Jupiter's Great Red Spot: NASA Releases Stunning Photos Of Astronomical Phenomenon

NEW YORK, NY — NASA released spectacular photos of Jupiter's famous Great Red Spot Thursday, the most detailed images of the centuries-old storm ever collected. The images were captured by the spacecraft Juno as it orbited above the gas giant on Monday. Scroll down to see the photos.

"For hundreds of years scientists have been observing, wondering and theorizing about Jupiter's Great Red Spot," said Scott Bolton, Juno principal investigator from the Southwest Research Institute. "Now we have the best pictures ever of this iconic storm. It will take us some time to analyze all the data from not only JunoCam, but Juno's eight science instruments, to shed some new light on the past, present and future of the Great Red Spot."

Many Americans have gotten caught up in the excitement of the new images; some "citizen scientists" took it upon themselves to enhance the images found in the raw data collected by Juno to accentuate the features of the storm. (For more national stories, subscribe to the Across America Patch and receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

"I have been following the Juno mission since it launched," said Jason Major, a JunoCam citizen scientist and a graphic designer from Warwick, Rhode Island. "It is always exciting to see these new raw images of Jupiter as they arrive. But it is even more thrilling to take the raw images and turn them into something that people can appreciate. That is what I live for."

Here's what you should know about the Great Red Spot:

• It's more than 10,000 miles wide
• The storm was first discovered in 1830
• Scientists believe it has existed for 350 years

"The success of science collection at Jupiter is a testament to the dedication, creativity and technical abilities of the NASA-Juno team," said Rick Nybakken, project manager for Juno from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "Each new orbit brings us closer to the heart of Jupiter's radiation belt, but so far the spacecraft has weathered the storm of electrons surrounding Jupiter better than we could have ever imagined."

Juno's flight began on Aug. 5, 2011. To collect data on Jupiter, it flew just above the planet's highest clouds, coming within 2,100 miles above the gas giant. When it passed over the Great Red Spot, it was 5,600 miles above the centuries-old storm.

"These highly-anticipated images of Jupiter's Great Red Spot are the 'perfect storm' of art and science. With data from Voyager, Galileo, New Horizons, Hubble and now Juno, we have a better understanding of the composition and evolution of this iconic feature," said Jim Green, NASA's director of planetary science. "We are pleased to share the beauty and excitement of space science with everyone."

See more pictures from NASA>>

Lead Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Jason Major