Stunning image reveals massive cyclones over Jupiter’s south pole

“We’re puzzled as to how they could be formed, how stable the configuration is, and why Jupiter’s north pole doesn’t look like the south pole,” Bolton added. “We’re questioning whether this is a dynamic system, and are we seeing just one stage, and over the next year, we’re going to watch it disappear, or is this a stable configuration and these storms are circulating around one another?”

Scientists originally assumed Jupiter’s poles would be boring and uneventful. But, as the new data proves, they’re anything but.

Juno arrived at Jupiter’s orbit last summer, where it made its first pass in August, flying as close as 2,600 miles above the planet’s cloud tops. The spacecraft makes a close approach every 53 days, starting at Jupiter’s north pole and flying south, which takes about two hours. The next big flyby will occur on July 11.

“If anybody is going to get to the bottom of what is going on below those mammoth swirling crimson cloud tops, it’s Juno and her cloud-piercing science instruments,” Bolton said.

Article source: https://www.technobuffalo.com/2017/05/27/jupiter-juno-cyclone-pictures/