The winds of the Great Red Spot consistently blow more than 200 miles per hour, but they can reach speeds over 400 mph further out. Since the Spot’s winds blow in a counterclockwise direction ...

Jupiter’s striking Great Red Spot has puzzled astronomers for years. Now, they think they know just how old it is and how the cyclone formed in Jupiter’s atmosphere.

The Great Red Spot is our solar system’s largest vortex (SN: 12/12/17). Located in Jupiter’s Southern Hemisphere, the windstorm’s gusts exceed 600 kilometers per hour.

Jupiter’s striking Great Red Spot has puzzled astronomers for years. Now, they think they know just how old it is and how the cyclone formed in Jupiter’s atmosphere.

What we do know for sure about the Great Red Spot is that it's shrinking. An 1879 observation placed the size of the spot at 24,200 miles (39,000 kilometers) along its longest axis.

Concerns for the Great Red Spot’s “health” arose when astronomers realized that the cloud’s area in 1979 was only half of its size in the 1800s, as determined from old photographic plates.

Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, the solar system’s largest storm, wiggles like gelatin and contracts like a stress ball, new observations from Hubble Space Telescope find. CNN.

Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, the solar system’s largest storm, wiggles like gelatin and contracts like a stress ball, new observations from Hubble Space Telescope find.

The Great Red Spot is a massive vortex within Jupiter’s atmosphere that is about 10,159 miles (16,350 kilometers) wide, which is similar to Earth’s diameter, according to NASA.

The Great Red Spot is a massive vortex within Jupiter’s atmosphere that is about 10,159 miles (16,350 kilometers) wide, which is similar to Earth’s diameter, according to NASA.