images

Jupiter rings

by

Nasa/JPL/Novapix

Reference

a-jup05-00091

Date

2006-10-02

This mosaic of Jupiter's ring system was acquired by NASA's Galileo spacecraft when the Sun was behind the planet, and the spacecraft was in Jupiter's shadow peering back toward the Sun. In such a configuration, very small dust-sized particles are accentuated so both the ring particles and the smallest particles in the upper atmosphere of Jupiter are highlighted. This composite of two mosaics was taken on November 9, 1996, during Galileo's third orbit of Jupiter. The ring was approximately 2,300,000 kilometers away.