New Horizons: Jupiter Encounter. Through 2007.

3488 · May 2, 2007

This montage compares similar sides of Io photographed by the Galileo spacecraft in October 1999 (left) and the New Horizons spacecraft on February 27, 2007. The New Horizons image was taken with its Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) from a range of 2.7 million kilometers (1.7 million miles). Most features on Io have changed little in the seven-plus years between these images, despite continued intense volcanic activity. The largest visible feature is the dark oval composed of deposits from the Pele volcano, nearly 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) across its longest dimension. At high northern latitudes, the volcano Dazhbog is prominent as a dark spot in the New Horizons image, near the edge of the disk at the 11 o'clock position. This volcano is much less conspicuous in the Galileo image. This darkening happened after this 1999 Galileo image but before Galileo took its last images of Io in 2001. A more recent change, discovered by New Horizons, can be seen in the southern hemisphere (circled). A new volcanic eruption near 55 degrees south, 290 degrees west has created a roughly circular deposit nearly 500 kilometers (300 miles) in diameter that was not seen by Galileo. Other New Horizons images show that the plume that created this deposit is still active. The New Horizons image is centered at Io coordinates 8 degrees south, 269 degrees west. Release Date: May 1, 2007. High resolution here. Io changes. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute. ============================================================================== Will stop here as I may be accused of Spamming & get banned!!! Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

anthmartian · May 2, 2007

Brilliant stuff Andrew. Thanks. <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> At the moment, i am putting together New Horizons stuff for the DVD. If you have anything you have worked on added please send it to me. I'm guessing i have your permission to use anything posted here? P.S, it is looking pretty amazing! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "Traveling through hyperspace ain't like dusting crops, boy! Without precise calculations we could fly right through a star, or bounce too close to a supernova and that'd end your trip real quick, wouldn't it?"Han Solo - 1977 - A long time ago in a galaxy far far away.... Click Here And jump over to my site. </div>

3488 · May 2, 2007

Hi Anthmartian. Of course you do. I will be sending you some stuff, fairly shortly. ============================================================================== Hi all, Below. Himalia from New Horizons LORRI Camera. I have enlarged it quite considerably, about 600%!!!!! Thursday 1st March 2007, from 10.8 million kilometres. Himalia is Jupiter's fifth largest moon at about 190 KM across. It is thought to be similar to or is a captured type S (Silicate) asteroid, a much larger version of main belt asteroids 243 Ida, 433 Eros & 951 Gaspra, the three just mentioned we have detailed imagery of. Himalia orbits Jupiter in a Prograde direction at a distance of approx: 11.5 million kilometres, once every 250 days & 13 hours. Himalia is thought to rotate once on its axis about every nine hours. Himalia is the largest of the 'middle' group of smaller asteroidal type Jovien moons. The group consists of Himalia, Elara, Lysithia & Leda (in descending size order). This is the second time that Himalia has been imaged by an interplanetary spacecraft (the first time was by Cassini / Huygens back in December 2000). Unfortunately, Himalia's positioning was not good then as it was not good this time. Himalia below is about six pixels, but does show an elongated north to south shape. This is more likely due to the phase angle, rather than shape. New Horizons was to have imaged Himalia over a course of a day, to determine: 1). Light curve, due to shape & rotation period, thought to be about nine hours, based on Cassini / Huygens data. 2). Rotational direction & tilt. 3). Higher resolution spectral analysis. Similar observations were due of Elara too (Jupiter's eighth largest moon). I assume these observations are still being returned to Earth???? Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

3488 · May 2, 2007

Io eclipse 2. This image of Io eclipsed by Jupiter's shadow is a combination of several images taken by the New Horizons Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) between 09:35 and 09:41 Universal Time on February 27, 2007, about 28 hours after the spacecraft's closest approach to Jupiter. North is at the top of the image. In the darkness, only glowing hot lava, auroral displays in Io's tenuous atmosphere and the moon's volcanic plumes are visible. The brightest points of light in the image are the glow of incandescent lava at several active volcanoes. The three brightest volcanoes south of the equator are, from left to right, Pele, Reiden and Marduk. North of the equator, near the disk center, a previously unknown volcano near 22 degrees north, 233 degrees west glows brightly. (The dark streak to its right is an artifact.) The edge of Io's disk is outlined by the auroral glow produced as intense radiation from Jupiter's magnetosphere bombards the atmosphere. The glow is patchy because the atmosphere itself is patchy, being denser over active volcanoes. At the 1 o'clock position the giant glowing plume from the Tvashtar volcano rises 330 kilometers (200 miles) above the edge of the disk, and several smaller plumes are also visible as diffuse glows scattered across the disk. Bright glows at the edge of Io on the left and right sides of the disk mark regions where electrical currents connect Io to Jupiter's magnetosphere. New Horizons was 2.8 million kilometers (1.7 million miles) from Io when this picture was taken, and the image is centered at Io coordinates 2 degrees south, 238 degrees west. The image has been heavily processed to remove scattered light from Jupiter, but some artifacts remain, including a horizontal seam where two sets of frames were pieced together. Total exposure time for this image was 56 seconds. Release Date: May 1, 2007 Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/So <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

