What is the feature known as the "Great Dark Spot" of Neptune? It is an apparently permanent feature about five times the size of Earth, similar to the Great Red Spot of Jupiter, near Neptune's south pole. It was a dark hole in the upper atmosphere left by the collision of the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9. It was an apparently temporary feature about the size of Earth, similar to the Great Red Spot of Jupiter, but disappeared within a few years. It is a dark surface feature on the surface snow layers caused by radiation discoloration of the older layers. It is a permanent discoloration of the north polar region of Neptune caused by locally prevailing lower surface temperatures there.