The Great Red Spot Kirti Chhabra

NATURE’S MARVELS Jupiter’s iconic Great Red Spot and surrounding turbulent zones was captured by NASA’s Juno spacecraft. Image Credit: NASA The Great Red Spot Kirti Chhabra HE Great Red Spot is one of the most recognisable the atmosphere are mostly hydrogen and helium, hence, it features on Jupiter. A gigantic storm that is big has no solid ground to weaken storms as we have on Earth. Tenough to swallow three Earths, but only looks like Scientists were able to know a little about the a spot from the Earth on Jupiter. The largest and most Great Red Spot and are still struggling to learn what powerful hurricanes ever recorded on Earth stretch over causes its swirl of reddish hues. Studies suggest that 1500 km across with winds blowing up to 200 mph. But Jupiter’s upper atmosphere clouds consist of ammonia, even that kind of storm is diminished by the Great Red ammonium hydrosulphide, and water. Are these chemicals Spot. reacting to give colour to the Great Red Spot? Although The earliest observations of the Red Spot date back as these compounds contribute to only a small part of the far as the 1600s, although the first confirmed sighting of atmosphere. the great red spot was in 1831. Understanding the Great Red Spot is not easy; the counterclockwise-moving storm, There are leading experts who agree with the theory an anticyclone, boasts violent winds of 400 mph which are that deep under Jupiter’s clouds, a colourless ammonium swirling in the Jupiter’s skies over the past 150 years or hydrosulphide layer could be reacting with cosmic rays maybe much longer. or UV radiation from the Sun. However, the position of Jupiter is a thousand times as big as the Earth, Red Spot in the latitude is consistently observed to be 22 consisting of mostly gas. The core of Jupiter is surrounded degrees south of Jupiter’s equator and is connected to the by an ocean of liquid hydrogen, and the gases present in prominent cloud bands in Jupiter’s atmosphere. 60 | Science Reporter | November 2019 Image Credit: NASA According to a report of NASA published in March 2018, the Red Spot of Jupiter is shrinking in its size. As the storm is contracting, it is also growing taller. Amy Simon, an expert in planetary atmospheres at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, mentions that the Great Red Spot is constantly changing in size and shape, and its winds shift, as well. According to the findings of the report, the Great Red Spot has started to drift westward faster than before. The storm always positions at the same latitude which is held there by jet streams to the north and south, but it circles the globe in the west direction opposite to the planet’s eastward rotation. It’s always been assumed that the spot is constant, but recently the team found that the spot is moving much faster. Since 2014, the colour of the spot has been deepening too, becoming intensely orange. The mystery of the Great Red Spot will get deeper, as the iconic storm contracts, whether it will continue to swirl and break apart completely. Approximate size comparison of the Earth and the Great Red Spot Contributed by Ms Kirti Chhabra, Former Research Intern, Image Credit: Wikipedia Science Reporter, CSIR-NISCAIR November 2019 | Science Reporter | 61.

Copy Link

Recommended publications

Planetary Science Decadal Survey 2009-2011
PlanetaryPlanetary ScienceScience DecadalDecadal SurveySurvey 2009-20112009-2011 David H. Smith Space Studies Board, National Research Council Curation and Analysis Planning Team for Extraterrestrial Materials Houston, Texas, 6 October, 2009 OrganizationOrganization ofof thethe DecadalDecadal SurveySurvey SteeringSteering GroupGroup SteveSteve Squyres,Squyres, ChairChair LarryLarry SoderblomSoderblom,, ViceVice ChairChair ViceVice ChairsChairs ofof PanelsPanels 99 othersothers InnerInner PlanetsPlanets GiantGiant PlanetsPlanets PrimitivePrimitive BodiesBodies PanelPanel PanelPanel PanelPanel EllenEllen StofanStofan,, ChairChair HeidiHeidi Hammel,Hammel, ChairChair JosephJoseph VeverkaVeverka,, ChairChair StephenStephen MackwellMackwell,, ViceVice ChairChair AmyAmy Simon-Miller,Simon-Miller, ViceVice ChairChair HarryHarry Y.Y. McSweenMcSween,, ViceVice ChairChair 1010 othersothers 99 othersothers 1010 othersothers MarsMars GiantGiant PlanetPlanet SatellitesSatellites PanelPanel PanelPanel PhilipPhilip Christensen,Christensen, ChairChair JohnJohn Spencer,Spencer, ChairChair WendyWendy Calvin,Calvin, ViceVice ChairChair DavidDavid Stevenson,Stevenson, ViceVice ChairChair 1111 othersothers 1010 othersothers 2 OverallOverall ScheduleSchedule 2008-20112008-2011 2008 4th Quarter Informal request received, NRC approves initiation, Formal request received, Proposal to NASA. 2009 1st Quarter Funding received, Chair identified, Chair and vice chair appointed 2nd Quarter Steering Group appointed, Panels Appointed 3rd Quarter Meetings of the Steering
[Show full text]
Was Jupiter Born Beyond the Current Orbits of Neptune and Pluto?
