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Jupiter OPAL 2024

This 12-panel series of Hubble Space Telescope images, taken January 5-6, 2024, presents snapshots of a full rotation of the giant planet Jupiter.

This 12-panel series of Hubble Space Telescope images, taken January 5-6, 2024, presents snapshots of a full rotation of the giant planet Jupiter. The Great Red Spot can be used to measure the planet's real rotation rate of nearly 10 hours. The innermost Galilean satellite, Io is seen in several frames, along with its shadow crossing over Jupiter's cloud tops. Hubble monitors Jupiter and the other outer solar system planets every year under the Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy program (OPAL).

Extended Description and Image Alt Text

Extended Description

This 3-row-by-4-column graphic shows 12 Hubble telescope views of Jupiter, as the planet rotated on January 5-6, 2024. At top center is the label "Hubble Space Telescope Observations of Jupiter."  Next to the title are labels "F658N" in red, "F502N" in green, and "F395N" in blue, which represent the filters and colors used to make these images. The date and time label for each view is at the bottom center of each image. From left to right, top to bottom, the images are:

[Top row, column 1]: Jan. 5, 2024 20:46:20 – The planet is banded in stripes of brownish orange, light gray, soft yellow, and shades of cream. Many large storms and small white clouds punctuate the planet. The largest storm, the Great Red Spot, is the most prominent feature in the left bottom third of this view. To its lower right is a smaller reddish anticyclone, Red Spot Jr. Another small red anticyclone appears near the top center of the image. 

[Top row, column 2]: Jan. 5, 2024 22:14:56 - The planet is banded in stripes of brownish orange, light gray, soft yellow, and shades of cream. Many large storms and small white clouds punctuate the planet. The largest storm, the Great Red Spot, is the most prominent feature in the right bottom third of this view.

[Top row, column 3]: Jan. 5, 2024 23:47:34 - The planet is banded in stripes of brownish orange, light gray, soft yellow, and shades of cream. Many large storms and small white clouds punctuate the planet. A small red anticyclone appears near the top left in the image.

[Top row, column 4]: Jan. 6. 2024 01:22:30 - The planet is banded in stripes of brownish orange, light gray, soft yellow, and shades of cream. Many large storms and small white clouds punctuate the planet. At upper right of center, a pair of storms appear next to each other: a deep-red triangle-shaped cyclone and a reddish anticyclone. Toward the far-left edge of the image is Jupiter's tiny moon Io. The variegated orange color is where volcanic outflow deposits are seen on Io’s surface.

[Middle row, column 1]: Jan. 6, 2024 02:57:27 - The planet is banded in stripes of brownish orange, light gray, soft yellow, and shades of cream. Many large storms and small white clouds punctuate the planet. Jupiter's tiny moon Io casts a black shadow at Jupiter's far left.

[Middle row, column 2]: Jan. 6, 2024 04:32:23 - The planet is banded in stripes of brownish orange, light gray, soft yellow, and shades of cream. Many large storms and small white clouds punctuate the planet. Toward the far-right edge of the image is Jupiter's tiny moon Io. The variegated orange color is where volcanic outflow deposits are seen on its surface.

[Middle row, column 3]: Jan. 6, 2024 06:07:19 - The planet is banded in stripes of brownish orange, light gray, soft yellow, and shades of cream. Many large storms and small white clouds punctuate the planet. The largest storm, the Great Red Spot, is the most prominent feature in the right bottom third of this view.

[Middle row, column 4]: Jan. 6, 2024 07:42:16 - The planet is banded in stripes of brownish orange, light gray, soft yellow, and shades of cream. Many large storms and small white clouds punctuate the planet. The largest storm, the Great Red Spot, is the most prominent feature in the bottom third of this view.

[Bottom row, column 1]: Jan. 6, 2024 09:17:12 - The planet is banded in stripes of brownish orange, light gray, soft yellow, and shades of cream. Many large storms and small white clouds punctuate the planet. At upper far-left of center, a pair of storms appear next to each other: a deep-red, triangle-shaped cyclone and a reddish anticyclone.

[Bottom row, column 2]: Jan. 6, 2024 10:52:08 - The planet is banded in stripes of brownish orange, light gray, soft yellow, and shades of cream. Many large storms and small white clouds punctuate the planet. At upper right of center, a pair of storms appear next to each other: a deep-red, triangle-shaped cyclone and a reddish anticyclone.

