NASA releases new images of Jupiter captured with Hubble space telescope

NASA has shared fresh images of Jupiter taken from the Hubble space telescope. The pictures have captured the solar system's biggest planet at mid-northern latitudes as a bright, white, stretched-out storm travelling around the planet at 350 miles per hour (560 kilometres per hour).

Trailing behind the plume (a long cloud of smoke) are small, rounded features with complex red, white, and blue colours in the near-infrared light image. NASA said that the plume erupted on August 18, 2020, and ground-based observers have discovered two more that appeared later at the same latitude.

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope.

The picture also shows the Great Red Spot rolling counterclockwise in the planet’s southern hemisphere. The Great Red Spot is currently an exceptionally rich red colour, with its core and outermost band appearing deeper red.

An image of Jupiter taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope in ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared light on Aug. 25, 2020.

The image also provides a good look at the Oval BA, which has been nicknamed Red Spot Jr. It's the storm sitting just below the Great Red Spot.

"For the past few years, Red Spot Jr. has been fading in colour to its original shade of white after appearing red in 2006. However, now the core of this storm appears to be darkening slightly," NASA said in a statement.

The icy moon Europa is also visible to the left of Jupiter.

This Hubble image is part of yearly maps of the entire planet taken as part of the Outer Planets Atmospheres Legacy program (OPAL). The program provides annual Hubble global views of the outer planets to look for changes in their storms, winds, and clouds.