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Jupiter’s Ring System (Galileo) Annotated

Labeled grayscale image shows Jupiter’s main ring and halo in white at right. Its gossamer ring extends fully to the left side as a hazy, horizontal band.

The resolution in this image from NASA’s Galileo spacecraft is approximately 46 kilometers per picture element from right to left; however, because Galileo was only about 0.5 degrees above the ring plane, the image is highly foreshortened in the vertical direction. The ring was approximately 2.3 million kilometers (1.4 million miles) away from the spacecraft. Jupiter lies about a full frame off the right edge.

About the Data

  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    Galileo: Solid-State Imaging
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    9 November 1996
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    601 clear filter
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    Gossamer Ring
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Jupiter's Rings
  • Release Date
    July 31, 2020
  • Science Release
    NASA’s Webb Telescope Will Study Jupiter, its Rings, and Two Intriguing Moons
    Read the release
  • Credit
    Image: NASA, NASA-JPL, Cornell University

Downloads

  • Full Res (For Print), 800 × 396
    tif (253.83 KB)
  • Full Res (For Display), 800 × 396
    png (200.19 KB)

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Details

Last Updated
Aug 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Laura Betz
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
laura.e.betz@nasa.gov

Image Credit

NASA, NASA-JPL, Cornell University

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