In the first of Hubble’s new Jupiter images, captured on 5 January 2024, the Great Red Spot<\/a> is the predominant feature.<\/p> The Great Red Spot is a huge storm bigger than Earth that has been raging for centuries.<\/p> Visible to its lower right is an anticyclone that was produced by the merging of separate storms on Jupiter in 1998 and 2000, sometimes referred to as ‘Red Spot Jr’.<\/p> This feature appeared red in 2006 but then developed a paler colour over time.<\/p> However, the new Hubble Space Telescope<\/a> image of Jupiter shows it appearing red again.<\/p> NASA says it is not yet fully known why this feature is red in colour, but it could involve a chemical make-up including sulphur, phosphorus or organic material.<\/p> And because Jupiter’s stormy atmosphere is always changing, the Great Red Spot and Red Spot Jr don’t stay in the same position relative to each other: the smaller spot passes the larger one about every two years.<\/p> The second Hubble Jupiter image captured on 6 January 2024 shows the opposite side of Jupiter.<\/p> Two red storms appear just to the right of centre: a red cyclone and a red anticylone.<\/p> These storms rotate in opposite directions, indicating an alternating pattern of high- and low-pressure systems.<\/p> It’s thought the two storms will pass each other because their clockwise and anticlockwise rotations make them repel each other.<\/p> “The many large storms and small white clouds are a hallmark of a lot of activity going on in Jupiter’s atmosphere right now,” says OPAL project lead Amy Simon of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.<\/p> However, the 6 January image has another visual treat, and that’s the presence of Io<\/a>, one of Jupiter’s Galilean moons<\/a>.<\/p>![\"Image](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/03\/hubble-jupiter-5-january-2024.jpg\")
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