The Great Red Spot is actually a gigantic storm in Jupiter’s southern hemisphere, similar to a swirling hurricane or cyclone on Earth. This storm is so huge—26,000 by 14,000 kilometers—that two planets the size of Earth would fit comfortably side by side within it. Its longevity far exceeds that of any Earth hurricane; the Great Red Spot may have been observed as long ago as the 1600s and has certainly been in action since the first half of the 1800s.
    The Great Red Spot appears to be a gigantic whirlpool of gas that is both higher and cooler than the surrounding atmosphere. Like cyclones in the Earth’s Southern Hemisphere, gas in the Great Red Spot rotates in a counterclockwise direction under the influence of the