Jovian Swirls

Giant storms swirl through the clouds of Jupiter in this false-color image from Juno, a spacecraft that is orbiting the giant planet. The storms include a bright swirl at lower left, and what looks like a dark "hole" at lower right. Juno is expected to sweep just 2,700 miles (4,400 km) above Jupiter's clouds on March 27, making its fifth close approach. The craft is following an elongated orbit that carries it far away from Jupiter, then back in close. That allows it to measure Jupiter's magnetic and gravitational fields. Scientists use those observations to probe conditions inside Jupiter. [NASA/JPL/SWRI/MSSS/Roman Tkachenko]