Voyager 2 Image of Saturn

This Voyager 2 image of Saturn, obtained Aug. 21 from a distance of 5.4 million kilometers (3.4 million miles), shows further evidence of weather patterns at all latitudes. A stream of clouds is moving in the westward flow at about 15 meters-per-second (33 mph). The clouds are attached to a large spot about 3,000 km. (1,900 mi.) in diameter; the spot moves eastward at about 30 meters-per-second (65 mph) and shows the anti-cyclonic rotation of the combined features. Another spot is seen to the east of the larger cloud, with a similar anti-cyclonic rotation. This ribbonlike feature seen in the latitude band centered at 47 north marks a high-speed jet of about 150 meters-per-second (330 mph). Further small-scale clouds are evident toward the polar region (upper right). The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.