NASA’s Juno space probe completed its 43rd close flyby of Jupiter on July 5, 2022 and used its JunoCam instrument to capture this incredible photo of the vortices, or hurricane-like spiral wind patterns, near Jupiter’s north pole. Don’t let its painting-like look fool you, as these powerful storms can measure over 30 miles in height and hundreds of miles across.
The next step for researchers is finding out how these storms form, since it could be the key to understanding Jupiter’s atmosphere, along with the fluid dynamics and cloud chemistry that create the planet’s other atmospheric features. The vortices’ varying shapes, sizes, and colors are of particular interest. Why? For one, the cyclones, which spin counter-clockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern, as well as anti-cyclones, which rotate clockwise in the northern hemisphere and counter-clockwise in the southern hemisphere, both show very different colors. Want to see more? NASA’s Juno space probe also captured images of Jupiter’s northern swirling clouds.
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A NASA citizen science project, Jovian Vortex Hunter, seeks help from volunteer members of the public to spot and help categorize vortices and other atmospheric phenomena visible in JunoCam photos of Jupiter. This process does not require specialized training or software, and can be done by anyone, anywhere, with a cellphone or laptop,” said JPL.
