
It was already thought to be the biggest storm in the universe - but Jupiter's Great Red Spot is bigger than thought, NASA has revealed.

Data collected by NASA's Juno spacecraft during its first pass over the Great Red Spot in July 2017 show it penetrates well below the clouds.

Researchers have revealed it reaches 200 miles into the planet's atmosphere.

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The incredible video was created using data collected by NASA's Juno spacecraft during its first pass over the Great Red Spot in July 2017, using its instruments to penetrate well below the clouds. This looping animation simulates the motion of clouds in Jupiter's Great Red Spot. The animation was made by applying a wind movement model to a mosaic of JunoCam images.

WHAT IS THE GREAT RED SPOT? The so-called 'Great Red Spot' is a violent storm, which in the late 1800s was estimated to be about 25,000 miles (about 40,000 km) in diameter – wide enough for three Earths to fit side by side. Measuring 10,000 miles (16,000 kilometers) in width as of April 3, 2017, the Great Red Spot is 1.3 times as wide as Earth. The biggest in the solar system, it appears as a deep red orb surrounded by layers of pale yellow, orange and white. Winds inside the storm have been measured at several hundreds of miles per hour, Nasa astronomers said. Advertisement

'One of the most basic questions about Jupiter's Great Red Spot is: how deep are the roots?' said Scott Bolton, Juno's principal investigator from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, who revealed the findings at the annual American Geophysical Union meeting in New Orleans.

'Juno data indicate that the solar system's most famous storm is almost one-and-a-half Earths wide, and has roots that penetrate about 200 miles (300 kilometers) into the planet's atmosphere.'

Other revelations from the mission include that Jupiter has two previously uncharted radiation zones.

The science instrument responsible for this in-depth revelation was Juno's Microwave Radiometer (MWR).

'Juno's Microwave Radiometer has the unique capability to peer deep below Jupiter's clouds,' said Michael Janssen, Juno co-investigator from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

'It is proving to be an excellent instrument to help us get to the bottom of what makes the Great Red Spot so great.'

The Great Red Spot is a giant oval of crimson-colored clouds in Jupiter's southern hemisphere that race counterclockwise around the oval's perimeter with wind speeds greater than any storm on Earth.

Measuring 10,000 miles (16,000 kilometers) in width as of April 3, 2017, the Great Red Spot is 1.3 times as wide as Earth.

'Juno found that the Great Red Spot's roots go 50 to 100 times deeper than Earth's oceans and are warmer at the base than they are at the top,' said Andy Ingersoll, professor of planetary science at Caltech and a Juno co-investigator.

'Winds are associated with differences in temperature, and the warmth of the spot's base explains the ferocious winds we see at the top of the atmosphere.'

Juno also has detected a new radiation zone, just above the gas giant's atmosphere, near the equator.

The zone includes energetic hydrogen, oxygen and sulfur ions moving at almost light speed.

'The closer you get to Jupiter, the weirder it gets,' said Heidi Becker, Juno's radiation monitoring investigation lead at JPL.

'We knew the radiation would probably surprise us, but we didn't think we'd find a new radiation zone that close to the planet.

'We only found it because Juno's unique orbit around Jupiter allows it to get really close to the cloud tops during science collection flybys, and we literally flew through it.'

The new zone was identified by the Jupiter Energetic Particle Detector Instrument (JEDI) investigation.

The particles are believed to be derived from energetic neutral atoms (fast-moving ions with no electric charge) created in the gas around the Jupiter moons Io and Europa.

Under the great spot: This figure shows data from the six channels of the microwave radiometer (MWR) instrument onboard NASA's Juno spacecraft. The top layer in the figure is a visible light image from the mission's JunoCam instrument, provided for context. Channel 1 is sensitive to longer microwave wavelengths; each of the other channels is sensitive to progressively shorter wavelengths.The large-scale structure of the Great Red Spot is visible in the data as deep into Jupiter as MWR can observe.

The neutral atoms then become ions as their electrons are stripped away by interaction with the upper atmosphere of Jupiter.

Juno also found signatures of a high-energy heavy ion population within the inner edges of Jupiter's relativistic electron radiation belt -- a region dominated by electrons moving close to the speed of light.

The signatures are observed during Juno's high-latitude encounters with the electron belt, in regions never explored by prior spacecraft.

The origin and exact species of these particles is not yet understood. Juno's Stellar Reference Unit (SRU-1) star camera detects the signatures of this population as extremely high noise signatures in images collected by the mission's radiation monitoring investigation.

