Jupiter Gallery

The Earth and Moon

During its flight, the Galileo spacecraft returned images of the Earth and Moon. Separate images of the Earth and Moon were combined to generate this view. The Galileo spacecraft took the images in 1992 on its way to explore the Jupiter system in 1995-97. The image shows a partial view of the Earth centered on the Pacific Ocean about latitude 20 degrees south. The west coast of South America can be observed as well as the Caribbean; swirling white cloud patterns indicate storms in the southeast Pacific. The distinct bright ray crater at the bottom of the Moon is the Tycho impact basin. The lunar dark areas are lava rock filled impact basins. This picture contains same scale and relative color/albedo images of the Earth and Moon. False colors via use of the 1-micron filter as red, 727-nm filter as green, and violet filter as blue. The Galileo project is managed for NASA's Office of Space Science by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory

© NASA

Quantised orbits of the planets

Quantum orbits of the planets. Conceptual computer artwork showing the planets of the solar system on a model of atomic orbitals. This represents the theory that the orbits of the planets were determined by similar physical principles to those governing the orbits of electrons. Electrons can only occupy distinct energy levels around an atom, rather than having the capability to be anywhere. These quantum levels are determined by the electron's energy. The theory that similar effects occur at the solar system scale is controversial and not widely accepted, as the orbits can be explained by well-understood gravitational theory

© MEHAU KULYK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Planets internal structures

Planets internal structures, and Pluto, computer artwork. Mercury, Mars and Venus consist of a large iron core (spherical), surrounded by a thick silicate mantle (yellow) covered in a surface crust. Earth consists of an inner core of solid iron and nickel (yellow) and a molten outer core (orange), surrounded by a mantle of highly viscous liquid (brown) covered by a surface crust. Jupiter and Saturn consist of a core of rock (spherical) surrounded by ice (mat grey). This is surrounded by a layer of liquid metallic hydrogen (grey) and liquid normal hydrogen (blue). Uranus and Neptune have a core of rock (spherical) surrounded by ice and liquid hydrogen (blue). Pluto has a dense rocky core (grey) surrounded by ice (black)

© CHRISTIAN DARKIN/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY