Jupiter's Atmospheric Observations Jupiter's atmosphere displays a rich variety of activity that is not well understood. Equatorial cloud belts are associated with atmospheric jet streams that alternate between east and west directions, at different latitudes. Between the jet streams there are numerous circulating ovals of clouds, some of which have very long lifetimes. The largest of these, the Great Red Spot, has been in existence for over 300 years, since the first recorded observations of the planet.    The Red Spot Atmospheric Questions for Imaging of Jupiter Why do Jupiter's clouds have colors? How do the clouds form? Why do hotspots and ovals remain for so long? Why are there bands and jets on Jupiter? Do the clouds cause the jets and bands, or do they simply follow them? The jets appear to be stable - why? What hazes exist above the normal cloud levels? How do they affect deeper clouds? What chemicals are present in very small amounts in the cloud layers? How were they created and moved there?   Images Grouped   by Galileo's Orbit Orbit 1 Orbit 2 Orbit 3 Orbit 4 Orbit 6 Orbit 7 Orbit 8 Orbit 9 Orbit 10 Orbit 11 Orbit 17 Jupiter Images Grouped by Science Objective Atmospheric Haze Aurora Aurora Glow Cloud Height Data Great Red Spot Hot Spots Lightning Temperature Data White Ovals Northern Latitudes, Equatorial Belt Zone, Southern Latitudes Jupiter | Moons | Mission | Images | Explorations | Education | News | Home Send feedback to Webmaster. Last updated 10/01/01.