Voyager 1 Captured Jupiter's Great Red Spot in 1979, Revealing 10-Hour Rotation
Updated
Updated · Science@NASA · Jul 29
Voyager 1 Captured Jupiter's Great Red Spot in 1979, Revealing 10-Hour Rotation
3 articles · Updated · Science@NASA · Jul 29
Summary
1979 images from Voyager 1 were compiled into a time-lapse of Jupiter that tracks the Great Red Spot's rotation and the swirl of nearby clouds.
A photo taken each time the storm was properly aligned let the sequence span several days, even though Jupiter completes one rotation in about 10 hours.
Voyager 1's rapid flyby also produced discoveries including previously unknown cloud patterns, rings, moons and active volcanoes on Jupiter's moon Io.
The spacecraft was still moving fast enough that NASA noted it would eventually leave the Solar System, underscoring the flyby's long scientific reach.