Jupiter Abyss
Explanation:
What's that black spot on Jupiter?
No one is sure.
During the latest pass of NASA's
Juno around
Jupiter, the robotic spacecraft imaged an
usually dark cloud feature informally dubbed
the Abyss.
Surrounding cloud patterns show
the Abyss to be at the center of
a vortex.
Since dark features on
Jupiter's atmosphere tend to run deeper than light features,
the Abyss may really be the
deep
hole that it appears --
but without more evidence that remains conjecture.
The Abyss is surrounded by a complex of
meandering clouds and other
swirling
storm systems,
some of which are topped by light colored, high-altitude clouds.
The
featured image was captured last month while
Juno passed
only about 15,000 kilometers above Jupiter's cloud tops.
The
next close pass of Juno near Jupiter will be in July.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