INNER WORKINGS INNER WORKINGS Was Jupiter born beyond the current orbits of Neptune and Pluto? Ken Croswell, Science Writer Ancient people named the planet Jupiter well. Both gravity stunted the growth of newborn Mars, sculpts its brilliance and its slow, regal movement across the the asteroid belt today, and may even help protect sky evoked a king among gods. Today we know much Earth from catastrophic comet impacts. more about the influence of Jupiter, a planet boasting But how did such a behemoth arise? Conventional more than twice as much mass as the solar system’s theory says that Jupiter formed more or less where it other planets put together. Jupiter’s tremendous is now, about five times farther from the Sun than A new theory suggests that Jupiter formed its core far from the Sun, then moved inward. Image credit: Hubble Space Telescope – NASA, ESA, and Amy Simon (NASA Goddard). Published under the PNAS license. First published July 1, 2020. 16716–16719 | PNAS | July 21, 2020 | vol. 117 | no. 29 www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.2011609117 Downloaded by guest on September 29, 2021 Earth is. At that distance, the disk of gas and dust that swirled around the young Sun was dense enough to give birth to the planetary goliath. In 2019, however, two groups of researchers un- aware of each other’s work—one in America (1), the other in Europe (2)—proposed a literally far-out alter- native: Jupiter got its start in the solar system’s hinter- lands, probably beyond the current orbits of Neptune and Pluto, and then moved inward.
[Show full text]
THE PLANETARY REPORT MARCH EQUINOX 2019 VOLUME 39, NUMBER 1 Planetary.Org
THE PLANETARY REPORT MARCH EQUINOX 2019 VOLUME 39, NUMBER 1 planetary.org INSIDE THE ICE GIANTS AFTER VOYAGER, BOTH URANUS AND NEPTUNE HAVE CHANGED THEIR FACES THE SKIES OF MINI-NEPTUNES C CHANGE COMES TO WASHINGTON C PORTRAIT OF MU69 SNAPSHOTS FROM SPACE EMILY STEWART LAKDAWALLA is editor of The Planetary Report. IT’S ONE AMONG millions. Nothing special drew New Horizons to 2014 MU69 (nicknamed “Ultima Thule”), except that it was in the right place at the right time for the fast-flying spacecraft to zip past it. And yet, merely by visiting it, we made 2014 MU69 special, turning it from a dot in the sky so faint that it’s only visible to Hubble into the double-lobed world in this photo. New Horizons will spend another year returning all its data from the encounter, and scientists will spend years—perhaps decades—debating how this odd little binary thing formed and evolved. In the meantime, data artists like Thomas Appéré will help us imagine what 2014 MU69 would look like if we could only travel the NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI/Thomas Appéré NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI/Thomas more than 6 billion kilometers (4 billion miles) that separates Earth from it. —Emily Stewart Lakdawalla SEE MORE AMATEUR-PROCESSED SPACE IMAGES PLANETARY.ORG/AMATEUR SEE MORE EVERY DAY! PLANETARY.ORG/BLOGS 2 THE PLANETARY REPORT C MARCH EQUINOX 2019 CONTENTS MARCH EQUINOX 2019 ADVOCATING FOR SPACE Change Comes to Washington 6 Casey Dreier assesses the sea change brought about by midterm elections in the United States—and what it might mean for space-science policy.
