The Great Red Spot has been shrinking since it was last measured by the Voyager spacecraft
NASA routinely takes stunning images of our universe, leaving space enthusiasts awestruck. NASA's Instagram account is a treasure trove for those who love watching educational videos and gorgeous photos showcasing our planet, galaxies, and other celestial bodies.
Recently, the space organization shared a stunning image of Jupiter's Great Red Spot, captured by the Juno spacecraft. The image was taken from a distance of about 13,917 kilometers by the Juno space probe, which is exploring the huge planet. The Great Red Spot is a storm that is twice the size of Earth and has been around for more than 350 years
The NASA image shows the Great Red Spot at the center, surrounded by brown, orange and red spiraling fragments. Jupiter's horizon appears at the top of the image, contrasting with beige, brown and blue tones.
See picture here:
According to NASA, a high-pressure region in Jupiter's atmosphere has been producing an anticyclonic storm for more than 350 years, producing the gas giant planet's best-known feature.
However, the new image reveals that the Great Red Spot has shrunk since it was last measured by the Voyager spacecraft in 1979, and its height has diminished by an eighth and its width by at least a third over the past four decades.
The Great Red Spot is still about twice as large as Earth, and recent studies by Juno suggest the storm is sinking about 200 miles (300 km) below the planet's clouds. NASA added that with no solid ground on Jupiter to weaken the storms, winds in the Great Red Spot peak at speeds of about 400 mph (643 kph).
Launched in 2011, the Juno spacecraft, which is the size of a basketball court, is the eighth spacecraft to visit Jupiter. It entered orbit around Jupiter on July 4, 2016. It is now in the third year of its extended mission to document the massive planet.
