NASA's Juno spacecraft took its first close images of Jupiter's largest storm on July 10, coming within 5,600 miles of the iconic tempest.
Spectacular Pictures Show Jupiter’s Great Red Spot Up Close
The latest images from NASA’s Juno mission may help scientists better understand the fate of the giant oval storm.
This week, NASA’s Juno spacecraft swung low over Jupiter’s Great Red Spot and got its best look yet at one of the most iconic storms in the solar system.
From just 5,600 miles above the crimson coil, the spacecraft saw a turbulent tangle of clouds punctuated by smaller, swirling vortices.
“Wow, it has changed from the Galileo close-up images [taken] 20 years ago!” says Amy Simon of NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center, referring to the last spacecraft that visited Jupiter. “Lots of interesting details for us to compare between the two.”
Jupiter’s roiling, reddish splotch is a tempest of truly Shakespearean proportions. It’s so large you could comfortably tuck Earth into its lidless eye. It’s one of the features that people
