Jupiter's North Pole

In contrast to the South Pole, where in 2019, to the five peripheral cyclones was added a sixth, at the North Pole, this structure of "1+8", remained stable at least until the end of 2020. Its stability is provided by the tendency of peripheral cyclones to repel each other and move toward the pole, while the central cyclone tends to repel them all.

Three peripheral cyclones (the second, sixth, and eighth) are close to the background in brightness, and the other five are lighter. Several smaller cyclones, up to 1,000 km in diameter, some of which also rotate clockwise, circle around them.

The temperature of the upper atmosphere in this region ranges from −83 °C to −13 °C

When the Juno arrived at Jupiter, its North Pole was in the darkness of polar night, so its first pictures were only infrared. Only when sunlight shifted to the Northern Hemisphere was it possible to see all its cyclones in the light of the Sun. To make one complete picture of the pole, the apparatus requires four approaches to it.

At the North Pole of Jupiter, there is a large X-ray spot, discovered in 2000, pulsating with a period of about 45 minutes; there is a much smaller similar spot at the South Pole. Explanations of this phenomenon have not yet been found.