Welcome to the new version of CaltechAUTHORS. Login is currently restricted to library staff. If you notice any issues, please email coda@library.caltech.edu
Published October 18, 1996 | public
Journal Article

Galileo's First Images of Jupiter and the Galilean Satellites

Abstract

The first images of Jupiter, Io, Europa, and Ganymede from the Galileo spacecraft reveal new information about Jupiter's Great Red Spot (GRS) and the surfaces of the Galilean satellites. Features similar to clusters of thunderstorms were found in the GRS. Nearby wave structures suggest that the GRS may be a shallow atmospheric feature. Changes in surface color and plume distribution indicate differences in resurfacing processes near hot spots on Io. Patchy emissions were seen while Io was in eclipse by Jupiter. The outer margins of prominent linear markings (triple bands) on Europa are diffuse, suggesting that material has been vented from fractures. Numerous small circular craters indicate localized areas of relatively old surface. Pervasive brittle deformation of an ice layer appears to have formed grooves on Ganymede. Dark terrain unexpectedly shows distinctive albedo variations to the limit of resolution.

Additional Information

© 1996 American Association for the Advancement of Science. 24 September 1996; accepted 1 October 1996. We thank the current project manager, W. J. O'Neil, and his predecessors J. R. Casani and R. J. Spehalski for their leadership; T. Brady and J. Marr for flight software development and its implementation; G. Levanas and his team for their diagnosis of the tape recorder problems and the creation of a safe way to operate this device; and W. Cunningham and his team who provided the new SSI camera flight software. T. Becker, E. Lee, R. Sucharski, and T. Rosanova provided the team with maps. Many associates of team members contributed to the success of the SSI experiment; we thank N. Ausman, E. A. Alvarez del Castillo, K. Bender, H. Breneman, K. Buxbaum, T. Colvin, D. Deats, T. Denk, S. Fagents, A. DiCicco, P. Helfenstein, S. Henderson, K. Homan, T. Jones, J. M. Kaufman, R. Kirk, J. Klemaszewski, S. LaVoie, E. Lo, L. Lowes, K. Magee, W. Merline, R. Mitchell, H. Mortensen, B. Paczkowski, C. Phillips, K. Rages, A. Simon, D. Simonelli, J. N. Spitale, C. Stanley, E. Ustinov, D. Winther, D. Johnson, J. Van der Woude, J. Yatteau, A. Culver, D. Jensen, D. Alexander, and J. Yoshimizu. We acknowledge the contributions of absent colleagues H. Masursky, J. Pollack, C. Yeates, and J. Dunne. A portion of this research was carried out by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with NASA. The National Optical Astronomy Observatories are operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation.

Additional details

Created:
August 22, 2023
Modified:
October 23, 2023