Jupiter's Great Red Spot will finally get its close-up thanks to NASA's Juno probe
For a space nerd, there's nothing quite as imagination-sparking as Jupiter's Great Red Spot.
The 10,000-mile-wide storm that's likely been raging for centuries in Jupiter's atmosphere is past due for its close-up. But the Great Red Spot's time has finally come. NASA's Juno mission will fly just 5,600 miles above the planet's raging storm on July 10, giving humanity its first view of the spot from (comparatively) close range.
"Jupiter's mysterious Great Red Spot is probably the best-known feature of Jupiter," Scott Bolton, Juno's principal investigator, said in a statement.
"... Now, Juno and her cloud-penetrating science instruments will dive in to see how deep the roots of this storm go, and help us understand how this giant storm works and what makes it so special."
By getting this unprecedented view of Jupiter's storm, researchers will be able to learn more about the mechanics of the raging cyclone, which has been observed on Jupiter since 1830, and in recent years has actually been shrinking.
"The new images confirm that the Great Red Spot continues to shrink and become more circular, as it has been doing for years," NASA said in a 2015 statement.
"The long axis of this characteristic storm is about 150 miles (240 kilometers) shorter now than it was in 2014. Recently, the storm had been shrinking at a faster-than-usual rate, but the latest change is consistent with the long-term trend."
Juno has been in orbit around Jupiter for a full year, studying the planet's auroras, clouds, and structure, and beaming home amazing views of the giant planet. The spacecraft has changed the way researchers understand Jupiter's inner workings.
Juno's photos of Jupiter's swirling clouds are particularly stunning.
"Each new orbit brings us closer to the heart of Jupiter's radiation belt, but so far the spacecraft has weathered the storm of electrons surrounding Jupiter better than we could have ever imagined," Rick Nybakken, project manager for Juno, said in the statement.
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.
