Suggested Searches

1 min read

New Horizons Soldiers On

New Horizons Soldiers On
As the New Horizons spacecraft continues its journey, it gives to those of us who are Earth bound breathtaking images of our solar system. In February of 2007, New Horizons passed Jupiter and the ever-active Jovian moon Io. In this montage, Jupiter was captured in three bands of infrared light making the Great Red Spot look white.

As the New Horizons spacecraft continues its journey, it gives to those of us who are Earth bound breathtaking images of our solar system. In February of 2007, New Horizons passed Jupiter and the ever-active Jovian moon Io. In this montage, Jupiter was captured in three bands of infrared light making the Great Red Spot look white. Complex hurricane-like ovals, swirls, and planet-ringing bands are visible in Jupiter’s complex atmosphere. Io is digitally superposed in natural color. Fortuitously, a plume was emanating from Io’s volcano Tvashtar. Frost and sulfuric lava cover the volcanic moon, while red-glowing lava is visible beneath the blue sunlight-scattering plume. The robotic New Horizons spacecraft is on track to arrive at Pluto in 2015.Image Credit: NASA, JHU-APL, Southwest Research Institute