NASA
Solar System Exploration
Our Galactic Neighborhood
Skip Navigation
menu
close modal
Resources
High-Altitude Clouds
Published:
December 16, 2004
High-Altitude Clouds
ENLARGE
Related
This image taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows a region located next to the northwestern rim of Urvara Crater on Ceres. This terrain displays a rugged texture also found within Urvara.
Tawals Crater
Callisto was revealed by the Voyager cameras to be a heavily cratered and hence geologically inactive world.
Callisto Mosaic
This image was made from observations on 2 November 2013, and combines pictures of comet ISON taken through blue and red filters.
ISON in November by Hubble
This image of the eastern rim of Occator Crater was obtained by NASA's Dawn spacecraft on June 10, 2018 from an altitude of about 22 miles (36 kilometers).
Occator Crater Eastern Rim
These two views of Saturn's moon Titan show the southern polar vortex, a huge, swirling cloud that was first observed by NASA's Cassini spacecraft in 2012.
Spectral Map of Titan with Polar Vortex
Titan and Saturn have few things in common, but a hazy, clouded appearance is one feature they share.
Veiled Worlds
The bright fractures on Dione's trailing side slice across terrain that is darker than the rest of the surface. Cassini scientists are working to understand the nature of the dark material that a...
Bright Lines, Dark Canvas
A single crescent moon is a familiar sight in Earth's sky, but with Saturn's many moons, you can see three or even more.
Triple Crescents
This anaglyph from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows three fresh craters on asteroid Vesta, which have been nicknamed the 'Snowman' craters. You need 3D glasses to view this image.
3-D Image of Fresh Craters
Atlas, seen here, is one of the two moons that ply the Roche Division -- the region between Saturn's A and F rings. Prometheus also orbits within this division. This view looks toward flying-sauce...
Roche Division
From high above Titan's northern hemisphere, the Cassini spacecraft takes an oblique view toward the mid-latitude dark regions that gird the giant moon. The view looks toward terrain centered at ...
Northern View
This mosaic from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows asteroid Vesta's southern hemisphere (lower part of the image) and equatorial regions (upper part of the image).
Mosaic of Visible and Infrared Spectrometer Data
The Cassini spacecraft's views from edge-on with the rings are perfect for capturing multiple Saturnian moons grouped closely. Here Tethys (1,071 kilometers, or 665 miles across), with its enormou...
Cassini Scores a Triple
These images from NASA's Dawn spacecraft are located in asteroid Vesta's Floronia quadrangle, in Vesta's northern hemisphere. Licinia is the large, bowl shaped crater in the center with a sharp rim...
Apparent Brightness and Topography Images of Licinia Crater
This still from an animation, made using images taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft, shows Occator crater on Ceres, home to a collection of intriguing bright spots.
Circling the Lights of Occator
This artist's concept shows a diagram of how the inside of Ceres could be structured, based on data about the dwarf planet's gravity field from NASA's Dawn mission.
Interior Structure of Ceres (Artist's Concept)
This frame from a movie shows that the brightest area on Ceres, located in Occator Crater, was one of the last features to be imaged as NASA's Dawn progressively built its map.
Ceres LAMO Coverage Map
This mosaic comprises about 50 red-, green-, and violet-filter Viking Orbiter images, mosaiced in an orthographic projection at a scale of 1 km/pixel.
Hellas Mosaic
In this image of the asteroid Vesta, taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft just shortly before the beginning of high altitude mapping orbit, north is up and the upper right corner is to the northeast.
Dawn Approaching Vesta Just Before the Beginning of High Altitude Mapping Orbit
The shadow of Saturn's largest moon darkens a huge portion of the gas giant planet. Titan (5,150 kilometers, or 3,200 miles across) is not pictured here, but its shadow is elongated in the bottom ...
Enormous Elongated Shadow
NASA's Dawn spacecraft took this picture as it reached its new orbit to observe Ceres in opposition, when Dawn is directly between the sun and the Occator Crater bright spots.
Ceres' Southern Hemisphere (Navigation Image)
These natural color views (and corresponding animated movie sequences) from NASA's Cassini spacecraft compare the appearance of Saturn’s north-polar region in June 2013 and April 2017.
Saturn's Hexagon as Summer Solstice Approaches
This natural color image shows Titan's upper atmosphere -- an active place where methane molecules are being broken apart by solar ultraviolet light and the byproducts combine to form compounds lik...
Titan: Complex 'Anti-greenhouse'
This view of Ceres, taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft on December 10, 2015, shows an area in the southern mid-latitudes of the dwarf planet. It is located in an area around a crater chain called Samh...
Dawn's Lowest Orbit: Near Samhain Catena
This pair of craters is located in the northern hemisphere of Ceres as seen by NASA's Dawn spacecraft. The wall of the older crater (lower of the two) has partially collapsed where it adjoins the r...
Dawn LAMO Image 107
You Might Also Like
A total solar eclipse will darken a swath of North America as the Moon blocks the light of the Sun for a few minutes on April 8, 2024. In addition to casting a breathtaking, passing shadow over the heads of millions of people, this total solar eclipse gives scientists a unique opportunity to study the Sun, Earth, and their interactions.
Science in the Shadows: NASA Selects 5 Experiments for 2024 Total Solar Eclipse
The short videos take audiences behind the scenes to learn more about how space missions come together.
New Video Series Captures Team Working on NASA's Europa Clipper
The next full Moon will be on Friday afternoon, May 5, 2023. The Moon will appear full from early Thursday morning through early Sunday morning.
The Next Full Moon is the Flower, Corn, or Corn Planting Moon
A new study using two NASA solar observatories reveals that asteroid 3200 Phaethon’s tail is not dusty at all but is actually made of sodium gas.
Asteroid's Comet-Like Tail Is Not Made of Dust, Solar Observatories Reveal
One of six instruments aboard the agency’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, CRISM produced global maps of minerals on the Red Planet’s surface.
Mineral Mapping Instrument on Mars Orbiter Retired
A pair of quakes in 2021 sent seismic waves deep into the Red Planet’s core, giving scientists the best data yet on its size and composition.
InSight Study Provides Clearest Look Ever at Martian Core