Summary of historical data - Interpretation of the Pioneer and Voyager cloud configurations in a time-dependent framework

Ground-based imaging of Jupiter at visible and infrared wavelengths has been used to build up a time sequence of cloud feature variations. The global cloud configuration seen by Voyager 1 appears markedly different than that seen by Pioneer 10 and 11. In the context of historical data, these two different cloud distributions are not unique but part of a continuous spectrum of global variations. The most recent global changes occurred in a pattern which has been a characteristic trend observed many times before.