Giant Storms and High Clouds on Jupiter
Explanation:
What and where are these large ovals?
They are rotating storm clouds on
Jupiter imaged last month by NASA's
Juno spacecraft.
In general, higher clouds are lighter in color, and the lightest
clouds visible are the relatively small clouds that dot the lower oval.
At 50 kilometers across, however, even these light clouds are not small.
They are so high up that they cast shadows on the swirling oval below.
The featured image has been processed to enhance color and contrast.
Large ovals are usually regions of
high pressure that span over 1000 kilometers and can last for years.
The largest oval on
Jupiter is the
Great Red Spot (not pictured), which has lasted for at least hundreds of years.
Studying cloud dynamics on Jupiter with Juno images enables a
better understanding of dangerous
typhoons and hurricanes on Earth.
Follow APOD in English on:
Facebook,
Instagram,
Podcast,
Reddit,
or
Twitter
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.