This graphic shows a new radiation zone surrounding Jupiter, located just above the atmosphere near the equator, that has been discovered by NASA's Juno mission. The new radiation zone is depicted here as a glowing blue area around the planet's middle.This radiation zone includes energetic hydrogen, oxygen and sulfur ions moving at close to the speed of light (referred to as "relativistic" speeds). It resides inside Jupiter's previously known radiation belts. Juno scientists believe the particles creating this region of intense radiation are derived from energetic neutral atoms - that is, fast-moving atoms without an electric charge - coming from the tenuous gas around Jupiter's moons Io and Europa.

To date, Juno has completed eight science passes over Jupiter. Juno's ninth science pass will be on Dec. 16.

Juno launched on Aug. 5, 2011, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and arrived in orbit around Jupiter on July 4, 2016. During its mission of exploration, Juno soars low over the planet's cloud tops -- as close as about 2,100 miles (3,400 kilometers).

During these flybys, Juno is probing beneath the obscuring cloud cover of Jupiter and studying its auroras to learn more about the planet's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere.

IS THE GREAT RED SPOT DOOMED? The future of the Great Red Spot is still very much up for debate, researchers say. While the storm has been monitored since 1830, it has possibly existed for more than 350 years. In the 19th century, the Great Red Spot was well over two Earths wide. But in modern times, the Great Red Spot appears to be diminishing in size, as measured by Earth-based telescopes and spacecraft. At the time NASA's Voyagers 1 and 2 sped by Jupiter on their way to Saturn and beyond, in 1979, the Great Red Spot was twice Earth's diameter. Today, measurements by Earth-based telescopes indicate the oval that Juno flew over has diminished in width by one-third and height by one-eighth since Voyager times. Advertisement

Earlier this year NASA released a natural colour rendition of the massive storm, based on data from the Juno spacecraft's seventh close flyby of the planet, simulating how it would be seen by the human eye.

Juno captured the view from about 8,648 miles (13,917 kilometers) above the cloud tops using its JunoCam imager.

A stunning new image of Jupiter's tumultuous 'Great Red Spot' has revealed what it might be like to glimpse the biggest storm in our solar system up close. The image shows a natural colour rendition of the massive storm

The new image was processed by citizen scientist Björn Jónsson, according to NASA, using data from Juno's July 10 close approach.

'This true-color image offers a natural color rendition of what the Great Red Spot and surrounding areas would look like to human eyes from Juno's position,' NASA explains.

'The tumultuous atmospheric zones in and around the Great Red Spot are clearly visible.'

Just weeks ago, the space agency released the first images from the probe's historic flyby of the 'Great Red Spot.'

The probe, which has been monitoring Jupiter's surface for just over a year, passed about 5,600 miles (9,000 kilometres) above the Great Red Spot.

The first three unprocessed 'raw' images were revealed by NASA as a taste of the images to come, and space enthusiasts soon tweaked them to produce stunning images.

This is an early processed version of an image created by Gerald Eichstädt, using NASA's raw data. It gives an unprecedented glimpse into the gigantic red spot of Jupiter

Another of Jason Major's processed images, showing the cloud detail inside the gigantic storm (right)

'Raw images from the Juno spacecraft's flyby of Jupiter's Great Red Spot are back on Earth,' NASA said as it revealed the images.

'We invite the public to act as a virtual imaging team, from identifying features of interest to sharing the finished images online.'

NASA is currently processing the images itself, and more are expected to be unveiled over the coming days.

'After JunoCam data arrives on Earth, members of the public can process the images to create color pictures,' it said.

'The public also helps determine which points on the planet will be photographed.'

Experts have predict that the views of the storm will be breathtaking.

The data collection of the Great Red Spot is part of Juno's sixth flyby over Jupiter's mysterious cloud tops.

Tom Momary posted this version of the image, titled 'Peering into the Great Red Spot...color enhancements and vibrance, to bring out detail'

Perijove (the point at which an orbit comes closest to Jupiter's center) was this morning at 02:55 BST (21:55 EDT yesterday evening).

At the time of perijove, Juno was about 2,200 miles (3,500 kilometers) above the planet's cloud tops.

Eleven minutes and 33 seconds later, Juno covered another 24,713 miles (39,771 kilometers) and was directly above the Great Red Spot.

The spacecraft passed about 5,600 miles (9,000 kilometers) above the Giant Red Spot clouds.

