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Ashwin
Vasavada
Senior Scientist
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
4800 Oak Grove Drive
Pasadena, CA 91109
Research Summary:
Atmospheric dynamics, structure, lightning, and aurora
on Jupiter and Saturn as observed by the Galileo and
Cassini spacecraft.
Title 1: Gas Giants, Wild Weather,
and Two Spectacular Spacecraft
Abstract 1:
Jupiter and Saturn, in addition to being the most photogenic
objects in the solar system, are planets where meteorology
and fluid dynamics play out on scales well beyond our
experience on Earth. They have dozens of jet streams,
multiple cloud decks, and storms that could easily swallow
the Earth. We learn how these planets work by carefully
comparing observations with the best available theory,
laboratory work, and numerical models. The last decade
has seen major advances in all areas, many of which
involve the data returned by recent spacecraft.
This presentation will showcase the imaging of Jupiter
and Saturn by Galileo and Cassini, and what the study
of those images has revealed about the meteorology of
the giant planets.
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