Well, Jupiter has no entered out evening skies and is rapidly approaching opposition. However, this time around it is much different. Jupiter had two very distinct dark cloud bands that wrapped around the planet. Each lying to either side of the planet's equator. However, this year, on of the stripes is missing.

Not sure if anyone has heard about this, but it is quite interesting. The following image shows a comparison of the planet last year and this year.


As you can see, there has been a significant change in the planets appearance, and over such a short period of time.