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.

August 27, 1996
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Galileo Zooms in on Jupiter's Red Spot
Credit: The Galileo Project, JPL, NASA

Explanation: What does the largest storm system ever recorded look like close-up? This storm system is Jupiter's Great Red Spot and it was captured recently in detail by the robot spacecraft Galileo now in orbit around Jupiter. Using real images from three color filters, the Galileo team was able to compute what a person would see if able to float just above this ancient rotating cloud system. But don't get too close - remember that Jupiter's Great Red Spot is a cold, high pressure area more than twice as wide as planet Earth.

Tomorrow's picture: NGC 5882: A Small Planetary Nebula


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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA).
NASA Technical Rep.: Sherri Calvo. Specific rights apply.
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