CDT NASA's Cassini spacecraft, now approaching Jupiter, took images that have been assembled into a brief movie clip of high altitude clouds scooting and swirling.
High clouds appear bright in part of the spectrum used for the images.
Some small clouds brighten rapidly, suggesting strong upward movement, such as that seen in thunderstorms. It will use a boost from Jupiter's gravity to reach its ultimate destination, Saturn. While near Jupiter, it is studying that planet's atmosphere, magnetic field and rings in collaboration with NASA's Galileo spacecraft, which has been orbiting Jupiter since Dec. 7, 1995. This is the first time a movie sequence of Jupiter has been made that illustrates the motions of the high altitude clouds on a global scale. Cassini is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency.