The study of a planetary atmosphere like Saturn's is quite different from
studying solid surfaces, since atmospheres are dynamic and ever-changing.
In this Cassini image, the large-scale curvilinear pattern suggests flow
around the vortices in the center of the image. However, the fine-scale
linear striations are themselves notable for their indication of the
stability of the flow in this region.
Cassini imaging scientists make repeated observations--including making
movies--of Saturn's atmosphere in order to track storms and other features
and watch how the planet's dynamic atmosphere changes over time.
This image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on
Dec. 6, 2004, at a distance of about 3.3 million kilometers (2 million
miles) from Saturn through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared
light centered at 727 nanometers. The image scale is 39 kilometers (24
miles) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the
European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in
Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate,
Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were
designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at
the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page,
http://ciclops.org.
