Great Red Spot

Jupiter's Great Red Spot has been spinning continuously for at least 350 years — longer than the United States has existed. It reaches 500 km deep, its color comes from chemistry that scientists still argue about, and it has been shrinking for a century. But it is not dying. Here is what we actually know.

Jupiter's Great Red Spot is a storm larger than Earth that has raged for at least 350 years, but it has been shrinking dramatically — from 40,000 km wide in the 1800s to just 14,000 km today. Scientists are debating whether it is dying or simply transforming into something new.