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Updated: May 22, 2026

Bringing the Visible Universe into Focus with Robo-AO
Published on: February 12, 2013
Cassini imaging of Jupiter's atmosphere, satellites, and rings
Carolyn C Porco1, Robert A West, Alfred McEwen
1Department of Space Sciences, Southwest Research Institute, 1050 Walnut Street, Suite 400, Boulder, CO 80302, USA. carolyn@ciclops.swri.edu
Abstract:
The Cassini Imaging Science Subsystem acquired about 26,000 images of the Jupiter system as the spacecraft encountered the giant planet en route to Saturn. We report findings on Jupiter's zonal winds, convective storms, low-latitude upper troposphere, polar stratosphere, and northern aurora. We also describe previously unseen emissions arising from Io and Europa in eclipse, a giant volcanic plume over Io's north pole, disk-resolved images of the satellite Himalia, circumstantial evidence for a causal relation between the satellites Metis and Adrastea and the main jovian ring, and information on the nature of the ring particles.
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