Images Dated 27th February 1995

Jupiter and Saturn

Jupiter and Saturn. Computer artwork representing the planets Jupiter and Saturn in close proximity to each another. These planets are actually 648.7 million kilometres apart, with Jupiter lying closer to the Earth. Jupiter (at right) is the largest and heaviest of the planets in the Solar System, famous for its giant red spot. It consists mostly of hydrogen and helium; encircling it are three faint rings of fine particles seen as a white line. Saturn (at left) has multiple rings forming a broader, flatter, circular sheet of material around its equator. Saturn is a ball of gas with a small rocky core and more than 18 moons have been identified around it

© MEHAU KULYK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY