The poles of the giant planet Jupiter look like works of art: They resemble “The Starry Night” by Vincent Van Gogh. Light-colored whirlpools spin through a dark background. There’s one whirlpool at the center of each pole, with a ring of whirlpools around it.

These beautiful spirals are cyclones – giant storms much like tropical storms on Earth. And they’re powered by the same process as those on Earth: Warm, humid air rises higher into the atmosphere, where it cools and condenses to form clouds. Jupiter’s rotation deflects the rising air, making the system spin.

But the Jovian storms are much bigger than those on Earth – the largest are the size of continents. Their winds max out at more than 200 miles per hour.

Jupiter’s north pole has nine storms – one in the middle, with a ring of eight around it. They’re all about the same size. And the configuration appears to be stable. Other cyclones try to push their way in, but they’re blocked by the existing storms.

The south pole has only six of the cyclones – five storms encircling the one at the pole. They’re much bigger than the storms at the north pole. An extra storm pushed into the ring a few years ago, but it was ejected – leaving Jupiter’s south pole with a sextet of cyclones.

Jupiter is close to the upper left of the Moon at nightfall, and looks like a brilliant star. The true star Aldebaran, the eye of the bull, is farther to the Moon’s lower left.

Script by Damond Benningfield