3488 · May 2, 2007

Io, Europa, Ganymede & Callisto family mug shot. This montage shows the best views of Jupiter's four large and diverse "Galilean" satellites as seen by the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) on the New Horizons spacecraft during its flyby of Jupiter in late February 2007. The four moons are, from left to right: Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. The images have been scaled to represent the true relative sizes of the four moons and are arranged in their order from Jupiter. Io, 3,640 kilometers (2,260 miles) in diameter, was imaged at 03:50 Universal Time on February 28 from a range of 2.7 million kilometers (1.7 million miles). The original image scale was 13 kilometers per pixel, and the image is centered at Io coordinates 6 degrees south, 22 degrees west. Io is notable for its active volcanism, which New Horizons has studied extensively. Europa, 3,120 kilometers (1,938 miles) in diameter, was imaged at 01:28 Universal Time on February 28 from a range of 3 million kilometers (1.8 million miles). The original image scale was 15 kilometers per pixel, and the image is centered at Europa coordinates 6 degrees south, 347 degrees west. Europa's smooth, icy surface likely conceals an ocean of liquid water. New Horizons obtained data on Europaâ€™s surface composition and imaged subtle surface features, and analysis of these data may provide new information about the ocean and the icy shell that covers it. New Horizons spied Ganymede, 5,262 kilometers (3,268 miles) in diameter, at 10:01 Universal Time on February 27 from 3.5 million kilometers (2.2 million miles) away. The original scale was 17 kilometers per pixel, and the image is centered at Ganymede coordinates 6 degrees south, 38 degrees west. Ganymede, the largest moon in the solar system, has a dirty ice surface cut by fractures and peppered by impact craters. New Horizonsâ€™ infrared observations may provide insight into the composition of the moonâ€™s surface and interi <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

3488 · May 2, 2007

Jupiter Rings. The New Horizons spacecraft took the best images of Jupiterâ€™s charcoal-black rings as it approached and then looked back at Jupiter. The top image was taken on approach, showing three well-defined lanes of gravel- to boulder-sized material composing the bulk of the rings, as well as lesser amounts of material between the rings. New Horizons snapped the lower image after it had passed Jupiter on February 28, 2007, and looked back in a direction toward the sun. The image is sharply focused, though it appears fuzzy due to the cloud of dust-sized particles enveloping the rings. The dust is brightly illuminated in the same way the dust on a dirty windshield lights up when you drive toward a â€œlowâ€ sun. The narrow rings are confined in their orbits by small â€œshepherdingâ€ moons. Release Date: May 1, 2007. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute. High resolution here. Jupiter Rings. Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

3488 · May 2, 2007

Tvashtar composite. Variations in the appearance of the giant plume from the Tvashtar volcano on Jupiter's moon Io are seen in this composite of the best photos taken by the New Horizons Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) during its Jupiter flyby in late February-early March 2007. New Horizons was fortunate to witness this unusually large plume during its brief Jupiter flyby; the Galileo Jupiter orbiter spent more than five years imaging the volcanic moon (between 1996 and 2001) without ever capturing such detailed pictures of a large Io plume. The plume is roughly 330 kilometers (200 miles) high. The cause of the fine wispy structure in the plume, which varies strikingly from image to image, is unknown, but these pictures may help scientists to understand the phenomenon. The pictures were taken at distances ranging from 3.1 to 2.3 million kilometers (1.9 to 1.4 million miles), but they have been scaled to show the plume at the same relative size in every frame. Illumination conditions also vary: in the final image, Io's shadow cuts across the plume and hides all but its topmost regions, and the glow of hot lava can be seen on the nightside at the source of the plume. The times of the images, from top to bottom, are: February 26, 18:38 (Universal Time); February 26, 21:01; February 28, 03:50; February 28, 04:40; February 28, 11:04; and March 1, 00:35. Release Date: May 1, 2007 Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute. High resolution here. Tvashtar Volcano. Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

rocketman5000 · May 2, 2007

you've been busy while the site was down

portercc · May 2, 2007

You're pretty fast Andrew. Really nice to see some information coming out. I really found the infrared sandwich (you posted it) of Ganymede interesting. I watched about twenty minutes of the webcast before having to turn it off. Am I correct in understanding they made seven hundred "observations" ?

