High Winds in the Jovian Mid-latitudes

A high resolution image of the Jovian mid-latitudes taken by Voyager 1 on March 2, 1979, shows distinctly differing characteristics of the planet's meteorology. The well defined pale orange line running from southwest to northeast (North is at the top) marks the high speed north temperate current with wind speeds of about 120 meters per second. These high winds produce a cleaner flow pattern in the surrounding clouds. Toward the top of the picture, a weaker jet of approximately 30 meters per second is characterized by wave patterns and cloud features which have been observed to rotate in a clockwise manner at these latitudes of about 35 North. These clouds have been observed to have lifetimes of about one to two years. The picture was taken from a distance of 4 million kilometers (2.5 million miles).