As the New Horizons spacecraft sweeps through the Solar System, it is taking breathtaking images of the planets. In February of last year, New Horizons passed Jupiter and the ever-active Jovian moon Io . In this montage , Jupiter was captured in three bands of infrared light making the Great Red Spot look white. Complex hurricane-like ovals , swirls, and planet-ringing bands are visible in Jupiter's complex atmosphere . Io is digitally superposed in natural color. Fortuitously, a plume was emanating from Io 's volcano Tvashtar . Frost and sulfuric lava cover the volcanic moon, while red-glowing lava is visible beneath the blue sunlight-scattering plume. The robotic New Horizons spacecraft is on track to arrive at Pluto in 2015.
Note: Meet sky enthusiasts, astro bloggers, and APOD editor RN in Austin tonight.
Media Credits & Attribution
Credit: NASA , Johns Hopkins U. APL , SWRI

