PIA00838: First Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (NIMS) Image of the Great Red Spot

Target Name: Jupiter Is a satellite of: Sol (our sun) Mission: Galileo Spacecraft: Galileo Orbiter Instrument: Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer Product Size: 1300 samples x 900 lines Produced By: JPL Producer ID: MRPS77701 Addition Date: 1998-03-26 Primary Data Set: Galileo EDRs Full-Res TIFF: PIA00838.tif (1.043 MB) Full-Res JPEG: PIA00838.jpg (38.36 kB)

Original Caption Released with Image: This image of Jupiter's Great Red Spot has different colors than what you normally see. This is because it was recorded by an instrument that looks at infrared "light" (rather than visible), the Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (NIMS) in late June, 1996. Red, green, and blue colors were chosen to represent what the NIMS "eye" saw at three different infrared wavelengths, which were picked because they reveal the differences in Jupiter's cloud heights. The yellow-green tinge of the Great Red Spot indicates the cloud particles are higher relative to the surrounding region, and shows structure within the red spot itself. The blue regions indicate a thinning of the clouds there. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Image Credit: NASA/JPL