Juno spacecraft photographs Jupiter’s chaotic atmosphere, unveiling incredible cloud patterns

Juno spacecraft captured image of Jupiter’s northern high latitudes. (Image: Jackie Branc/science.nasa.gov)

NASA’s Juno spacecraft captured a striking new view of Jupiter this week, showing the chaotic beauty of its atmosphere in the planet’s northern high latitudes. Taken during Juno’s 69th axial rotation on 28 January 2025, this still shows Jupiter’s stripe and stripe bands that massively turbulent winds would have to crash into each other to sculpt into their delicate cloud eddies.

From Raw Data to Vivid Colour

The full image of Jupiter patterns was taken at a distance of about 58,000 kilometres above Jupiter’s cloud tops. This image was subsequently processed by citizen scientist Jackie Branc to enhance its colours revealing the gas giant’s vivid atmospheric features. Jupiter’s bands and clouds are made up of winds blowing in opposing directions.

Turbulence in Motion

Turbulence at the edges turns the clouds into swirling eddies and waves that present a rare chance to understand the dynamics of an atmosphere on a giant planet. Researchers analyze such patterns to learn more about wind speeds, energy flow and storm creation on the gas giant.

A Window into Planetary Weather

It’s more than just a stunning panorama. It provides key insight into the complex physics of Jupiter’s atmosphere, including how fast winds interact with deeper layers. Juno’s ongoing mission to explore the planet will contribute towards unlocking the secrets of gas giants that hint at how planets form and generate weather in our system.