COLLECTION NAME:
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day Collection
Record
Title:
The Swirling Storms of Saturn
Explanation:
Storms larger than hurricanes continually dot the upper atmosphere of the planet Saturn. A view of many storms [ http://antwrp.gsfc.… ] occurring simultaneously was captured in July by the robot Cassini spacecraft [ http://saturn.jpl.n… ] now orbiting Saturn [ http://en.wikipedia… ]. An image of unusually high detail [ http://photojournal… ] was made possible at that time when Cassini isolated a very specific color of polarized [ http://acept.la.asu… ] infrared [ http://coolcosmos.i… ] light. The numerous white and dark spots visible above are the swirling storm systems [ http://antwrp.gsfc.… ]. On Saturn, storms like these typically last for months and have even been seen merging [ http://news.bbc.co.… ]. Bands of clouds [ http://www.windows.… ] that circle the entire planet are also clearly visible. Saturn's complex and majestic ring system [ http://www.planetar… ] is seen both in the foreground and the background. The above image [ http://photojournal… ] has been digitally shortened along the vertical.
Credit and Copyright:
Cassini Imaging Team [ http://ciclops.lpl.… ], SSI [ http://www.spacesci… ], JPL [ http://www.jpl.nasa… ], ESA [ http://www.esa.int/ ], NASA [ http://www.nasa.gov… ]
facet_where:
Arizona
facet_what:
Cassini
UID:
SPD-APOD-ap051010
