Colors on Jupiter

The colors present in the clouds of Jupiter at the time of Voyager encounters are described as they appeared in high resolution images. Althrough many different tints are present in these pictures, some clouds units can be characterized by very discrete colors. We can show that latitude, alititude, and dwell-time are all critical factors in determining which colors appear where, but the identities of the responsible chromophores remain unestablished. Simultaneous ground-based 5 μm observations permit the determination of the relative altitudes of these cloud systems. In descending order we have the white clouds (presumably ammonia cirrus), the light brown or tawny clouds (ammonium hydrosulfide and/or monosulfide(?)), a dark brown cloud belt present only at some latitudes, and the blue-gray 'hot spots' of the equatorial region. The top of the Great Red Spot may exceed the whitle clouds on occasion. Despite the turbulence of the Jovian atmosphere, correlations between cloud color and certain latitudes have been maintained for decades, suggesting the importance of the internal energy source and the deep circulation in generating some of the observed chromophores.