3488 · May 3, 2007

Yes, 700 observations were carried out & about 500 have been returned so far. We do know that all 700 observations were successful, just waiting for the remainder to download!!! Some 350 observations are expected at the Pluto system. This has been a truly great event, one of the highlights of unmanned space exploration. Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

3488 · May 4, 2007

New Horizons took this image of Jupiter's volcanic moon Io with its Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) at 15:15 Universal Time on February 28, 2007, nearly 10 hours after the spacecraftâ€™s closest approach to Jupiter. The image is centered at Io coordinates 5 degrees south, 92 degrees west, and the spacecraft was 2.4 million kilometers (1.5 million miles) from Io. Io's diameter is 3,640 kilometers (2,262 miles). Ioâ€™s dayside was deliberately overexposed in this image to bring out details on the nightside and in any volcanic plumes that might be present. Io cooperated by producing an enormous plume, 330 kilometers (200 miles) high, from the volcano Tvashtar. Near Io's north pole, Tvashtar was active throughout New Horizonsâ€™ Jupiter encounter. In this image, volcanic debris from the plume, illuminated by the setting sun, rains down onto Io's nightside. Hot, glowing lava at the source of the plume is the bright point of light on the sunlit side of the terminator (the line separating day and night). Elsewhere along the terminator, mountains catch the setting sun. The nightside of Io is lit up by light reflected from Jupiter. Release Date: May 1, 2007 High resolution here: Io Tvashtar Plume. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute. Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

3488 · May 4, 2007

The New Horizons Multispectral Visible Imaging Camera (MVIC) snapped this incredibly detailed picture of Jupiterâ€™s high-altitude clouds starting at 06:00 Universal Time on February 28, 2007, when the spacecraft was only 2.3 million kilometers (1.4 million miles) from the solar systemâ€™s largest planet. Features as small as 50 kilometers (30 miles) are visible. The image was taken through a narrow filter centered on a methane absorption band near 890 nanometers, a considerably redder wavelength than what the eye can see. Images taken through this filter preferentially pick out clouds that are relatively high in the sky of this gas giant planet because sunlight at the wavelengths transmitted by the filter is completely absorbed by the methane gas that permeates Jupiterâ€™s atmosphere before it can reach the lower clouds. The image reveals a range of diverse features. The south pole is capped with a haze of small particles probably created by the precipitation of charged particles into the polar regions during auroral activity. Just north of the cap is a well-formed anticyclonic vortex with rising white thunderheads at its core. Slightly north of the vortex are the tendrils of some rather disorganized storms and more pinpoint-like thunderheads. The dark â€œmeaslesâ€ that appear a bit farther north are actually cloud-free regions where light is completely absorbed by the methane gas and essentially disappears from view. The wind action considerably picks up in the equatorial regions where giant plumes are stretched into a long wave pattern. Proceeding north of the equator, cirrus-like clouds are shredded by winds reaching speeds of up to 400 miles per hour, and more pinpoint-like thunderheads are visible. Although some of the famous belt and zone structure of Jupiterâ€™s atmosphere is washed out when viewed at this wavelength, the relatively thin North Temperate Belt shows up quite nicely, as does a series of waves just north of the belt. The north polar re <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

anthmartian · May 5, 2007

I agree with the earlier post! Let's have Andrew granted instant image posting! Andrew makes these boards practically a one stop venue for finding out all the latest on ongoing robotic missions. You hear it a lot i know. But thanks once again for your efforts. <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> Here is a New Horizons image i recently turned out. It combines two images of Io, one normal, and one over exposed to reveal more plume detail. If you're too impatient to wait for the image ( don't hold your breath for me becoming a solar system just yet! ) It is on my site... http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "Traveling through hyperspace ain't like dusting crops, boy! Without precise calculations we could fly right through a star, or bounce too close to a supernova and that'd end your trip real quick, wouldn't it?"Han Solo - 1977 - A long time ago in a galaxy far far away.... Click Here And jump over to my site. </div>

anthmartian · May 6, 2007

I got mixed up with my Io views on my site. Sorry all. I believe the above image is from 4.4M km. These are from 2.4M km. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "Traveling through hyperspace ain't like dusting crops, boy! Without precise calculations we could fly right through a star, or bounce too close to a supernova and that'd end your trip real quick, wouldn't it?"Han Solo - 1977 - A long time ago in a galaxy far far away.... Click Here And jump over to my site. </div>

