Jupiter's Great Red Spot looks menacing in NASA's closest-ever photos of the raging storm
An intrepid NASA probe orbiting Jupiter has beamed home humanity's closest-ever views of one of the most recognizable features in the solar system: the Great Red Spot.
The 10,000 mile-wide storm that has been raging for hundreds of years got its closeup when the Juno spacecraft flew just 5,600 miles above it on July 10.
Juno's photos and other data -- which will help scientists learn more about Jupiter's inner workings -- are now trickling back to Earth.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
One of the best things about NASA's image policy is its openness. The space agency encourages everyone out there with an image processor and a dream to mess around with their photos and make them into something even more amazing.
Instead of just passively releasing raw photos from the spacecraft's JunoCam instrument, the agency is actively soliciting image processors who can take those photos and make them into something truly great.
Enthusiastic image processors didn't disappoint. Talented users have processed hundreds of Juno's pictures to bring out features like storms, swirls, and clouds in the planet's atmosphere.
Scientists are actually pointing the camera at features of Jupiter based on suggestions from amateur astronomers observing the planet.
Now those image processors are turning their attention to the new photos of the Great Red Spot.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
We also decided to spice up these images a bit for y'all with our own take.
Juno has been exploring Jupiter since its arrival at the giant planet in July 2016.
The spacecraft has changed the way we understand and see Jupiter's storms and given us new views of its auroras. It has also collected data that hints at what might be going on in the core of the gas giant.
Juno will continue keeping an eye on Jupiter until its mission comes to an end with a fiery crash into the planet in 2018.
Miriam Kramer worked as a staff writer for Space.com for about 2.5 years before joining Mashable to cover all things outer space. She took a ride in weightlessness on a zero-gravity flight and watched rockets launch to space from places around the United States. Miriam received her Master's degree in science, health and environmental reporting from New York University in 2012, and she originally hails from Knoxville, Tennessee. Follow Miriam on Twitter at @mirikramer.
