NASA spacecraft visits Jupiter

NASA’s Juno spacecraft is currently the closest it's ever been to Jupiter.

According to NASA, Juno’s job is to orbit Jupiter and gather information so NASA can understand the planet’s origin and evolution.

In one of its latest flybys, Juno discovered a giant storm made up of six cyclones the size of the U.S. state of Texas, by Jupiter’s South Pole.

According to Juno scientist Cheng Li from the University of California, Berkeley, "These cyclones are new weather phenomena that have not been seen or predicted before. Nature is revealing new physics regarding fluid motions and how giant planet atmosphere work."

He says this discovery is helping astronomers understand how atmospheres on big planets like Jupiter work. 

Juno was launched into space in August 2011 but didn’t arrive into Jupiter’s orbit until July 2016. 

The spacecraft is expected to finish its mission in July 2021.