Full colour Neptune global map from Hubble's OPAL programme (dark spot and companion clouds closeup)

This new image taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope confirms the presence of a dark vortex in the atmosphere of Neptune. The full visible-light image shows that the dark feature resides near and below a patch of bright clouds in the planet's southern hemisphere. The dark spot measures roughly 4,800 kilometers across.

The full-colour image is a close-up of the complex feature. Pancake-shaped clouds above the spot form when ambient air is perturbed and diverted upward over the vortex. The vortex is a high-pressure system.