Astronomy Picture of the Day 6-16-02

NASA ^ | 6-16-02 | Robert Nemiroff and Jerry Bonnell

[petuniasevan]

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Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2002 June 16

Jupiter's Rings Revealed
Credit: M. Belton (NOAO), J. Burns (Cornell) et al., Galileo Project, JPL, NASA

Explanation: Why does Jupiter have rings? Jupiter's rings were discovered in 1979 by the passing Voyager 1 spacecraft, but their origin was a mystery. Data from the Galileo spacecraft currently orbiting Jupiter later confirmed that these rings were created by meteoroid impacts on small nearby moons. As a small meteoroid strikes tiny Adrastea, for example, it will bore into the moon, vaporize, and explode dirt and dust off into a Jovian orbit. Pictured above is an eclipse of the Sun by Jupiter, as viewed from Galileo. Small dust particles high in Jupiter's atmosphere, as well as the dust particles that compose the rings, can be seen by reflected sunlight.

[Libertina]

Not content with wanting to see stars in the daytime, Sleaveless drove around downtown flirting. I'd say he is on the mend! :)

[2Trievers]

Thankfully so! You ought to take him to lunch some time ... he's so witty and fun! &;-)

[sleavelessinseattle]

Oh my GOD I'm laughing so hard my icepack came off my head!!! HI P7! Give them woodsquared peckers hell for me!!!OW!!!LOL I look like a racoon with the black eyes...Enjoy the image, on the Sleavester!!!

[CJ Wolf]

bump!

[colorado tanker]

Gee, Sleeveless, your supposed to see stars, not planets, when you get hit in the head!

[colorado tanker]

Thanks for the awesome pik. I sure do remember Voyager, one of NASA's greatest successes. You could argue we learned more from Voyager than we did from landing on the Moon. We found out once again that truth is stranger than fiction!

[sleavelessinseattle]

I'll say this...That is NOT a good way to determine whether or not you have a pulse...fluids are best kept INSIDE the artery...LOL...I'm having fun being in public with this Picasso face mask on...Glad its temporary though...you can see people's minds analyzing...Take care peeps...It can happen...Objects in motion and all that...BR SS