On This Day in 1979, Voyager 2 Buzzed Jupiter and Snapped This Picture

On July 9, 1979, Voyager 2 made its closest approach to Jupiter and snapped this photo of the largest planet in our solar system with its moon Io orbiting beside it. Like all the Voyager closeups of our solar system's planets, it is startling to see other planets have all the reality that our own does when seen by instruments we've created.

But of all the images of Jupiter I've ever seen from Voyager, the one below, actually captured by Voyager 1, is the best. This is the image I see in my head when I think, "alien planet."