May 22, 2008 11:04 AM PDT
Images from the Hubble Space Telescope confirm the appearance of a third giant red spot on Jupiter (the smaller spot to the left). The new feature was recently seen as a white storm raging near the other two red spots, but astronomers believe that it grew so large that it dredged up material beneath the planet's cloud cover, causing it to turn red.
The Great Red Spot is a storm that's wider than two Earths and has been spotted on Jupiter for at least 168 years and most likely longer. Red Spot Jr. turned red in early 2006.
Photo by NASA, ESA, and M. Wong and I. de Pater (University of California at Berkeley)
