This enhanced color image of the northern hemisphere
of Saturn taken by Voyager 1 on 5 November 1980 at a range of
9 million km (5.5 million mi) shows a variety of features in Saturn's
clouds. Small-scale convective cloud features are visible in the
brown belt; an isolated convective cloud with a dark ring is seen
in the light brown zone; and a longitudinal wave is visible in
the light blue region. The smallest features visible in this photograph
are 175 km (109 mi) across. Time-lapse images of cloud features
like those shown in this image not only provide information on
how these storms evolve with time, but provide a way to measure
atmospheric wind speeds. On Saturn and the other gas giants, winds
blow mainly along lines of constant latitude. Near Saturn's equator,
winds blow eastward (the same direction as Saturn rotates) at
speeds of about 1100 m/sec (500 mi/hr). (P-23062)
