Picture of the day - January 19, 2008

Jupiter and her intriguing moon Io

Photo courtesy of NASA. Jupiter is our solar system's largest planet and one of the most interesting bodies in the heavens. Ever since the dawn of modern astronomy, we humans have been peering at this strikingly beautiful gas giant through telescopes large and small, our imaginations running wild and prompting questions about her colorful atmosphere and numerous moons. As our telescopes have gotten larger and closer and their images ever more clear, our fascination with Jupiter has grown right along with our knowledge base. Today's picture features a stunning infrared composite image of Jupiter and her constantly active moon Io. At first glance the photo seems to look pretty much like the ones we have always seen, but there is one glaring difference that makes it apparent that we're seeing the planet in infrared: the giant red spot isn't red! This amazing image was captured last February as the New Horizons Spacecraft whizzed past Jupiter on its way to Pluto. Our intrepid robotic explorers just keep on sending back magnificent images the likes of which we simply cannot capture from our earthly vantage point, and as they venture farther and farther into space our excitement and curiosity about God's spectacular creations will grow at an ever-increasing rate.   Click here to comment on this picture.   Visit the POTD Archives for previous "Pictures Of The Day"!     Submit a photo of your own!            Why I publish the "Picture of the Day"