--- title: Cyclones on Jupiter Seen in Dramatic New NASA Images description: Extraordinary new images of cyclones on Jupiter released by NASA show the 'gas giant' as it's never been seen before. canonical: https://time.com/5193324/cyclones-on-jupiter-nasa-images/ author: Kate Samuelson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-03-09T18:03:08.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T11:31:58.772Z article:section: Science og:title: Cyclones on Jupiter Seen in Dramatic New NASA Images og:description: See the gas giant as never before og:url: https://time.com/5193324/cyclones-on-jupiter-nasa-images/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc1c3e0245bd2666f/69892a4d929fada9fdbefe51/nasa-juno.jpg?branch=production&width=828&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Central cyclone at Jupiter's north pole, Space, --- - 07 Mar 2018 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Cyclones on Jupiter Seen in Dramatic New NASA Images twitter:description: See the gas giant as never before twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc1c3e0245bd2666f/69892a4d929fada9fdbefe51/nasa-juno.jpg?branch=production&width=828&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # See Dramatic Cyclones Churning on Jupiter's Surface in These New NASA Photos by [Kate Samuelson](https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Mar 9, 2018 6:03 PM UTC  A handout photo made available on 07 March 2018 by NASA shows in this composite image, derived from data collected by the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument aboard NASA's Juno mission to Jupiter, the central cyclone at the planet's north pole and the eight cyclones that encircle it. JIRAM collects data in infrared, and the colors in this composite represent radiant heat. A handout photo made available on 07 March 2018 by NASA shows in this composite image, derived from data collected by the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument aboard NASA's Juno mission to Jupiter, the central cyclone at the planet's north pole and the eight cyclones that encircle it. JIRAM collects data in infrared, and the colors in this composite represent radiant heat.NASA by [Kate Samuelson](https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Mar 9, 2018 6:03 PM UTC Extraordinary new images released by NASA show the [‘gas giant’ Jupiter](http://time.com/5095013/jupiter-new-junocam-images/) as it’s never been seen before. The out-of-this-world images, which are derived from data collected from NASA’s [Juno spacecraft](http://time.com/4795034/jupiter-juno-mission-nasa/), show a multitude of massive cyclones on Jupiter, churning around the planet’s north and south poles. > [](https://twitter.com/NASA/status/971463110501588993) Data suggests that Jupiter’s atmospheric winds last longer than similar atmospheric processes found here on Earth and are unlike anything else in our solar system, [NASA explains](https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/nasa-juno-findings-jupiter-s-jet-streams-are-unearthly). The information will be used by scientists to better understand the planet’s interior structure, core mass and, hopefully over time, its origin. “These astonishing science results are yet another example of Jupiter’s curve balls, and a testimony to the value of exploring the unknown from a new perspective with next-generation instruments,” said Scott Bolton, who is working on the Juno mission from the Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio. > [](https://twitter.com/NASA/status/970705515121606657) The Juno mission, which reached the gas giant after a five-year trek, provides a new perspective on the fifth planet which scientists have struggled to study because of its cloud cover. The spacecraft takes batches of photos about every 53 days as it orbits Jupiter. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5193324/cyclones-on-jupiter-nasa-images/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5193324/cyclones-on-jupiter-nasa-images/"},"headline":"See Dramatic Cyclones Churning on Jupiter's Surface in These New NASA Photos","datePublished":"2018-03-09T18:03:08.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T11:31:58.772Z","description":"See the gas giant as never before","url":"https://time.com/5193324/cyclones-on-jupiter-nasa-images/","keywords":["Space","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc1c3e0245bd2666f/69892a4d929fada9fdbefe51/nasa-juno.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kate Samuelson","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc1c3e0245bd2666f/69892a4d929fada9fdbefe51/nasa-juno.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Central cyclone at Jupiter's north pole, Space, --- - 07 Mar 2018","caption":"Central cyclone at Jupiter's north pole, Space, --- - 07 Mar 2018","creditText":"NASA","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/space/","name":"Space"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5193324/cyclones-on-jupiter-nasa-images/","name":"See Dramatic Cyclones Churning on Jupiter's Surface in These New NASA Photos"}}]}] ```