                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2026 January 10

                       Jupiter with the Great Red Spot
                  Image Credit & Copyright: Christopher Go

   Explanation: Jupiter reaches its 2026 opposition today, January 10.
   That puts our Solar System's most massive planet opposite the Sun and
   near its closest and brightest for viewing from planet Earth. In fact,
   captured only 3 days ago this sharp telescopic snapshot reveals
   excellent details of the ruling gas giant's swirling cloudtops, in
   light zones and dark belts girdling the rapidly rotating outer planet.
   Jupiter's famous, persistent anticyclonic vortex, known as the Great
   Red Spot, is south of the equator at the lower right. But two smaller
   red spots are also visible, one near the top in the northernmost zone,
   and one close to Jupiter's south pole. And while Jupiter's Great Red
   Spot is known to be shrinking, it's still about the size of the Earth
   itself.

                Tomorrow's picture: the broad brimmed galaxy
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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                             & Michigan Tech. U.

