Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2023 May 23
The cloud tops of Jupiter are pictured in a closeup
flyby of the Juno spacecraft. A big white oval cloud is
visible in the foreground, while many swirls of many muted
colors are visible trailing behind. A dark night sky is
in the background. 
Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

Jupiter's Swirls from Juno
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS; Processing & License: Kevin M. Gill

Explanation: Big storms are different on Jupiter. On Earth, huge hurricanes and colossal cyclones are centered on regions of low pressure, but on Jupiter, it is the high-pressure, anti-cyclone storms that are the largest. On Earth, large storms can last weeks, but on Jupiter they can last years. On Earth, large storms can be as large as a country, but on Jupiter, large storms can be as large as planet Earth. Both types of storms are known to exhibit lightning. The featured image of Jupiter's clouds was composed from images and data captured by the robotic Juno spacecraft as it swooped close to the massive planet in August 2020.  A swirling white oval is visible nearby, while numerous smaller cloud swirls extend into the distance.  On Jupiter, light-colored clouds are usually higher up than dark clouds. Despite their differences, studying storm clouds on distant Jupiter provides insights into storms and other weather patterns on familiar Earth

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