The turbulent boundaries between dark belts and bright zones are seen prominently in this processed image of Saturn's southern atmosphere.
Disturbed boundaries between these cloud bands are due to wind shear and density differences between adjacent bands.
The planet appears more bland in natural color images, but this infrared view uncovers far more detail.
The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide angle camera on Dec. 14, 2004, at a distance of approximately 614,000 kilometers (382,000 miles) from Saturn through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 890 nanometers. The image scale is 37 kilometers (23 miles) per pixel.
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Rings Around The Pole
Pasadena CA (JPL) Jan 24, 2005
Atmospheric features in Saturn's north polar region are revealed in spectacular detail in this Cassini image, taken in the near infrared spectral region, where methane gas is not very absorbing.
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