Space

Juno reveals stunning images of Jupiter's Great Red Spot

Juno reveals stunning images of Jupiter's Great Red Spot
Color enhanced view of the Great Red Spot
Color enhanced view of the Great Red Spot
View 33 Images
Great Red Spot - Southern View
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Great Red Spot - Southern View
Details of the southern pole of Jupiter
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Details of the southern pole of Jupiter
Angled and enhanced contrast view of the spot
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Angled and enhanced contrast view of the spot
Jupiter Vertorama with Great Red Spot
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Jupiter Vertorama with Great Red Spot
Color enhanced view of the Great Red Spot
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Color enhanced view of the Great Red Spot
Composite of several Juno images
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Composite of several Juno images
Hammerhead swirl
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Hammerhead swirl
Detailed close up of the Great Red Spot
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Detailed close up of the Great Red Spot
Within the wake of the Great Red Spot
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Within the wake of the Great Red Spot
The Great Red Spot
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The Great Red Spot
Cloud patterns around the Great Red Spot
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Cloud patterns around the Great Red Spot
Raw image from JunoCam composed from four strip images
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Raw image from JunoCam composed from four strip images
Another raw composite image from JunoCam
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Another raw composite image from JunoCam
View of the spot with adjusted saturation, contrast, highlights, shadows
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View of the spot with adjusted saturation, contrast, highlights, shadows
RGB levels heightened
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RGB levels heightened 
Alternate saturation highlights of Great Red Spot
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Alternate saturation highlights of Great Red Spot
Great Red Spot
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Great Red Spot
Early processed image of Great Red Spot
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Early processed image of Great Red Spot
Great Red Spot
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Great Red Spot
Processed with high dynamic range
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Processed with high dynamic range
Filtered close up of the Great Red Spot
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Filtered close up of the Great Red Spot
Great Red Spot
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Great Red Spot
Illumination adjusted and strongly enhanced
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Illumination adjusted and strongly enhanced
Approaching the Great Red Spot
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Approaching the Great Red Spot
Great Red Spot close-up
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Great Red Spot close-up
A closer look at the storm patterns
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A closer look at the storm patterns
A B&W look at the great red spot
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A B&W look at the great red spot
A photoshop enhanced look at the swirling eddies
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A photoshop enhanced look at the swirling eddies
Illumination adjusted and strongly enhanced
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Illumination adjusted and strongly enhanced
Enhanced to accentuate weather patterns
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Enhanced to accentuate weather patterns
Unique shapes and tones
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Unique shapes and tones
Jupiter at 11,500 km
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Jupiter at 11,500 km
Of course people have found faces in the clouds
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Of course people have found faces in the clouds
View gallery - 33 images

A few days ago, the Juno probe completed the closest flyby of Jupiter's infamous Great Red Spot ever conducted by a spacecraft. After an agonizing wait the photos are now in… and they are absolutely incredible.

NASA has posted all the raw images images from JunoCam online and is inviting the general public to apply their own image processing effects. The JunoCam acquires its images by capturing four separate "strips": red, green, blue and near-infrared. A final image is then generally constructed by an internal team that stitches together all these strips, but in this instance NASA is inviting the public to experiment with their own processing techniques.

Great Red Spot - Southern View
Great Red Spot - Southern View

This open-source project is already delivering an exciting array of gorgeous images that reveal Jupiter in ways we have never seen before.

The mysterious Great Red Spot is a 10,000-mile-wide (16,000 km) storm that was first identified in 1830, and scientists hope these images will provide new insights into this long-marveled-at phenomenon.

Cloud patterns around the Great Red Spot
Cloud patterns around the Great Red Spot

How such a giant storm has persisted for so many years is still a mystery to scientists. It will be some time before the scientific data Juno has obtained can be deciphered, but in the meantime we can revel in the beauty of these magnificent images.

Take a closer look at the array of stunning images already created by the general public in our gallery.

Source: NASA

View gallery - 33 images
3 comments
3 comments
Bruce H. Anderson
What I find fascinating is what appear to be walls at the perimeter. It seems more like the Great Red Sinkhole instead of the Great Red Spot. Or perhaps, a Great Swirling Vortex of DO-O-O-OM!!
ShellyBuckman
I'd have to agree Bruce. I saw the same thing. It looks to me like there is a wall around it. I can see it dip down all the way around.
Nik
I must admit that some of the colouring does give the impression of the spot being bowl shaped. Perhaps its time that NASA invested a few more pennies, in one of their cameras, and gave it a second eye, so it has 3d vision. After all, stereo cameras have been around for quite some time. Now that would be interesting