AbstractThe Galileo spacecraft’s Solid State Imager (SSI) has been returning mosaics of Jupiter since 1996. The combination of high spatial resolution, broad spectral range, and short mosaic time steps has revealed a dynamic, vertically extended cloud structure not detectable by Voyager. These data have stimulated new analyses of major features such as zonal jets, the Great Red Spot, White Ovals, and the Galileo Probe entry site. Near-infrared images have provided fundamental constraints on the vertical structure of clouds and hazes, including the first imaging of a water cloud. Results from night side imaging include an extensive search for lightning, the first matching of lightning events to day side storm clouds, and the first spectral and spatial measurements of visible-wavelength auroral phenomena (not discussed here, see Vasavada et al. 2000). The identification of several tall, energetic storm systems at specific latitudes has led to new ideas about the role of moist convection in Jupiter’s atmospheric energetics.
Role of Plasma Instabilities in Auroral Phenomena
