Hubble monitors Jupiter in support of the New Horizons Flyby

The Hubble Space Telescope has recently taken images of the planet Jupiter in support of its sister NASA Mission - New Horizons. The New Horizons spacecraft is en route to Pluto, and made its closest approach to Jupiter on February 28, 2007. Jupiter is giving New Horizons a gravity assist that will save three years on its journey to Pluto. The New Horizons spacecraft will fly by the Pluto system in July of 2015. After studying Pluto and its moons Charon, Nix and Hydra, New Horizons will go on for a hoped-for encounter with a yet-to-be-discovered Kuiper Belt object. A countdown clock on the New Horizon's Mission page (http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/newhorizons/main/index.html) patiently counts down the days until it reaches Pluto, only about 3000 more to go!

Credit:

NASA/ESA, The Hubble Heritage Team. Acknowledgment: H. Weaver (JHU/APL) and A. Simon-Miller (NASA/GSFC)

About the Image

NASA press release
NASA caption
Id:opo0714a
Type:Observation
Release date:28 February 2007
Size:764 x 751 px

About the Object

Name:Jupiter
Type:Solar System : Planet : Type : Gas Giant
Solar System : Planet : Feature : Atmosphere : Aurora
Category:Solar System

Image Formats

r.titleLarge JPEG
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r.titleScreensize JPEG
168.4 KB

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Colours & filters

BandWavelengthTelescope
Ultraviolet
U
115 nm Hubble Space Telescope
ACS
Ultraviolet
U
125 nm Hubble Space Telescope
ACS
Optical
B
410 nm Hubble Space Telescope
WFPC2
Optical
Pseudogreen (B+R)
Hubble Space Telescope
WFPC2
Optical
R
673 nm Hubble Space Telescope
WFPC2

Notes: The violet auroras shown at Jupiter's North and South poles are from ACS data.

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