6 h hours ago|Source: The Planetary Science Journal
The Great Red Spot on Jupiter
The moon is often compared to a wheel of Emmental – the craters on it resemble the typical holes in this type of cheese. If one wanted to use a gastronomic metaphor to describe Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, one would probably have to reach for the word sulc.
The latest observations of the Great Red Spot, which is actually the largest storm in the Solar System, indicate that it is shaking in a peculiar way – to use the Czech saying “jako sulc”.
The remarkable movement of the spot was noted by scientists who observed the largest planet in the Solar System using the Hubble Space Telescope. They spent 90 days, from December 2023 to March 2024. Astronomers then published the results of the research in mid-October.
“We knew that her motion was changing slightly, but we didn’t expect to see an oscillation of such proportions. As far as I know, no one has observed anything like this before us,” said study author Amy Simonová from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. “Thanks to the high resolution of the Hubble telescope, we can tell that the spot is compressing and expanding as it moves faster and slower. This was very unexpected and there is currently no hydrodynamic explanation for it,” added the scientist in an official statement.
The big red spot is a so-called anticyclone. That means it’s an area of higher pressure, a giant wind system that rotates counter-clockwise. Similar anticyclones also exist on Earth. However, this storm on Jupiter, with its dimensions, is completely beyond anything that can be seen on our planet. It is bigger than the whole Earth. For scientists, the phenomenon is interesting not only in itself, but also for practical reasons – it could help them understand how hurricanes are formed on our planet.
A stain full of obscurity
Based on earlier models and comparisons with Earth’s atmosphere, the researchers hypothesized that the Great Red Spot is a relatively shallow storm. Only recently has it been shown that it is actually extremely deep: according to researchers, it reaches a depth of about 350 to 500 kilometers below the upper cloud line.
The Great Red Spot compared to Earth
The size of the Great Red Spot is highly variable – as is its shape. What is constant is the direction of its rotation, it always rotates counter-clockwise, i.e. against the direction of rotation of Jupiter. On the contrary, its color changes – from brown to red to ocher. The color permutations and other changes are not yet reliably explained, but new images from the Juno probe could help clarify these patterns.
A gigantic storm on Jupiter is exceptional not only in its size and strength (winds in it have a speed of up to 640 kilometers per hour), but also in its stability. Nothing like this exists on Earth, nor have astronomers observed anything similarly permanent on other planets. For example, a large dark storm on Neptune observed 35 years ago by the Voyager 2 probe disappeared sometime around 1994. In 2010, a monstrously huge storm erupted on Saturn again – it stretched across the entire planet, but dissipated completely within a year.
The Great Red Spot may be “forever”, but it has shrunk considerably in the last 150 years – it’s now about a third of what it was in 19th century records. Some observations even suggest that it is currently shrinking at the fastest rate since humanity began observing it.
The Great Red Spot: Jupiter’s Culinary Crisis
Well, folks, it seems Jupiter’s Great Red Spot has taken center stage on the celestial foodie channel! This enormous storm, which is, let’s face it, a little more dramatic than your Aunt Mabel’s cheesecake, is shaking things up—or should I say, “shaking like a sulc”? Apparently, that Czech saying translates into something resembling a shake, rattle, and roll kind of situation. Who knew astronomy had its own version of a dance party?
An Epic Observation
Now, let’s not forget: this research was conducted using none other than the Hubble Space Telescope—because who wouldn’t want to see a massive storm 350 million miles away? Scientists dedicated a whopping 90 days from December 2023 to March 2024 to watch Jupiter do its thing, and what did they learn? Surprise! It appears that the Great Red Spot, which is officially Earth’s biggest weather complaint, can do more than just sit around and look impressive. It’s compressing and expanding like the universe’s biggest balloon animal. According to NASA’s Amy Simonová, it’s a revelation that no one saw coming. Then again, sometimes surprises are best served with a side of cheese!
The Better Half of a Giant Anticyclone
This Great Red Spot is a *colossal* anticyclone, meaning it’s a swirling, wind-blasting wonder that rotates counter-clockwise, like the clock on the wall when you’re late for a meeting. To give you an idea of its grandeur, this storm is bigger than the Earth itself! If it were on Earth, it would be the star of the weather channel—“This just in: massive storm takes the prize for biggest tantrum!” And don’t get me started on those winds—640 kilometers per hour! That’s faster than most of us can run when we see our ex coming towards us on the street!
A Deep Dive—Literally!
And while we may have thought this storm was just a shallow diva, scientists have now confirmed it goes deep—about 350 to 500 kilometers deep! It’s almost like it’s saying, “I’m not just a beautiful face; I’ve got depth!” The Great Red Spot appears to be flaunting its intricacies like a peacock, as it keeps rotating counter-clockwise, changing colors like it’s trying on outfits for a red carpet event. Brown, red, ochre—this storm has a wardrobe that would make even the best stylists weep.
A Storm with Staying Power
Unbelievably, nothing like the Great Red Spot has been observed on Earth or any other planets. The others just can’t keep up! Remember that storm on Neptune? Well, it was here for 35 years and then poof! Jupiter, however, seems to be the life of the party, and its persistence suggests it could stick around for a while, though it’s been shrinking like a balloon losing air—about a third of its original size in the last century and shrinking faster than my patience in traffic!
The Takeaway
So there you have it, a cosmic tempest that makes Earth’s weather feel like a light drizzle at a picnic. The Great Red Spot is a celestial marvel, oscillating with a mysterious charm and a sprinkle of grandeur, reminding us that while weather can be fickle, every now and then, it produces a storm that’s **out of this world**! Perhaps all it needs is a good bit of cheese on top. So grab your telescopes, folks! The storm of the century is in the universe’s kitchen, cooking up something that’s as riveting as it is riveting!
Stay tuned for more astronomical news, and remember to keep your sandwiches safe from any overhead meteorological mischief. Don’t say we didn’t warn you!
