This recent photo of Jupiter taken by the television cameras aboard NASA's
Voyager 1 is dominated by the Great Red Spot. Although the spacecraft is still
34 million miles (54 million kilometers) from a March 5 closest approach,
Voyager's cameras already reveal details within the spot that aren't visible
from Earth. An atmospheric system larger than Earth and more than 300 years old,
the Great Red Spot remains a mystery and a challenge to Voyager's instruments.
Swirling, storm-like features possibly associated with wind shear can be seen
both to the left and above the Red Spot. Analysis of motions of the features
will lead to a better understanding of weather in Jupiter's atmosphere. This
photo was taken Jan. 9, 1979 and reassembled at Jet Propulsion Laboratory's
Image Processing Laboratory. JPL manages the Voyager project for NASA.
