February 28, 2008

Memories of Jupiter

A year ago, New Horizons was flying through the heart of the Jupiter system, gradually picking up speed and systematically gathering spectacular data on the solar system’s largest planet and its closest moons. The results of that spectacular flyby have since been featured on thousands of electronic and printed pages, including a special issue of the journal Science in October 2007.

New Horizons scientists recently took a new look at one of the more memorable images from the Jupiter collection: that of the erupting volcano Tvashtar on the moon Io. Taken through two of the four filters in the sensitive Multispectral Visible Imaging Camera, the picture shows the reddish colors of the plume deposits surrounding the base of the volcano – a view we hadn’t seen in earlier pictures. Check it out in the New Horizons gallery.

Revisit the highlights of the historic Jupiter encounter:

New Horizons Sees Changes in Jupiter System, October 2007

Pluto-Bound New Horizons Provides New Look at Jupiter System, May 2007