5 Planetary Features That Redefine the Word Extreme

The Great Red Spot is a vast rotating storm in Jupiter's atmosphere. Spacecraft and telescope observations show that its size, color, and structure change over time.

A persistent six-sided atmospheric pattern surrounds Saturn's north pole. The hexagon is associated with a fast jet stream and has been observed in different seasons and wavelengths.

Olympus Mons is an enormous shield volcano on Mars. Lower Martian gravity and long-lived volcanic activity helped it spread across a vast area with relatively gentle outer slopes.

Fissures near the south pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus release plumes containing water vapor and ice grains. The material provides evidence for a subsurface ocean beneath the icy crust.

Sputnik Planitia forms the bright western lobe of Pluto's heart-shaped region. The basin contains nitrogen-rich ice whose cellular patterns indicate slow geological activity.