PASADENA, Calif. As the Saturn-bound Cassini spacecraft glides past Jupiter, it has been busy drinking in the gas giant, imaging it at resolutions that now best the Hubble Space Telescopes wide-field camera in resolving power.

Imaging scientists with the Cassini mission have released a steady trickle of images captured by the spacecraft as it swings past Jupiter to gain a gravitational assist that will speed its journey to the solar system's second-largest world where it is due to arrive in 2004.

The latest batch includes an image showing Jupiters Great Red Spot seemingly peering downward on Ganymede, one of the planets many moons.

The Nov. 18 image, seen here at right, shows details as small as 149 miles (240 kilometers) across, including the Great Red Spot before it vanished over the eastern limb of the planet.

The image also gives a clear view of Ganymede, the largest moon in our solar system. The moon, named for the cupbearer to the gods in ancient Greek mythology, is larger than either Mercury or Pluto.

Although the moons mottled appearance can be made out in this image, better pictures yet are not far off. As Cassini nears its closest approach of Jupiter on Dec. 30, image resolution of Ganymede and other Jovian moons will be four times better.

The second image, also seen here at right, gives a four-panel look at a section of Jupiters north equatorial belt. The Nov. 27 image shows features as small as 119 miles (192 kilometers) across, surpassing the Hubble Telescope's wide-field camera in resolving power.

Each panel explores the region in a different wavelength, including the near-infrared and ultraviolet, allowing varying perspectives on the planets atmosphere.