                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                 2023 May 23
    The cloud tops of Jupiter are pictured in a closeup flyby of the Juno
   spacecraft. A big white oval cloud is visible in the foreground, while
    many swirls of many muted colors are visible trailing behind. A dark
     night sky is in the background. Please see the explanation for more
                            detailed information.

                         Jupiter's Swirls from Juno
    Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS; Processing & License: Kevin
                                   M. Gill

   Explanation: Big storms are different on Jupiter. On Earth, huge
   hurricanes and colossal cyclones are centered on regions of low
   pressure, but on Jupiter, it is the high-pressure, anti-cyclone storms
   that are the largest. On Earth, large storms can last weeks, but on
   Jupiter they can last years. On Earth, large storms can be as large as
   a country, but on Jupiter, large storms can be as large as planet
   Earth. Both types of storms are known to exhibit lightning. The
   featured image of Jupiter's clouds was composed from images and data
   captured by the robotic Juno spacecraft as it swooped close to the
   massive planet in August 2020.  A swirling white oval is visible
   nearby, while numerous smaller cloud swirls extend into the distance.
   On Jupiter, light-colored clouds are usually higher up than dark
   clouds. Despite their differences, studying storm clouds on distant
   Jupiter provides insights into storms and other weather patterns on
   familiar Earth.

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