It's a boy! Well, not really, but just this past May, scientists discovered a third red spot as seen above. This comes just shortly after the 2006 discovery of the red spot junior alongside the famous Great red spot. These spots, or storms, I like to think of as category 5 hurricanes of Jupiter. They occur as a result of the storm rising in elevation, where an unknown chemical reaction occurs, turning the storm the familiar red color. While the effects of these storms are still relatively unknown on the surface of the planet, it is hard to imagine them being anything but powerful.
Like all families however, the red spots don't always get along, as was seen this summer when the great red spot essentially consumed the baby red spot. As seen in the photo below, the great red spot eventually caught up to the baby one as the planet's atmosphere continued to rotate, until it eventually consumed it. The only reason the red spot Jr. is not expected to be consumed is because of it's latitude in relation to the great red spot. This occurrence is similar to what happens on earth when two tropical depressions can collide to create a powerful hurricane.
The great red spot is still quite a mystery for folks on earth. I suppose it would be interesting to discover what chemical reactions are occurring on that planet, because for all we know, it could be creating immense amount of energy through a simple chemical process, which we could use to transition from fossil fuels. I think that at this time, any unknown chemical reaction needs to be investigated for it could be useful here on earth. The red spots are very interesting and it still puzzles me as to why we have not funded More research into understand exactly what it does.
Both Photos courtesy of hubblesite.org
3 comments:
It would be interesting to see what chemical reactions occur in these red spots of Jupiter. I like your theme for this post, keep it up!
Wow! I really liked how you made the red spots on Jupiter sound like a family. That's crazy that the giant red spot pretty much ate the baby spot. Nice job!
Well done my friend. Your research seems extensive and the information is very interesting. Its always good to learn a little bit more about what is going on on this huge planet. Keep the posts coming.
Post a Comment