[Show full text]
Giant Planets
Giant Planets Mark Marley (NASA Ames) for the Planetary Decadal Survey Giant Planets Subpanel Tuesday, December 22, 2009 1 GPP Membership Reta Beebe Brigette Hesman Wayne Richie NMSU NRAO NASA Langley atmos. dynamics atm chemistry engineer John Casani William Hubbard Kunio Sayanagi JPL University of Arizona CalTech engineer, NAE interiors dynamics, theory John Clarke Mark Marley Amy Simon-Miller Boston University NASA Ames NASA Goddard aurorae, magnetos. exoplanets panel vice-chair Heidi Hammel Phil Nicholson Space Science Cornell University Institute rings panel chair Tuesday, December 22, 2009 2 Today • Some highlights of giant planet science in the past decade that impact future exploration goals (personal perspective, neglecting Cassini) • Stressing: Connection to brown dwarfs & 400+ exoplanets • Decadal process • whitepapers • mission studies • key technologies • community input Tuesday, December 22, 2009 3 Solar System Jovian Planets Serve as Waypoints in a Continuum of Objects Tuesday, December 22, 2009 4 TiO FeH K H2O H2O 6 H2O M6.5 V 10 L5 H O T.5 CO 2 Jupiter K M6 4 CIA H2 10 CH4 CH4 CH4 CH4 CH4 L5 CH4 NH3 2 10 T5 CH4 (1.30µm) x Constant ! f NH ! 3 / ! f ! 100 Jupiter CH4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Wavelength (µm) Marley & Leggett (2009) Tuesday, December 22, 2009 5 oklo.org Tuesday, December 22, 2009 6 15 ) • Transiting planets 10Earth reveal a continuum of M, R • Microlensing suggests Radius (R Neptunes are 5 common 0.1 1000 Charbonneau et al. (2009) Charbonneau et al. Mass (MEarth) Tuesday, December 22, 2009 7 Some Highlights and Questions Tuesday, December 22, 2009 8 signature of planethood? vary with mass? Owen et al.
[Show full text]
Organized and Lead the Physics Department's Volunteers and Demos
Andrew Hsu (310) 430-0622 • [email protected] •US Citizen PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY I have three years of experience doing data analysis. For my next role I am looking for a stable applied scientist or data scientist job. I am willing to relocate. SKILLS Java, Python, Bash, IDL, SQL, Web Analytics, Linear and Logistic Regression, Data Visualization EDUCATION Bachelor of Arts in Astrophysics, 2019, UC Berkeley, Berkeley CA Radio Lab, Data Science for physics, Computational Techniques for physics, Numerical Analysis WORK EXPERIENCE Ai4ward, Milpitas Data Scientist (11/2019)-Present -Developed a python program in one month that analyzes COVID-19 patient data downloaded as XML and compares them to ~1500 clinical trials to determine which clinical trial is the best fit for the patient -My program became the startup’s main product and helped save them several months of time -Developed another python program that calculates the most common words in ~1000 clinical trials and output them into text file -Used Logistic Regression and Neural Network from scikit-learn to train and predict patient-clinical trial suitability at 83% -Used SQL to merge multiple datasets of known patient-clinical trial suitability UC Berkeley Astronomy Department, Berkeley Undergrad Researcher (01/2017)-(12/2019) -Published six journal papers, one first author, featured in several NASA news coverages -Two conference publications, one first author in which I presented the poster -Analyzed and image process thousands of Jupiter and Neptune Hubble telescope images in 10
[Show full text]
Women in Astronomy III (2009) Proceedings
W OMEN I N A STRONOMY AND S PACE S CIENCE Meeting the Challenges of an Increasingly Diverse Workforce Proceedings from the conference held at The Inn and Conference Center University of Maryland University College October 21—23, 2009 Edited by Anne L. Kinney, Diana Khachadourian, Pamela S. Millar and Colleen N. Hartman I N M EMORIAM Dr. Beth A. Brown 1969-2008 i D e d i c a t i o n Dedication to Beth Brown Fallen Star Howard E. Kea, NASA/GSFC She lit up a room with her wonderful smile; she made everyone in her presence feel that they were important. On October 5, 2008 one of our rising stars in astronomy had fallen. Dr. Beth Brown was an Astrophysicist in the Science and Exploration Directorate at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. Beth was always fascinated by space: she grew up watching Star Trek and Star Wars, which motivated her to become an astronaut. However, her eyesight prevented her from being eligible for astronaut training, which led to her pursuing the stars through astronomy. Beth pursued her study of the stars more seriously at Howard University where she majored in physics and astronomy. Upon learning that her nearsightedness would limit her chances of becoming an astronaut, Beth’s love for astronomy continued to grow and she graduated summa cum laude from Howard University. Beth continued her education at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. There she received a Master’s Degree in Astronomy in 1994 on elliptical galaxies and she obtained her Ph.D.
