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From time to time, NASA publishes photographs so strange that they seem to be whipped directly on the canvas of a painter. The last batch captured a "dragon's eye" and a cosmic "dolphin" swirling in the clouds of Jupiter.
The images were captured by the Juno satellite, which is currently revolving around the largest planet in the solar system. The photos were taken at the end of October as Juno made its 16th flyby close to the gas giant. At that time, the ship sailed about 7,000 kilometers above the clouds of the planet.
The photos were taken in the north-north temperate belt of Jupiter. The raw images were published by NASA and processed by citizen scientists, Seán Doran and Gerald Eichstädt.
READ MORE: Jupiter's 3D flyover reveals the threatening cyclones of the planet (VIDEOS)
NASA's reaction propulsion laboratory compared the amazing atmospheric show observed in one of the images to the eye of a dragon.
The large oval "eye" is actually an anticyclonic storm, which means that the winds on the outer edge of the storm blow in a direction opposite to the surrounding air mass.
Another image shows a formation that looks suspiciously like a dolphin swimming in the swirling clouds. Doran posted a series of still images of the cosmic creature on Twitter this week.
Juno was launched in 2011 and finally arrived at Jupiter almost five years later, in July 2016. It is flying over the planet looking for new information about its origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere.
READ MORE: The violent cyclones described in NASA Jupiter's latest image collection
It was due to complete its task earlier this year, but NASA has extended its life until 2021. Once its mission is completed, Juno will plunge into the atmosphere of Jupiter and meet a fiery end.
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