Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. Metis lies within Jupiter's faint, tenuous ring , and may be a source of ring material. Methane gas in Jupiter's atmosphere absorbs the near infrared light causing deeper clouds to appear dark at these wavelengths . Clouds riding above most of the atmospheric methane are bright. The circular dark spot just above the brightest cloud band is an image artifact.
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