and May 14, 1996. Measured longitudinal positions of the western edge of the spot yield sequential drift rates of 0.288 deg/day, 0.295 deg/day and 0.288 deg/day. The images were obtained with the F953N (effective wavelength 956.6 nm, half bandwidth 5.25 nm). Limb-darkening has been removed and the maps are projected at 10 pixels/degree. All maps are centered on -23 deg planetographic latitude and span +/-20 deg latitude and +/-30 degrees longitude. The longitude of the map centers are 122.3, 173.3, 241.1 and 304.8 degrees W longitude in Sys III.

    Maps are by Reta Beebe and Amy Simon and are products of the New Mexico State University Atmospheres Discipline Node of the NASA Planetary Data System under the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Contract Number 960508.


  • Time Sequence of the 'Orton Hot Spot' associated with the Galileo Entry Probe

    These map projections span +/- 10 deg planetographic latitude, +/- 30 deg longitude and are centered on 6.5 deg graphic latitude (5.9 deg centric). The Galileo probe entered at 7.2 deg graphic (6.54 deg centric) latitude. The four maps were derived from HST WFPC2 images obtained through the F953N filter which shows the maximum cloud contrast at that latitude. All four maps show evidence of a stable anticyclonic system associated with a large classical 'plume' located between 0 and 7 deg N latitude. The following table gives central longitudes for each map and drift rates and elapsed time between maps:

    Image Cent. Name Mode long (dys) (dg/dy) (m/s) u2fi2o06 WF 129 177 7.035 101.5 u2mo0509 PC 324 230 7.202 104.0 u2yh010k PC 108 221 71.89 103.8 u2yh150a PC 319

    Maps are by Reta Beebe and Amy Simon and are products of the New Mexico State University Atmospheres Discipline Node of the NASA Planetary Data System under the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Contract Number 960508.


  • A Color Comparison of the 'Orton Hot Spot' associated with the Probe Entry Site

    The hotspot associated with the probe entry is seen on the right in the 953N filtered image. A similar feature is seen on the left of the image. Note the clouds trailing across this feature from northwest to southeast; indicating this circulation does not extend to high altitudes. The lack of contrast in the F889N filter supports this argument. North of the second (left) hotspot there is an active convective site that is readly visible in the blue and F889N images. This type of feature originates in the cyclonic North Equatorial Belt and much of the turbulent cloud structure and convective activity in the leading edge of the equatorial plumes is associated with the plumes catching up and passing these convective regions.

    Maps are by Reta Beebe and Amy Simon and are products of the New Mexico State University Atmospheres Discipline Node of the NASA Planetary Data System under the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Contract Number 960508.