<P> The NEB is one of the most active belts on the planet . It is characterized by anticyclonic white ovals and cyclonic "barges" (also known as "brown ovals"), with the former usually forming farther north than the latter; as in the NTropZ, most of these features are relatively short - lived . Like the South Equatorial Belt (SEB), the NEB has sometimes dramatically faded and "revived". The timescale of these changes is about 25 years . </P> <P> The Equatorial Region (EZ) is one of the most stable regions of the planet, in latitude and in activity . The northern edge of the EZ hosts spectacular plumes that trail southwest from the NEB, which are bounded by dark, warm (in infrared) features known as festoons (hot spots). Though the southern boundary of the EZ is usually quiescent, observations from the late 19th into the early 20th century show that this pattern was then reversed relative to today . The EZ varies considerably in coloration, from pale to an ochre, or even coppery hue; it is occasionally divided by an Equatorial Band (EB). Features in the EZ move roughly 390 km / h relative to the other latitudes . </P> <P> The South Tropical Region includes the South Equatorial Belt (SEB) and the South Tropical Zone . It is by far the most active region the planet, as it is home to its strongest retrograde jet stream . The SEB is usually the broadest, darkest belt on Jupiter; it is sometimes split by a zone (the SEBZ), and can fade entirely every 3 to 15 years before reappearing in what is known as an SEB Revival cycle . A period of weeks or months following the belt's disappearance, a white spot forms and erupts dark brownish material which is stretched into a new belt by Jupiter's winds . The belt most recently disappeared in May 2010 . Another characteristic of the SEB is a long train of cyclonic disturbances following the Great Red Spot . Like the NTropZ, the STropZ is one of the most prominent zones on the planet; not only does it contain the GRS, but it is occasionally rent by a South Tropical Disturbance (STropD), a division of the zone that can be very long - lived; the most famous one lasted from 1901 to 1939 . </P> <P> The South Temperate Region, or South Temperate Belt (STB), is yet another dark, prominent belt, more so than the NTB; until March 2000, its most famous features were the long - lived white ovals BC, DE, and FA, which have since merged to form Oval BA ("Red Jr ."). The ovals were part of South Temperate Zone, but they extended into STB partially blocking it . The STB has occasionally faded, apparently due to complex interactions between the white ovals and the GRS . The appearance of the South Temperate Zone (STZ)--the zone in which the white ovals originated--is highly variable . </P>

Largest of the jovian planets that shows a great red spot