Such lighting geometries, similar to taking a picture from a high altitude at sunrise or sunset, are excellent for viewing the topography of the satellite's surface such as impact craters and hills. In the two images on the right, however, the Sun is almost directly behind the spacecraft. It emphasizes the presence of surface materials that are intrinsically brighter or darker than their surroundings. The bright albedo spot that dominates the top right image is located inside a large south polar crater named Gaea. Amalthea Galileo's first view of Amalthea, a small inner moon of Jupiter, showing the end of the elongated satellite that faces permanently toward the giant planet.
North is to the top of the picture.
It was taken on the 7th of September, 1996. The circular feature that dominates the upper-right portion is Pan , the largest crater on Amalthea, about 90 kilometers wide. The smaller crater at the south pole is Gaea . Galileo scientists are in the process of analyzing the data and preparing their results for publication. Galileo Mission scientists and engineers hope that you enjoy sharing the excitement of these images with us.