{"id":790187,"date":"2024-10-11T03:36:52","date_gmt":"2024-10-11T08:36:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=790187"},"modified":"2024-10-11T03:36:52","modified_gmt":"2024-10-11T08:36:52","slug":"unexpected-size-changes-observed-in-jupiters-great-red-spot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=790187","title":{"rendered":"Unexpected size changes observed in Jupiter\u2019s Great Red Spot"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><strong>Astronomers have discovered that Jupiter\u2019s Great Red Spot (GRS), the largest storm in the solar system, is undergoing a surprising oscillation in shape. Using data from the Hubble Space Telescope collected over 90 days, researchers observed fluctuations in the storm\u2019s size, shape, and speed.<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Jupiter\u2019s Great Red Spot Is Shaking\" width=\"1110\" height=\"624\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sRTmWm6GWME?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have observed Jupiter\u2019s Great Red Spot (GRS) undergoing an unexpected oscillation over a 90-day period between December 2023 and March 2024.<\/p>\n<p>During this time, when Jupiter was 630.3 million to 824.8 million km (391 million to 512 million miles) from the Sun, the iconic storm was seen fluctuating in its elliptical shape, jiggling like gelatin. The cause of this oscillation, which spans approximately 90 days, remains unknown.<\/p>\n<p>Day-to-day observations revealed changes in the storm\u2019s ultraviolet-light brightness, with the core appearing brightest when the storm reaches its largest size during the oscillation cycle. This suggests reduced haze absorption in the upper atmosphere at those times.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, as the Great Red Spot accelerates and decelerates, it pushes against the jet streams located to its north and south, creating a bulging effect similar to an overfilled sandwich. This behavior contrasts with the storms on Neptune, where dark spots can drift freely without the confinement of strong jet streams like those on Jupiter.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Jupiter&#039;s Great Red Spot observations December 2023 - March 2024\" width=\"1110\" height=\"624\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/MRHlx28LDAc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/p><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Observation of Jupiter\u2019s Great Red Spot between December 2023 and March 2024<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Using Hubble Space Telescope data collected over a 90-day period between December 2023 and March 2024, when Jupiter was 630.3 million to 824.8 million km (391 million to 512 million miles) from the Sun, astronomers analyzed the Great Red Spot\u2019s size, shape, brightness, color, and vorticity during a full oscillation cycle. The observations revealed that the Great Red Spot is less stable than it appears, undergoing a 90-day oscillation in its elliptical shape, resembling the movement of gelatin. The cause of this oscillation remains unknown. Image credit: NASA, ESA, Amy Simon (NASA-GSFC); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"543\" src=\"https:\/\/watchers.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/hubble-jupiter-grs-8panel-2024oct09-stsci-01j9452hkd789drcanamg1jhkv-1024x543.webp\" alt=\"Observations of Jupiter's great red spot by Hubble space telescope\" class=\"wp-image-206259\" srcset=\"https:\/\/watchers.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/hubble-jupiter-grs-8panel-2024oct09-stsci-01j9452hkd789drcanamg1jhkv-1024x543.webp 1024w, https:\/\/watchers.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/hubble-jupiter-grs-8panel-2024oct09-stsci-01j9452hkd789drcanamg1jhkv-300x159.webp 300w, https:\/\/watchers.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/hubble-jupiter-grs-8panel-2024oct09-stsci-01j9452hkd789drcanamg1jhkv-768x407.webp 768w, https:\/\/watchers.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/hubble-jupiter-grs-8panel-2024oct09-stsci-01j9452hkd789drcanamg1jhkv-1536x814.webp 1536w, https:\/\/watchers.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/hubble-jupiter-grs-8panel-2024oct09-stsci-01j9452hkd789drcanamg1jhkv.webp 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Using Hubble Space Telescope data collected over a 90-day period between December 2023 and March 2024, when Jupiter was 630.3 million to 824.8 million km (391 million to 512 million miles) from the Sun, astronomers analyzed the Great Red Spot\u2019s size, shape, brightness, color, and vorticity during a full oscillation cycle. The observations revealed that the Great Red Spot is less stable than it appears, undergoing a 90-day oscillation in its elliptical shape, resembling the movement of gelatin. The cause of this oscillation remains unknown. Image credit: NASA, ESA, Amy Simon (NASA-GSFC); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>This is the first time astronomers have had the proper imaging cadence to observe such oscillations. With Hubble\u2019s high-resolution images, the GRS was observed squeezing in and out while simultaneously speeding up and slowing down, a behavior for which no hydrodynamic explanation currently exists.<\/p>\n<p>The GRS, an anticyclone large enough to engulf Earth, has been observed for at least 150 years, but these new observations show it is not as stable as it appears. <\/p>\n<p>Hubble\u2019s observations were part of a specific program focused on the GRS, although the space telescope also monitors Jupiter and other outer planets annually through the Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program. Understanding the behavior of Jupiter\u2019s largest storm system could provide broader insights into hurricane theories on Earth and even meteorological phenomena on planets beyond our solar system.<\/p>\n<p>References:<\/p>\n<p><sup>1<\/sup> A Detailed Study of Jupiter\u2019s Great Red Spot over a 90-day Oscillation Cycle \u2013 Amy A. Simon et al. \u2013 The Planetary Science Journal \u2013 October 9, 2024 \u2013 DOI 10.3847\/PSJ\/ad71d1 \u2013 OPEN ACCESS<\/p>\n<p><sup>2<\/sup> NASA\u2019s Hubble Watches Jupiter\u2019s Great Red Spot Behave Like a Stress Ball \u2013 NASA\/Science \u2013 October 9, 2024<\/p>\n<p><!-- MOLONGUI AUTHORSHIP PLUGIN 4.9.7 --><br \/>\n<!-- https:\/\/www.molongui.com\/wordpress-plugin-post-authors --><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/watchers.news\/2024\/10\/11\/unexpected-size-changes-observed-in-jupiters-great-red-spot\/?rand=772151\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Astronomers have discovered that Jupiter\u2019s Great Red Spot (GRS), the largest storm in the solar system, is undergoing a surprising oscillation in shape. Using data from the Hubble Space Telescope&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":790188,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-790187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-genaero"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/790187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=790187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/790187\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/790188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=790187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=790187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=790187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}