Since the seventeenth century, observers have seen a huge, oval red spot south of Jupiter’s equator.
The Great Red Spot has a greater surface area than Earth: 8,400 miles (13,440 km) wide by 24,000 miles (38,400 km) long.
Scientists have determined that the spot is a huge atmospheric storm.
It appears as a hollow, or depression, in Jupiter’s cloud cover and is reminiscent of a spiraling cyclone viewed from above.
The red spot whirls around itself in a counterclockwise movement, taking 9 days at its center and 12 days at its edge to complete one rotation.
