What are the stripes of color on Jupiter? The stripes of color on Jupiter are its bands. There are two types of bands on Jupiter. The light colored bands are called zones. These are regions where gas in Jupiter's atmosphere is rising upwards. The dark bands are called belts. These are regions where the gas in Jupiter's atmosphere is sinking downwards. The colors in the bands are caused by slight differences in their temperatures and their composition (what chemicals are in them). Bands which are next to each other, have winds which move in opposite directions. In this false-colored image, the blue colored bands are the ones lowest in altitude, followed by the brown and white colored bands. The red colored bands are at the highest altitudes.