A pair of newly-published papers detailing insights gleaned from NASA's Juno probe include a breathtaking look at Jupiter's poles.
The incredibly colorful perspective of the planet shows massive whirling cyclones and 'anticyclonic' storms covering the top and bottom of Jupiter.
Juno principal investigator Scott Bolton noted that, "it almost looks like meteor craters, but, of course, it's all atmosphere. It's all gas."
The monstrous storms measure an astounding 870-miles wide at their largest and remain fairly mysterious to scientists.
As of now, astronomers have no idea whether the cyclones develop and evolve over time or are a fixed feature of the polar region.
With Juno scheduled to continue orbiting Jupiter for about another year, scientists hope that the probe will continue to capture additional images which can shed light on the nature of the storms and possibly answer some of the vexing questions surrounding them.
Source: Space.com