Hubble Tracks Jupiter’s Stormy Weather

The giant planet Jupiter, in all its banded glory, takes the spotlight in these new images from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope that capture both sides of the planet.

Big enough to swallow Earth, the classic Great Red Spot storm stands out prominently in Jupiter’s atmosphere. To its lower right, at a more southerly latitude, is a feature sometimes dubbed Red Spot Jr. This giant storm, called an anticyclone, was the result of other storms merging in 1998 and 2000, and it first appeared red in 2006.

Studying the planets in our solar system helps us understand our own weather patterns closer to home, and allows us to theorize what potential exoplanet weather is like in other star systems in our universe.