This true color mosaic of Jupiter was constructed from images taken by the narrow angle camera onboard NASA's Cassini spacecraft.
On this page:
- Overview: Purposes of studying Jupiter and instrument roles
- Jupiter Data: Links to find general Jupiter data resources
Overview
Cassini-Huygens made its closest approach to Jupiter at a distance of 6.2 million miles (10 million kilometers) on Dec 30, 2000. All Cassini instruments except Radar, Radio Science and the Ion/Neutral Mass Spectrometer participated in the Jupiter flyby, which was categorized as an engineering exercise. This and the flyby distance placed strong constraints on the teams. Much of the effort was directed toward characterizing the instruments, improving calibration and gaining insight in operation of the spacecraft. The field and particles instruments carried out observations to further characterize the field and its interaction with the solar wind. This was done in collaboration with the Galileo mission that was in orbit around Jupiter. The optical instruments obtained time-lapse observations of Jupiter’s atmosphere, satellites and rings and the torus over a wider frequency range than before.
The first image was obtained on Oct 1, 2000 and the last on April 28, 2001 with IR and UV observations in the interval. Global mapping of Jupiter spanned a period from Oct 1-Dec 9, 2000. 2X2 Mosaics were taken from Nov 25 to Dec 9. Starting Dec 10 to Jan 13 2001 VIMS, CIRS, UVIS or ISS controlled targeting imaging Callisto, Europa, Ganymede, Io and Himalia. Rings were observed by CIRS, VIMS and ISS from Dec 19 to Jan 6.
The
Cassini Mission Final Report summarizes the status of science, in 2018, as a result of Cassini exploration. It also includes open questions that will be explored by future scientists.
Mission Objectives
- Jupiter and Satellite Studies (J_AO1) – Extend the time for studies of atmospheric dynamics and variable satellite phenomena, specifically Io volcanism, beyond the period accessible to the Galileo nominal mission.
- Jupiter Global Atmospheric Structure and Composition (J_AO2) – Infer global atmospheric thermal structure and composition with instrumentation not carried by the Galileo orbiter, complementing the local in situ measurements of the Galileo probe.
- Jupiter Magnetospheric Studies (J_AO3) – Explore the dusk side of the magnetosphere and intermediate regions of the magnetotail unvisited by previous spacecraft.
- Jupiter Io Torus (J_AO4) – Obtain the first high-resolution images of the Io torus.
Remote sensing – UV to IR observations
Magnetospheric observations – Including Simultaneous Observations of Galileo/Cassini observations
- Opportunities for Synergistic Observations between Cassini-Huygens and Earth-Orbital and Ground-Based Observatories. D.L. Matson, J-P. Lebreton, L. Spilker. American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #35, id.33.07; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 35, p.975
- Control of Jupiter's radio emission and aurorae by the solar wind
Nature, 415 (2002), pp. 985-987. D.A. Gurnet, et al.
- Cassini Fly-by of Jupiter: Correlation of Cassini and Galileo Magnetometer Data, EGS XXVII General Assembly, Nice, 21-26 April 2002, abstract #3188, M. K. Dougherty, M. K., Kivelson, M. G., D. J. Southwood. Reported on coherence over large scales of much solar wind field structure and the response near Jupiter to upstream changes.
- Observations of the Dusk Side Jovian Bow Shock and Magnetopause by Wave Investigations on Galileo and Cassini, W.S. Kurth, American Geophysical Union, Spring Meeting 2001, abstract id.P52A-05
- Cassini RPWS Findings at Jupiter
Jupiter Data
Remote Sensing
These tables help understand the scope of observations of Jupiter and satellites during the encounter. Individual indices could aid in determining which data to retrieve.
Tables of observations of:
Data
CIRS Archive - cocirs_0011 to cocirs_0101 contain the Jupiter flyby data
- Links to raw data products along with reference tables to aid in finding archived data files related to observations of the Jovian system.
- The folders within the link are formatted as 'cocirs_yymm' where 'yymm' indicate the year and month.
- More details about these data volumes can be found on the CIRS page. Note especially, the user’s guide.
- Indices
ISS Data Volumes
- The bulk of the ISS Jupiter data is in Volume 2
and Volume 3 of the Earth/Venus/Jupiter EDR Data Sets
- These Data Volumes provide data sets of raw images (EDRs) from ISS and are located at the PDS Imaging node.
- Additional information can be found at the PDS Imaging Node.
- More details about these data volumes can be found on the ISS page. Note especially, the user's guide
- Indices
RADAR, Ion/Neutral Mass Spectrometer (INMS) and Radio Science – no data
Magnetospheric Observations
This table presents the flyby geometry during the encounter and could aid in determining which data to retrieve.
HRD Archive Links - The High Rate Detector is an independent part of the CDA instrument that measures the dust flux and particle mass distribution of dust particles hitting the HRD detectors.
Derived Products Cassini's Best Maps of Jupiter
- A Cylindrical Map (PIA07782) with and without grid
- A North Polar Map (PIA07783) with and without grid
- A South Polar Map (PIA07784) with and without grid