MeteorWayne · May 6, 2007

The Discovery channel has a very nice show on New Horizons running this week. When I get a chance to peruse the weeks TV listings, I'll see if I can find if it runs again and when. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

3488 · May 8, 2007

Hi all, a couple of interesting posts!!! Thank you to both Anthmartian & MeteorWayne for your kind comments about me. I do feel appreciated. I do like your Io images very much. I am actually using them, to do my own post encounter analysis!!!!!!! Hopefully soon, I will have some new equipment, so I will not keep having technical hangups!!! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scientists assume Jupiterâ€™s clouds are composed primarily of ammonia, but only about 1% of the cloud area displays the characteristic spectral fingerprint of ammonia. This composite of infrared images taken by the New Horizons Linear Etalon Infrared Spectral Imager (LEISA) captures several eruptions of this relatively rare breed of ammonia cloud and follows the evolution of the clouds over two Jovian days. (One day on Jupiter is approximately 10 hours, which is how long it takes Jupiter to make one complete rotation about its axis.) The New Horizons spacecraft was still closing in on the giant planet when it made these observations: Jupiter was 3.4 million kilometers (2.1 million miles) from the New Horizons spacecraft for the LEISA image taken at 19:35 Universal Time on February 26, 2007, and the distance decreased to 2.5 million kilometers (1.6 million miles) for the last image shown. LEISAâ€™s spatial resolution scale varied from approximately 210 kilometers (130 miles) for the first image to 160 kilometers (100 miles) for the last one. New Horizons scientists originally targeted the region slightly northwest (up and to the left) of the Great Red Spot to search for these special ammonia clouds because thatâ€™s where they were most easily seen during infrared spectral observations made by the Galileo spacecraft. But unlike the churning, turbulent cloud structures seen near the Great Red Spot during the Galileo era, this region has been quieting down during the past several months and was unusually t <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

3488 · May 8, 2007

Hi all, Below. Elara from New Horizons LORRI Camera. I have enlarged it quite considerably, about 800%!!!!! Thursday 1st March 2007, from 8 million kilometres. Elara is Jupiter's eighth largest moon at about 76 KM across. It is thought to be similar to or is a captured type S (Silicate) asteroid, a much larger version of main belt asteroids 243 Ida, 433 Eros & 951 Gaspra, the three just mentioned we have detailed imagery of. Elara is the second largest of the 'middle' group of smaller asteroidal type Jovian moons. The group consists of Himalia, Elara, Lysithia & Leda (in descending size order). Elara orbits Jupiter in a Prograde direction at a distance of approx: 11.7 million kilometres, once every 259 days & 14 hours. Rotation rate is currently unknown & the New Horizons LORRI observations will help determine this. This is the first time that Elara has been imaged by an interplanetary spacecraft. Unfortunately Elara's positioning was not good at this time. Elara below is about three pixels, but does show a distinctly triangular shape. This is likely due to the phase angle & shape. New Horizons was to have imaged Elara over a course of a day, to determine: 1). Light curve, due to shape & rotation period. 2). Rotational direction & tilt. 3). Higher resolution spectral analysis. Similar observations have been carried out on Himalia too (Jupiter's fifth largest moon). Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute. Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

3488 · May 9, 2007

Crescent Io. Whilst not scientifically useful in itself, this view I quite like of the volcano moon Io. Of course we could never see Io (or any outer planet or moon) like this, as the viewer (in this case New Horizons) needs to be 'behind' the object being imaged, in relation to the Sun. Io, New Horizons LORRI camera. Thursday 1st March 2007 from 2.8 million kilometres. Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

3488 · May 10, 2007

Crescent Europa. Whilst not scientifically useful in itself, this view I quite like of the ice covered moon Europa. The afternoon terminator is remarkably smooth, very different from Io (which boasts some of the tallest mountains in the solar system). Of course we could never see Europa (or any outer planet or moon) like this, as the viewer (in this case New Horizons) needs to be 'behind' the object being imaged, in relation to the Sun. Io, New Horizons LORRI camera. Thursday 1st March 2007 from 3.3 million kilometres. Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

