The First Breathtaking Images Of Jupiter’s Ginormous Storm Are Finally Here

Jupiter‘s iconic Great Red Spot has been a source of fascination for literal centuries. It’s a giant storm that’s stretches a distance twice the size of Earth and has been raging for several hundred years at least. What’s not to love?

Well, NASA‘s Juno spacecraft just sent back the first photos from its close flyby of the spot – a mere 5,000 miles (8,000km) above – and they’re wild.

Spot spotted! #JunoCam raw images from my #Jupiter #GreatRedSpot flyby are available now. Download, process + share https://t.co/zx6fcc7Fzu pic.twitter.com/NJafDJVVW6

— NASA’s Juno Mission (@NASAJuno) July 12, 2017

Usually NASA scientists decide where their spacecrafts will fly, what pictures it’ll take, which aliens it’ll flirt with, etc. It’s not one might call a ‘democracy’. But with Juno, space nerds have been able to vote on where the spacecraft’s orbit will take it, and consequently, what pics JunoCam will snap.