For the first time in history, we can now see Jupiter’s Great Red Spot in incredible, glorious detail, thanks to Nasa’s Juno mission.
Naturally excited to share their findings, the US space agency released early images on Twitter as a teaser to what’s coming next.
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
However, due to the unusual shape of the photos, people found themselves being reminded of something else: sanitary towels.
You do know what that looks like don't you?
— Tim Fletcher (@TimFletcher18) July 12, 2017
Shame they look like sanitary towels pic.twitter.com/aYrSy48ae3
— Felicity Morse (@FelicityMorse) July 13, 2017
Oh shit, turns out Jupiter is some old sanitary towel just a-floating around in space. https://t.co/cJUMOi9yW3
— 🌊Tom Chaplin (@tomchaplin) July 12, 2017
Sup with the pad cam?🧐
— Aaron Veikley (@AaronVeikley) July 12, 2017
Lmao this flyover of Jupiter looks like a used pad pic.twitter.com/QpuMaBFOku
— Exoticly Sensual (@Gene_Kreemer) July 13, 2017
This is a Tampax pad. What kind of game are you playing here NASA?
— 🐸(BeardLegend27)🐸 (@CrazyGabey) July 12, 2017
Adrien Coffinet, PhD astronomer and astrophysicist at the Geneva Observatory, offered an explanation about the unusual shape of the images: “The distance between Juno and Jupiter is not constant, so neither is the actual size of Jupiter’s area seen by the camera.”
Now can we get back to the stunning Great Red Spot that is wider than the Earth and contains a storm within it that may have been raging for more than 350 years?