Jupiter Abyss

Explanation: What's that black spot on Jupiter? No one is sure. During one pass of NASA's Juno over Jupiter , the robotic spacecraft imaged an usually dark cloud feature informally dubbed the Abyss . Surrounding cloud patterns show the Abyss to be at the center of a vortex . Since dark features on Jupiter's atmosphere tend to run deeper than light features, the Abyss may really be the deep hole that it appears -- but without more evidence that remains conjecture. The Abyss is surrounded by a complex of meandering clouds and other swirling storm systems , some of which are topped by light colored, high-altitude clouds. The featured image was captured in 2019 while Juno passed only about 15,000 kilometers above Jupiter's cloud tops . The next close pass of Juno near Jupiter will be in about three weeks.