[Show full text]
Recommended Small Spacecraft Missions
This booklet is based on the Space Studies Board report Vision and Voyages for Planetary Science in the Decade 2013-2022 (available at <http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13117>). Details about obtaining copies of the full report, together with more information about the Space Studies Board and its activities can be found at <http://sites.nationalacademies.org/SSB/index.htm>. Vision and Voyages for Planetary Science in the Decade 2013-2022 was authored by the Committee on the Planetary Science Decadal Survey. COMMITTEE ON THE PLANETARY SCIENCE DECADAL SURVEY Image Credits and Sources STEVEN W. SQUYRES, Cornell University, Chair LAURENCE A. SODERBLOM, U.S. Geological Survey, Vice Chair Page 1 NASA/JPL WENDY M. CALVIN, University of Nevada, Reno Page 2 Top: NASA/JPL – Caltech. <http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/gallery/OSS.jpg>. Bottom: NASA/JPL – Caltech. <http://explanet.info/images/Ch01/01GalileanSat00601.jpg>. DALE CRUIKSHANK, NASA Ames Research Center Page 3 Top: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute <http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpeg/PIA11133.jpg>. PASCALE EHRENFREUND, George Washington University Bottom: NASA/JPL – Caltech/University of Maryland. G. SCOTT HUBBARD, Stanford University Page 4 Gemini Observatory/AURA/UC Berkeley/SSI/JPL-Caltech <http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpeg/ WESLEY T. HUNTRESS, JR., Carnegie Institution of Washington (retired) (until November 2009) PIA13761.jpg>. Page 5 Top: ESA/NASA/JPL-Caltech < http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=46816>. MARGARET G. KIVELSON, University of California, Los Angeles Second: NASA/JPL-Caltech. Third: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institution. Bottom: NASA/JPL- B. GENTRY LEE, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Caltech <http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpeg/PIA15258.jpg>.
[Show full text]
NASA Solves How a Jupiter Jet Stream Shifts Into Reverse 19 December 2017, by Elizabeth Zubritsky
NASA solves how a Jupiter jet stream shifts into reverse 19 December 2017, by Elizabeth Zubritsky postdoctoral fellow at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and lead author of the paper published in the Journal of Geophysical Research-Planets. Earth's equatorial jet stream was discovered after observers saw debris from the 1883 eruption of the Krakatoa volcano being carried by a westward wind in the stratosphere, the region of the atmosphere where modern airplanes achieve cruising altitude. Later, weather balloons documented an eastward wind in the stratosphere. Scientists eventually determined that these winds reversed course Climate patterns on Jupiter can have striking similarities regularly and that both cases were part of the same to those on Earth, making the gas giant a natural phenomenon. laboratory for understanding planetary atmospheres. Credit: NASA SVS/CI, Dan Gallagher The alternating pattern starts in the lower stratosphere and propagates down to the boundary with the troposphere, or lowest layer of the atmosphere. In its eastward phase, it's associated Speeding through the atmosphere high above with warmer temperatures. The westward phase is Jupiter's equator is an east-west jet stream that associated with cooler temperatures. The pattern is reverses course on a schedule almost as called Earth's quasi-biennial oscillation, or QBO, predictable as a Tokyo train's. Now, a NASA-led and one cycle lasts about 28 months. The phase of team has identified which type of wave forces this the QBO seems to influence the transport of ozone, jet to change direction. water vapor and pollution in the upper atmosphere as well as the production of hurricanes.