[Bottom row, column 3]: Jan, 6, 2024 14:03:46 - The planet is banded in stripes of brownish orange, light gray, soft yellow, and shades of cream. Many large storms and small white clouds punctuate the planet. A small red anticyclone appears at far right below the equatorial region in the image.

[Bottom row, column 4]: Jan. 6, 2024 15:42:47 - The planet is banded in stripes of brownish orange, light gray, soft yellow, and shades of cream. Many large storms and small white clouds punctuate the planet. The largest storm, the Great Red Spot, is the most prominent feature at far left in the bottom third of this view.

Image Alt Text

This 12-panel series of Hubble Space Telescope images, taken January 5-6, 2024, presents snapshots of a full rotation of the giant planet Jupiter.

About the Object

  • Distance
    DistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
    On January 5th and 6th, 2024 Jupiter was 4.56 AU from Earth (about 424 million miles or 682 million km)

About the Data

  • Data Description
    Data DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
    Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.

    The HST observations include those from program 16995 (A. Simon). Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    WFC3/UVIS
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    Jan. 5-6, 2024
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F395N, F502N, F658N
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    Jupiter
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Planet
  • Release Date
    March 14, 2024
  • Science Release
    Hubble Tracks Jupiter’s Stormy Weather
    Read the release
  • Credit
    NASA, ESA, Amy Simon (NASA-GSFC); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

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This 12-panel series of Hubble Space Telescope images, taken January 5-6, 2024, presents snapshots of a full rotation of the giant planet Jupiter.
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the WFC3 instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope. Several filters were used to sample medium wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are: Blue: F395N, Green: F502N, Red: F658N

Related Images & Videos

A side-by-side image showing both faces of Jupiter on the black background of space. At the top, left corner of the left-hand image is the label Jupiter. Centered at the bottom is the label "January 5, 2024." Jupiter is banded in stripes of brownish orange, light gray, soft yellow, and shades of cream, punctuated with many large storms and small white clouds. The largest storm, the Great Red Spot, is the most prominent feature in the left bottom third of this view. To its lower right is a smaller reddish anticyclone, Red Spot Jr. On the right-hand image, centered at the bottom is the label "January 6, 2024." This opposite side of Jupiter is also banded in stripes of brownish orange, light gray, soft yellow, and shades of cream, with many large storms and small white clouds punctuating the planet. At upper right of center, a pair of storms appear next to each other: a deep-red, triangle-shaped cyclone and a reddish anticyclone. Toward the far-left edge of this view is Jupiter's tiny orange-colored moon Io.

Jupiter

The giant planet Jupiter, in all its banded glory, is revisited by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope in these latest images, taken on January 5-6, 2024, capturing both sides of the planet. Hubble monitors Jupiter and the other outer solar system planets every year under the Outer...

A side-by-side image titled "Jupiter HST/WFC3/UVIS" shows opposite faces of Jupiter banded in brownish orange, light gray, soft yellow, and shades of cream stripes, on the black background of space. Below the title is a color key with filters and colors used to create the images: "F395N" blue; "F502N" green, and "F631N" red. At bottom center is the label "January 5, 2024." At left is scale bar “34,000 mi over 55,000 km." Many large storms and white clouds punctuate the planet—The Great Red Spot is in the left bottom third of this view. On the right-hand image, centered at the bottom is the label "January 6, 2024." To the bottom right are compass arrows indicating the orientation on the sky. The north arrow points towards 11 o'clock; the east arrow points toward 8 o'clock. On this side of the planet, at upper right center, a pair of storms appear next to each other: a deep-red, triangle-shaped cyclone and a reddish anticyclone. Toward the far-left edge of the image is Jupiter's tiny orange-colored moon Io.

Jupiter Compass Image

A side-by-side image titled "Jupiter HST/WFC3/UVIS," shows opposite faces of Jupiter on the black background of space. Below the title is a color key with the filters and colors used to create the images – "F395N" blue; "F502N" green, and "F631N" red. Centered at the bottom is...

A Hubble Space Telescope image of the giant planet Jupiter, on the black background of space. The planet is banded in stripes of brownish orange, light gray, soft yellow, and shades of cream. It's punctuated with many large storms and white clouds. The largest storm, the Great Red Spot, appears near the left bottom third of the planet.

OPAL 2024 Jupiter Rotation

The Hubble Space Telescope images used in this animated science visualization present a full rotation of the giant planet Jupiter. This is not a real-time movie. Instead, Hubble snapshots of the colorful planet, taken January 5-6, 2024, have been photo-mapped onto a sphere, and...

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Last Updated
Sep 18, 2025
Contact
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Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

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