Astronomy Picture of the Day

Explanation: Even Jupiter can do the twist. Large cloud systems on Jupiter rotate, and the newly formed oval pictured above is no different. This new oval formed earlier this year from the collision of two smaller ovals: an occurrence not unlike two large storms merging into one huge hurricane. Even this new swirling storm, however, is small compared to Jupiter's Great Red Spot. The above-animated frame dithers between two pictures of the new oval taken roughly an hour apart. The Galileo spacecraft currently orbiting the giant Jovian planet captured the pictures.