Jupiter’s new images show cyclones as wide as Earth on its poles

The images we have already come across of the gas giant Jupiter were mesmerizing enough until now when NASA’s Juno spacecraft provided new spectacular images of the huge cyclones on Jupiter’s poles.

The Juno spacecraft has been orbiting Jupiter since 2016 and has been providing numerous data since then but, its recent observations about what lies beneath the planet’s surface just made the planet seem more beautiful.

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Four Nature papers described the strange happening going on at Jupiter’s poles which are occupied with large cyclones, as wide as Earth, arranged in a bizarre pattern. Eight cyclones surround one large one in the planet’s north pole whereas, five of them surround a central cyclone in the south pole, a pattern that is found nowhere in the solar system. “Juno is only about one third the way through its primary mission, and already we are seeing the beginnings of a new Jupiter,” expressed Scott Bolton, principal investigator of Juno, as per NASA.

The data sent by Juno to Earth showed that the gas giant’s gravitational field isn’t the same across both of its hemispheres, which suggests that the happening on Jupiter’s surface extends deeper into the planet. The information also pointed out the fact that the planet’s surface jet streams goes around 3,000km deep, making up 1% of the planet’s entire mass. One of the paper also reported that though having a fluid core, it rotates like a solid, rigid body, which further indicates that the gases in the planet’s core are electrically charged and are thus moved together by Jupiter’s huge magnetic field, reported Engadget.