NASA's Juno Probe Captures Stunning New Look at Jupiter's Swirling Atmosphere

Upon entering Jupiter's orbit in 2016, NASA's Juno spacecraft provided us with an intimate look at the largest planet in our solar system. Four years later, the probe continues to shed light on the gas giant. Two new pictures taken by the JunoCam show Jupiter's swirling, iridescent atmosphere in striking detail, and they're raising new questions about the planet's composition, Space.com reports.

The first image, captured on February 17, 2020, shows bands of haze particles extending above the main level of Jupiter's eddying clouds. NASA scientists aren't sure what these bands might be, but one theory is that they're the byproduct of the jet stream bands that have been known to form around the same spot.

In the second picture, taken on April 10, Jupiter's upper atmosphere is shown in even clearer definition. Different types of clouds can be picked out of the abstract scene; the smaller, brighter clouds that appear to rise up from the edges of the swirling patterns are called "pop-up" clouds.

Juno has performed more than 25 close fly-bys of Jupiter. Thanks to the data the spacecraft has gathered, we now know the planet's poles are covered by Texas-sized ammonia cyclones, and that its interior is much different from what was previously believed.