The Juno spacecraft in orbit around Jupiter’s poles continues to send back jaw-dropping views of the giant planet’s turbulent atmosphere, including this down-the-throat look into a 2,000-kilometre-wide (1,200 miles) cyclonic storm at 49 degrees north latitude. Jupiter is composed mostly of hydrogen and helium, but some of the colour in the clouds seen here may be the result of sulphur and phosphorus gases rising from the warmer interior. Citizen-scientist Kevin M. Gill processed this image, captured by the Junocam instrument on 3 November at an altitude of about 8,500 kilometres (5,300 miles) during Juno’s 23rd close flyby.
Related Articles
Make the most of your Jupiter observations during May
Now two months past opposition, the solar system’s largest planet, Jupiter, is highest in the UK sky before sunset and is already descending in the southwest by the time the sky is dark enough to observe it. However, there is still phenomena of the Galilean moons to see and the planet’s Great Red Spot, so make the most of your Jovian observations while you can during May.