Uranus - Final Image
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Photograph
Uranus - Final Image
January 25, 1986
Chromogenic development print
Image: 24.4 x 19.4 cm
Overall: 25.5 x 20.2 cm
Gift of NASA and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Inscriptions verso (applied label, typed): PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE/ JET PROPULSION LABORATORY/ CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY/ NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION/ PASADENA, CALIFORNIA, 91109. TELEPHONE: (818) 354-5011/ PHOTO CAPTION (TOP) P-29539 C/ U-2-45/ 1/28/86/ This view of Uranus was recorded by Voyager 2 on Jan 25,/ 1986, as the spacecraft left the planet behind and set forth/ on the cruise to Neptune Voyager was 1 million kilometers/ (about 600,000 miles) from Uranus when it acquired this wide-/angle view. The picture - a color composite of blue, green/ and orange frames - has a resolution of 140 km (90 mi). The/ thin crescent of Uranus is seen here at an angle of 153/ degrees between the spacecraft, the planet and the Sun. Even/ at this extreme angle, Uranus retains the pale blue-green/ color seen by ground-based astronomers and recorded by/ Voyager during its historic encounter. This color results/ from the presence of methane in Uranus' atmosphere; the gas/ absorbs red wavelengths of light, leaving the predominant hue/ seen here. The tendency for the crescent to become white at/ the extreme edge is caused by the presence of a high-altitude/ haze Voyager 2 - having encountered Jupiter in 1979,/ Saturn in 1981 and Uranus in 1986 - will proceed on its/ journey to Neptune. Closest approach is scheduled for Aug./ 24, 1989. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet/ Propulsion Laboratory. #####
