In 1995, the spacecraft Galileo entered Jupiter’s atmosphere and discovered the upper atmosphere is very low in atoms of helium and neon.

Jupiter has a striped pattern of clouds that are very easy to see through a telescope or even binoculars. There was a dark stripe in the northern and southern hemisphere, but now it looks different.

Jupiter’s Great Red Spot (GRS) has been on Jupiter since the first telescope was able to image Jupiter’s surface features. Red Spot Jr.

Astronomers have been watching Jupiter’s Great Red Spot since the telescope was invented over 300 years ago. The large swirling storm is the biggest and longest lasting storm in our solar system. Now another storm is brewing on Jupiter.

Mercury can be seen at the very end of the month for about a half hour after sunset in the constellation Aquarius (the Water-Bearer). Mercury appears higher in the sky each evening and will be easier to see in March when it’s higher and brighter in the predawn sky. Mercury looks like a small white star.