NASA's Juno mission recently made the 776.76 million km journey to Jupiterwhere it took some encapsulating images of the gas giant's northern hemisphere.
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The images taken on February 17, 2020, show Jupiter's northern hemisphere being reminiscent of the inside of a marble with its giant gas swirls. One of the features of the Van Gogh-esque planet is the long, thin bands that run vertically down its circumference. These streaks have been present since Juno's first close trip to the planet in 2016 and are made up of layers of haze. Scientists do not know yet what the haze is made of or how they form but they suspect that the jet streams on either side of the bands may have something to do with the phenomenon.
In 2017, scientists uncovered that the jet streams reversed on a predictable schedule. This lead them to believe that the streams are similar to those of Earthwhere the streams reverse in regards to changing temperatures. On Jupiter, a similar process of events take place every four years where the jet streams reverse in regards to gravity waves.
Check out the video above to see some more close up pictures of the gas giant and to learn some more interesting facts about Jupiter!
