NASA photo shows 'powerful storms' around Jupiter's north pole

A spectacular image of hurricane-like spiral wind patterns known as vortices was acquired by instrument during the Juno mission's 43rd close flyby of Jupiter on July 5, 2022.

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These enormous storms may reach heights of 30 miles (50 kilometres) and span hundreds of miles. Comprehending the fluid dynamics and cloud chemistry that produce Jupiter's various atmospheric characteristics is critical to understanding Jupiter's atmosphere.

The vortices' changing forms, sizes, and hues are of special interest to scientists, who are eager to learn more about the phenomenon. There are several differences in the appearance of cyclones and anti-cyclones, for example, which spin counter-clockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere, respectively.

Jovian Vortex Hunter is a NASA citizen science initiative that seeks the aid of the public in spotting and categorising vortices and other atmospheric phenomena in JunoCam images of Jupiter. A smartphone or laptop may be used to carry out this operation, which doesn't need any specific skills or software. As of July 2022, 2,404 people have used the Jovian Vortex Hunter to classify 376,725 objects.

Brian Swift, another citizen scientist, used raw JunoCam picture data to construct this enhanced colour and contrast depiction of vortices. The Juno spacecraft was around 15,600 miles (25,100 kilometres) above Jupiter's cloud tops at a latitude of roughly 84 degrees when the raw picture was obtained.