Jupiter's giant red spot shrinking, Hubble images show

[frigidmagi]

MSN

Jupiter’s most distinctive feature – a giant red spot bigger than Earth – is shrinking, images from the Hubble Space Telescope released on Thursday showed.

The so-called "Great Red Spot" is a violent storm, which in the late 1800s was estimated to be about 25,000 miles (about 40,000 km) in diameter – wide enough for three Earths to fit side by side.

Photos: Stellar photos from the Hubble

The storm, which is the biggest in the solar system, appears as a deep red orb surrounded by layers of pale yellow, orange and white. Winds inside the storm have been measured at several hundreds of miles per hour, NASA astronomers said.

By the time NASA’s Voyager space probes flew by in 1979 and 1980, the spot was down to about 14,500 miles (22,500 km) across.

Now, new pictures taken by the Earth-orbiting Hubble space telescope show Jupiter's red spot is smaller than it has ever been, measuring just under 10,250 miles (16,100 kilometers) in diameter. It also appears more circular in shape.

Scientists aren’t sure why the Great Red Spot is shrinking by about 621 miles (1,000 km) a year.

"It is apparent that very small eddies are feeding into the storm ... These may be responsible for the accelerated change by altering the (storm’s) internal dynamics," Amy Simon, an astronomer with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, said in a statement. Simon and colleagues plan follow-up studies to try to figure out what is happening in Jupiter’s atmosphere that is draining the storm of energy and causing it to shrink.

[rhoenix]

I've been reading about this today, and it really has me intrigued.

For a storm raging for 300+ years, to know that it is slowly shrinking, destabilizing, and evening out is almost beautiful to watch.

It also makes me wonder when we'll see something similar on Jupiter, given its atmosphere.

[LadyTevar]

We know that in 1994 the Shoemaker-Levy comet hit the southern hemisphere, about in the right area of the Red Spot. It was in 1995 that we first noticed the changes. Could the comet's impacts have caused a change in the weather that is only just now really noticable?

[Josh]

I'm surprised this is news. They were talking about how the red spot was shrinking back when I was a kid.

It'll be sad to see it go. It's part of what makes Jupiter so distinctive.

At least for the little eyeblink of history in the solar system that we've been getting a good look at Jupiter.

[General Havoc]

I'm surprised this is news. They were talking about how the red spot was shrinking back when I was a kid.

It'll be sad to see it go. It's part of what makes Jupiter so distinctive.

At least for the little eyeblink of history in the solar system that we've been getting a good look at Jupiter.

The red spot has shrunk before. It may not disappear. And even if it does, it may be replaced by another.

[rhoenix]

The red spot has shrunk before. It may not disappear. And even if it does, it may be replaced by another.

The Jovian storms are eternal, right Captain Sterling?


In all seriousness, given Jupiter's specific weather, if this spot was running just fine for 300+ years, it's quite likely there will be another if it finally dies - and it does make me at least vaguely curious as to how Jupiter's weather system works, given that it's a gas giant.

[frigidmagi]

There have been various baby red spots that were eaten by the main red spot or fell apart. I'm pretty sure if our big bad falls apart it can be replaced.