Images like these will allow scientists to ascertain the distribution, size and shape of aerosols, and consequently, the distribution of heat, in Jupiter's atmosphere. Jupiter's moon Himalia Himalia, a small moon of Jupiter. Himalia probably has a non-spherical shape. Scientists believe it is a body captured into orbit around Jupiter, most likely an irregularly shaped asteroid. In the main frame, an arrow indicates Himalia.
North is up.
Cassini's pictures of Himalia were taken during a brief period when Cassini's attitude was stabilized by thrusters instead of by a steadier reaction-wheel system. No spacecraft or telescope had previously shown any of Jupiter's outer moons as more than a star-like single dot. Cassini is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. The triumphs and tragedies of the space program are recalled by those who were there in this glossy 240-page book from the Discovery Channel.