Extraterrestrial vortex
The south pole was seen to have a large, constantly changing, double-eye vortex through high-resolution infrared measurements obtained by the VIRTIS instrument on Venus Express.
On April 27, 1999, a rare cyclone 1,800 km (1,100 mi) in diameter was detected by the Hubble Space Telescope in the northern polar region of Mars.
It consisted of three cloud bands wrapped around a massive 320 km (200 mi) diameter eye, and contained features similar to storms that have been detected in the poles of Earth (see: polar low).
[11] In addition, NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey Spacecraft observed a cold, low density, polar vortex in the planet's atmosphere above latitudes 70 degrees north and higher.
The vortex and atmosphere are separated by a transition zone where strong winds encircle the pole and terrestrial jet stream-like characteristics.
[12] The stability of these annular polar vortices are still being researched as scientists believe Martian dust may play a role in their formation.
When NASA's Juno Spacecraft arrived at Jupiter in 2016, it observed giant cyclones encircling the north and south poles of the planet.
The Great Red Spot is located in the southern hemisphere and has wind speeds greater than any storm ever measured on Earth.
It is located just to the south of the Great Red Spot and has been increasing in size in recent years, slowly turning a more uniform white.
The Great White Spots are short-lived but can impact the atmosphere and temperature of the planet for up to 3 Earth years after their collapse.
[21] On October 11, 2006, the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft took images of a storm with a well-defined distinct eyewall over the south pole of Saturn.
[23] Saturn currently holds the record for the longest continuous thunderstorm in the Solar System with a storm that Cassini observed back in 2009 that lasted for over 8 months.
Instruments on Cassini detected powerful radio waves coming from lightning discharges in Saturn's atmosphere.
[24] A hexagonal cyclone in Saturn's north pole has been spotted since the passage of Voyager 1 and 2, and was first imaged by Cassini on January 3, 2009.
[28] When Titan is in equinox, strong down-burst winds raise micron-sized particles up from sand dunes and create dust storms.
The hazy atmosphere that Titan has leaves the moon unilluminated in the Sun's rays but the image of the vortex showed a bright spot on the south pole.
In 2018, Hubble Space Telescope (HST) captured an image of Uranus that showed a large, bright, polar cap over the north pole.
[35] The storm had some of the highest recorded wind speeds in the Solar System at approximately 2,400 km/h (1,500 mph) and rotated around the planet once every 18.3 hours.
A small storm which formed in the southern hemisphere in 2015 was tracked by Amy Simon and her team at NASA Goddard (she is now part of the Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy project) from its birth to its death.
