Jupiter's iconic Great Red Spot exhibits unprecedented transformations not previously documented.
A wild rodeo unfolding on Jupiter's surface, the ancient, renowned red cyclone has shown some quite bizarre, squiggly moves that bulge into various shapes and sizes unexpectedly. Recent vivid snaps, captured between December 2023 and March 2024 using the mighty Hubble space telescope, shed light on this baffling spectacle.
The Great Red Spot, Jupiter's infamous, centuries-old storm, unveiled a hidden dance as scientists studied it over a 90-day period. This mesmerizing performance was detailed in a captivating study recently published in The Planetary Science Journal.
With Hubble's crystal-clear vision, astronomers mapped the Great Red Spot's size, shape, brightness, color, and whirlpool-like nature throughout one full oscillation. The stunning timelapse images allowed scientists to witness the storm's grabbing and releasing act, exemplified by the fluctuating size of its renowned red eye, while its core brightened as the Great Red Spot expanded during the 90-day cycle.
Amy Simon, a researcher at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, lead author of the new study, stated in a perplexed declaration. "Never have we had the suitable imagery of the GRS. With Hubble's exceptional sharpness, we can confidently claim that the GRS is indeed pulsating in and out synchronously as it quickens and slows down. Despite our knowledge of its slight variations in longitude, we didn't expect to observe size fluctuations as well. As far as we know, it's a phenomenon never identified before."
The Red Spot reigns king among solar system storms, gobbling up one-sixth of Jupiter's own diameter. Its gargantuan swirl of clouds could easily swallow Earth, stretching about twice our planet's size. As it was initially spotted, the Great Red Spot spanned 24,200 miles, but it has steadily shrunk since then, reaching today's width of 10,159 miles. The storm has become more circular as well.
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Hubble has been observing the Great Red Spot's shrinkage over the past decade, and the study's team predicts that this flamboyant dance will become more stable as the storm continues to contract. "Currently, it's overspilling its latitude band relative to the wind field. Once it shrinks to fit within that band, the winds will effectively be holding it in place," Simon explained.
Unlike Earth's hurricanes, the Great Red Spot whirls counterclockwise, hinting at a high-pressure system. Unraveling Jupiter's antiquated storm's inner workings can offer insights into Earth's hurricanes within a broader cosmic perspective and the meteorology on other planets.
The erratic, enigmatic Great Red Spot has displayed various transformations through the years, but the recent observations take the cake. "As it speeds up and slows down, the GRS pushes against the windy jet streams to its north and south, forcing the edges to bulge out," Mike Wong, a researcher at the University of California at Berkeley, and co-author of the study, elucidated. "It's similar to a sandwich with too much filling, forcing the bread slices to bulge out from the center."
Although the iconic storm first made its debut in 1664, scientists continue to grapple with its captivating yet unexplained antics. There's still much to uncover about Jupiter's erratic storm, and luckily, Hubble stays eager to investigate further.
In the ongoing study published in The Planetary Science Journal, Amy Simon, a researcher at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, voiced her surprise at the Great Red Spot's observed oscillation, stating, "Despite our knowledge of its slight variations in longitude, we didn't expect to observe size fluctuations as well."
The erratic movements of the Great Red Spot can provide valuable insights into the meteorology of other planets, especially Earth's hurricanes, as its counterclockwise whirl indicates a high-pressure system.
Predicting future changes in the Great Red Spot's behavior, Mike Wong, a researcher at the University of California at Berkeley, explained, "As it speeds up and slows down, the GRS pushes against the windy jet streams to its north and south, forcing the edges to bulge out."
Hubble's continued observations of the Great Red Spot offer an exciting window into understanding the complex science of storms in our solar system, with the possibility of uncovering new phenomena yet to come.
