Captured by the Juno probe

🚨BREAKING: A green light captured "floating" on Jupiter captured by the Juno probe pic.twitter.com/a09RMsVJzU

— All day Astronomy (@forallcurious) September 12, 2025

… Image © NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS, Image processing by Kevin M. Gill

The JunoCam, which was 19.900 miles (32.000 kilometers) above Jupiter’s cloud tops, then captured the vortex and a green orb featured in it, which NASA specialists have now confirmed to be lightning.

Unlike Earth’s lightning, which usually appears white or blue, Jupiter’s lightning can sometimes glow green because of the way charged particles interact with gases in its upper atmosphere. This rare observation adds to Juno’s growing record of unusual atmospheric activity on the gas giant.

Scientists believe this phenomenon is likely lightning in Jupiter’s turbulent clouds, specifically linked to ammonia-water thunderstorms.

On Jupiter, lightning does not form in pure water clouds as it does on Earth. Instead, it originates in deep layers of ammonia–water clouds, where powerful convection drives charge separation. The green coloration is due to ionized hydrogen (H₂⁺) molecules, which emit green…

— Rainmaker Strategies Margie Kinder (@MargaritaKinder) September 13, 2025