All eight of the spacecraft's instruments as well as its imager, JunoCam, were on during the flyby.

'My latest Jupiter flyby is complete!' said a post on the @NASAJuno Twitter account.

'All science instruments and JunoCam were operating to collect data.'

'Raw images will be posted in (the) coming days,' the space agency said.

Juno launched on August 5, 2011, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and has been orbiting Jupiter for just over one year.

Although NASA posted the 'raw' files online (see below) internet users soon enhanced them. This image was posted by Jason Major, who tweeted 'They're here! My first processed raw map-projected image of #Jupiter's Great Red Spot from @NASAJuno's P7 flyover on July 10-11 #GRSflyover'

The data collection of the Great Red Spot was part of Juno's sixth flyby over Jupiter's mysterious cloud tops.

Perijove (the point at which an orbit comes closest to Jupiter's centre) was this morning at 02:55 BST (21:55 EDT yesterday evening).

At the time of perijove, Juno was about 2,200 miles (3,500 kilometers) above the planet's cloud tops.

Eleven minutes and 33 seconds later, Juno covered another 24,713 miles (39,771 kilometers) and was directly above the Great Red Spot.

The spacecraft passed about 5,600 miles (9,000 kilometers) above the Giant Red Spot clouds.

All eight of the spacecraft's instruments as well as its imager, JunoCam, were on during the flyby.

The three raw images posted by NASA. It said it was hoping the public would 'act as a virtual imaging team, from identifying features of interest'. The so-called 'Great Red Spot' is a violent storm, which in the late 1800s was estimated to be about 25,000 miles (about 40,000 km) in diameter – wide enough for three Earths to fit side by side. The biggest in the solar system, it appears as a deep red orb surrounded by layers of pale yellow, orange and white. Winds inside the storm have been measured at several hundreds of miles per hour, NASA astronomers said.

The fly-by comes just days after Juno celebrated its first anniversary in Jupiter's orbit.

'Jupiter's mysterious Great Red Spot is probably the best-known feature of Jupiter,' said Scott Bolton, principal investigator of Juno from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio.

'This monumental storm has raged on the solar system's biggest planet for centuries.

'Now, Juno and her cloud-penetrating science instruments will dive in to see how deep the roots of this storm go, and help us understand how this giant storm works and what makes it so special.'

Trapped between two jet streams, the Great Red Spot is an anticyclone swirling around a centre of high atmospheric pressure that makes it rotate in the opposite sense of hurricanes on Earth. Nasa's Juno spacecraft passed about 5,600 miles (9,000 kilometers) above the Giant Red Spot clouds

On July 4, Juno logged exactly one year in Jupiter orbit, and has chalked up about 71 million miles (114.5 million kilometers) in orbit around the giant planet.

'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.'

During its mission of exploration, Juno soars low over the planet's cloud tops - as close as about 2,100 miles (3,400 kilometers).

During these flybys, Juno is probing beneath the obscuring cloud cover of Jupiter and studying its auroras to learn more about the planet's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere.

Early results from Nasa's Juno mission portray the largest planet in our solar system as a turbulent world, with an intriguingly complex interior structure, energetic polar aurora, and huge polar cyclones.

The image of a crescent Jupiter and the iconic Great Red Spot was created by a citizen scientist (Roman Tkachenko) using data from Juno's JunoCam instrument, Nasa said.

The stunning image reveals the iconic great red spot, alongside a series of storms shaped like white ovals, known informally as the 'string of pearls'. It was taken on December 11, 2016 as the Juno spacecraft performed its third close flyby of Jupiter

The image was taken on December 11, 2016 as the Juno spacecraft performed its third close flyby of Jupiter.

At the time the image was taken, the spacecraft was about 285,100 miles (458,800 kilometers) from the planet.

Astronomers recently revealed that Jupiter's 'red spot' storm, the biggest in the solar system, is shrinking.

The so-called 'Great Red Spot' is a violent storm, which in the late 1800s was estimated to be about 25,000 miles (about 40,000 km) in diameter – wide enough for three Earths to fit side by side.

The biggest in the solar system, it appears as a deep red orb surrounded by layers of pale yellow, orange and white.

Winds inside the storm have been measured at several hundreds of miles per hour, Nasa astronomers said.

Nasa revealed the find alongside stunning new maps of the planet which are the first in an annual series of 'weather maps' designed to spot changes.

Already, the Jupiter images have revealed a rare wave just north of the planet's equator and a unique filamentary feature in the core of the Great Red Spot not seen previously.