This composite image shows the cyclones around Jupiter’s north pole: an enormous central vortex encircled by eight smaller ones.
The image is derived from data collected by the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM), an instrument aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft, which is currently in orbit around the gas giant. JIRAM collects infrared imaging data, and the colours in the above image represent radiant heat shining from the atmosphere. The yellow, thinner clouds appear to have a relatively warm temperature of around –13 degrees Celsius, while the thickest dark red clouds are a deep-freeze –118 degrees.
Originally published by Cosmos as Jupiter’s polar cyclones
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