News Release Archive: Solar System

News Release 5 of 148

December 18, 2008 09:00 AM (EST)

News Release Number: STScI-2008-42

Hubble Catches Jupiter's Largest Moon Going to the 'Dark Side'

Technical facts about this news release:

About the Object

Object Name:	Jupiter, Ganymede
Object Description:	Planet with Jovian Satellite Visible
Distance:	The semi-major axis of Jupiter's orbit about the sun is 5.2 astronomical units (483 million miles or 778 million km).
Dimensions:	The planet has a diameter of roughly 88,789 miles (142,984 km) at the equator.

About the Data

Data Description:	The Hubble data are taken from the HST proposal 10468: E. Karkoschka (University of Arizona).
Instrument:	WFPC2
Exposure Date(s):	April 9, 2007
Filters:	410 nm, 502 nm, and 673 nm

About the Image

Image Credit:

NASA, ESA, and E. Karkoschka (University of Arizona)

Release Date:

December 18, 2008

Colors:

These images are a composite of separate exposures made by the WFPC2 instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope. Three filters were used to sample various wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic image. In this case, the assigned colors are:

410 nm	blue
502 nm	green
673 nm	red

Orientation:

Compass and Scale File for Jupiter and Ganymede