In this new stunning image, Jupiter has revealed its "pearls" - it's eight massive storms that appear like a string of pearls amidst its violent atmosphere.
The photos were taken by NASA's Juno spacecraft, which is currently orbiting Jupiter. These storms are rotating in a counter-clockwise movement, and appear as white translucent ovals over Jupiter's southern hemisphere. One large "pearl" storm is around half the size of Earth. Scientists say that this string of pearls has been raging from six to nine storms since they started capturing them in 1986.
This new imagery was taken last week during a close flyby of Juno, at 2,580 miles above Jupiter's thick, brewing atmosphere.
During this flyby, Juno was able to collect not only high-resolution images but also data and measurements, some 15,300 miles above the surface of the gas giant.
JunoCam, the spacecraft's visible light camera, successfully captured details of Jupiter's atmospheric systems, including its polar regions and cloud tops.
Upon closer inspection, the turbulent swirling clouds in the photos are apparently made of ammonia ice crystals that formed into bands across Jupiter's equatorial belts. Each band appears clearly defined thanks to a powerful jet stream of winds that flows through these bands.
These bands are located in these zones which possess frigid temperatures. Ammonia ice provides these zones their color. The belts around Jupiter appear in contrast, with more vivid colors due to the presence of hydrocarbons that are composed of hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen mixed with sulfur and phosphorous compounds.
This string of pearls is located in the windy region of the atmosphere of Jupiter where it can last for decades. Other storms can disappear and dissipate while others merge with one another and form even larger storms.
The largest storm on Jupiter is the famous Great Red Spot which has been raging for at least 350, constantly shrinking and swelling over the years.