However, the scale is immense by our standards because the Earth and the Great Dark Spot are similar in size. This Voyager 2 high-resolution color image, taken 2 hours before closest approach, provides obvious evidence of vertical relief in Neptune's bright cloud streaks. These clouds were observed at 29 degrees North latitude near Neptune's east terminator. The linear clouds are stretched approximately along lines of constant latitude and the sun is toward the upper left. The sides of the clouds facing the sun are brighter than the surrounding cloud deck because they are more directly exposed to the sun.
Shadows are visible on the side opposite the sun.
This Voyager 2 image has been processed to obtain true color balance. The processing allows both the clouds' structure in the dark regions near the pole and the bright clouds east of the Great Dark Spot to be reproduced. These and other features suggest waves are present in the atmosphere and play a large role in the type of clouds that are visible. This image was obtained when the infrared spectrograph was mapping Neptune. Banding around D2 indicates unseen strong winds, while structures within the dark spot suggest both active upwelling of clouds and rotation about the center.