3488 · May 11, 2007

The PI's Perspective Continuing Our Jovian Journey May 10, 2007 This will be a short update, but I didnâ€™t want you to think weâ€™ve folded our tent at Jupiter yet. If you havenâ€™t been to Jupiter yourself, I think now you can say you almost have been! New Horizons is now beyond 6 astronomical units from the Sun and about 1 AU from Jupiter, which is, of course, moving too. We continue to transmit data from close-approach observations made in late February and early March. As of late this week, we have 80% of the mother lode from Jupiter here in computers on terra firma. We also continue to take data as we fly down the Jovian magnetotail. Our Solar Wind at Pluto (SWAP) and Pluto Energetic Particle Spectrometer Science Investigation (PEPSSI) teams are discovering structures in the tail they never dreamed of, including some fascinating periodicities and sulfur ions that originated as neutral sulfur back at the volcanic moon Io. Youâ€™ll hear more about this exciting exploration when those teams figure out what it all means. Meanwhile, our spacecraft team is conducting a series of tests to ready us for our first stint of hibernation, which begins at the June-July boundary. We must update our autonomy/fault protection software to ready it for hibernating through most of July and August, before we wake up the bird for instrument calibrations. The team is also carrying out various spacecraft propulsion and other subsystem tests and some further instrument calibrations. And while the spacecraft team is busy with hibernation preps, our science team is closing in on a decision about which day in mid-July 2015 we want to arrive at Pluto. We had planned on July 14, but decided to look at surrounding dates for potential, additional science opportunities at Pluto. Considerations range from what terrain we see best on Pluto (each day is different as Pluto rotates over 6.4 days), to where Charon is located relative to Pl <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

3488 · May 15, 2007

A couple of nice updates. Io imaged by New Horizons LORRI camera. Friday 2nd March 2007 from 3.8 million kilometres. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute. Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

3488 · May 15, 2007

The Pluto bound New Horizons LORRI camera, captured Io re-appearing from behind Jupiter's night time limb. Io seen here is illuminated by Jupitershine (light from Jupiter shining on Io's nightside). The giant lava lake Loki Patera is clearly visible, towards the 'two o' clock' position. Friday 2nd March 2007 from 3.8 million kilometres from Io. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute. Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

3488 · May 15, 2007

This five-frame sequence of New Horizons images captures the giant plume from Io's Tvashtar volcano. Snapped by the probeâ€™s Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) as the spacecraft flew past Jupiter earlier this year, this first-ever â€œmovieâ€ of an Io plume clearly shows motion in the cloud of volcanic debris, which extends 330 kilometers (200 miles) above the moonâ€™s surface. Only the upper part of the plume is visible from this vantage point â€“ the plumeâ€™s source is 130 kilometers (80 miles) below the edge of Io's disk, on the far side of the moon. The appearance and motion of the plume is remarkably similar to an ornamental fountain on Earth, replicated on a gigantic scale. The knots and filaments that allow us to track the plumeâ€™s motion are still mysterious, but this movie is likely to help scientists understand their origin, as well as provide unique information on the plume dynamics. Io's hyperactive nature is emphasized by the fact that two other volcanic plumes are also visible off the edge of Io's disk: Masubi at the 7 o'clock position, and a very faint plume, possibly from the volcano Zal, at the 10 o'clock position. Jupiter illuminates the night side of Io, and the most prominent feature visible on the disk is the dark horseshoe shape of the volcano Loki, likely an enormous lava lake. Boosaule Mons, which at 18 kilometers (11 miles) is the highest mountain on Io and one of the highest mountains in the solar system, pokes above the edge of the disk on the right side. The five images were obtained over an 8-minute span, with two minutes between frames, from 23:50 to 23:58 Universal Time on March 1, 2007. Io was 3.8 million kilometers (2.4 million miles) from New Horizons; the image is centered at Io coordinates 0 degrees north, 342 degrees west. The pictures were part of a sequence designed to look at Jupiter's rings, but planners included Io in the sequence because the moon was passing behind Jupiter's ri <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

jmilsom · May 15, 2007

I just woke up down here in Australia and found the Io movie in my mailbox. Fantastic!!!Imagine what it must be like orbiting Io - stunning. What a beautiful solar system we have! Mission elapsed time: Days 481 Hours 04 Minutes 31 Time since Jupiter closest approach Days 76 Hours 17 Minutes 47 Pluto closest approach!!!! Days 2981 Hours 12 Minutes 26/safety_wrapper> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

3488 · May 16, 2007

It sure is jmilsom. The Io stuff has just been amazing. RadarRedux has started an interesting thread on this very subject. Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

New Horizons: Jupiter Encounter. Through 2007.

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