When studying the outer planets of our solar system, there’s no solid ground. Literally. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune all lack solid surfaces, and are actually composed of clouds of swirling gases, all with their own seasons and storms.
Since 2014, the Hubble Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program has observed these planets to track their strange systems of weather. The observations have shown that there are all sorts of curiosities within the planets’ churning clouds, from the shrinking spot of Jupiter to the changing colors of Saturn.
“Because OPAL now spans 10 years and counting, our database of planetary observations is ever growing,” said Amy Simon, a planetary scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, in a press release. “The scientific value of these data is underscored by the more than 60 publications to date that include OPAL data.”
Here are some highlights from the OPAL program thus far, 10 years into its investigation.