[Show full text]
Hubble OPAL Observations of Uranus and Neptune: 2014-2019
Hubble OPAL Amy Simon Observations (NASA GSFC) Michael H Wong of Uranus and (U.C. Berkeley) Neptune: Glenn Orton 2014-2019 (Caltech/JPL) Hubble Outer Planets Atmospheres • Legacy (OPAL) program Yearly Hubble (UV-Vis) imaging of the outer planets; two global maps per planet, began in 2014 with Uranus, 2015 for Neptune and Jupiter, 2018 for Saturn Trend changes in: Uranus Neptune brightness, HSTWFC3/UVIS HSTWFC3/UVIS cloud activity, F547M F657N 2D and zonal wind fields, F763M ["C'/~C\1 storm size, color, other changes 1 · b-,,. ._) 1,/: Serendipitous events All data are public, Maps are posted at STScI https://archive.stsci.edu/prepds/opal/ Simon et al. 2015 ApJ 812, 55 MAPS Neptune 2019 Uranus 2019 Generated in 5 continuum filters: • F467, F547, F657, F763, F845 2 methane absorption bands: • F619, F727 2014 Uranus 2017 Polar haze has continued to brighten Small storm activity 2019 Toledo et al. 2019 Icarus 333, 1-11 Toledo et al. 2018 Geophys. Res. Letters 45, 5329-5335 E. 2015.71 : RGB I. 2015.71 : F467M -20 -20 _ -30 _-30 Neptune "' "' ~ -40 ~ -40 -8 -8 ~ -50 ~ -50 1ij 1ij -' -60 -' -60 30 20 10 0 -10 -20 30 20 10 0 -10 -20 West Longitude (deg) West Longitude (deg) F. 2016.37: RGB J. 2016.37: F467M -20 -20 _-30 -g, -30 g, :9.., -40 :9.-40., "O "O a -50 ~ -50 ~ .§ -60 -60 -70 155 140 125 110 170 155 140 125 110 It’s all about the storms! Longitude (deg) Longilude (deg) G. 2016.76: RGB K. 2016.76: F467M -20 -20 Hubble’s high spatial resolution at short - .30 _-30 I., -40 I., -40 wavelengths allows us to see dark vortices ] -50 ] -50 ~ -60 ~ -60 not otherwise visible -70 175 160 145 130 115 160 145 130 115 Longitude (deg) Longitude (deg) H.
[Show full text]
A Space Telescope for Time-Domain Solar System Studies
PLANETARY DYNAMICS EXPLORER: A Space Telescope for Time-Domain Solar System Studies. Point of contact: Michael H. Wong1,2, [email protected], +1-510-224-3411. Contributing authors: John Clarke3, Amanda Hendrix4, Amy Simon-Miller5, Keith Noll5, Walter Harris6, Kunio Sayanagi7, Heidi Hammel8, David Choi5, Jim Bell9, Imke de Pater1, Glenn Orton10. 1UC Berkeley, 2University of Michigan, 3Boston University, 4PSI, 5NASA GSFC, 6UC Davis, 7Hampton University, 8AURA, 9Arizona State University, 10JPL. Primary concept goal category: planetary science Additional concept goal categories: human spaceflight, space technology Concept summary: The Planetary Dy- ducing time-domain data sets that no other namics Explorer (PDX) will observe time- current or planned facility will be able to variable phenomena in planetary atmospheres match. Animated PDX data will have very and surfaces, creating major advances in high value for education/outreach efforts, planetary science in the tradition of other where video already is a common method of NASA efforts like SOHO in heliophysics or presentation. The mission’s rapid science re- UARS and EOS in Earth science. From a po- turn will give a near-immediate payoff on the sition beyond low Earth orbit, the observatory investment. will achieve continuous views of planetary Design: The driving design requirements targets on rotational timescales, with cam- are sampling rate and campaign duration, paign durations limited only by the mission which strongly favor an orbit beyond low lifetime: ~5 years, or 12–15 years with Earth orbit (BLEO) or around a Lagrange manned servicing. point. A workhorse instrument suite will pro- Goal: PDX will address goals in a wide vide imaging, spectroscopic, and photometric range of planetary science areas, by acquiring capability using highly mature technology, data with the ideal sampling rates and cam- such as a WFPC2/ACS clone and mini-STIS paign durations.
[Show full text]
Space Science Reviews
Space Science Reviews A review of the in situ probe designs from recent Ice Giant mission concept studies --Manuscript Draft-- Manuscript Number: SPAC-D-19-00060R1 Full Title: A review of the in situ probe designs from recent Ice Giant mission concept studies Article Type: Vol xxx: In Situ Exploration of the Ice Giants Keywords: Uranus; Neptune; Mission Concept; Robotic Exploration; Atmospheric Probe Corresponding Author: Amy A. Simon NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Maryland UNITED STATES Corresponding Author Secondary Information: Corresponding Author's Institution: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Corresponding Author's Secondary Institution: First Author: Amy A. Simon First Author Secondary Information: Order of Authors: Amy A. Simon Leigh N. Fletcher Christopher Arridge David Atkinson Athena Coustenis Francesca Ferri Mark Hofstadter Adam Masters Olivier Mousis Kim Reh Diego Turrini Olivier Witasse Order of Authors Secondary Information: Funding Information: European Research Council Leigh N. Fletcher (723890) Royal Society Adam Masters (University Research Fellowship) Abstract: For the Ice Giants, atmospheric entry probes provide critical measurements not attainable via remote observations. Including the 2013-2022 NASA Planetary Decadal Survey, there have been at least five comprehensive atmospheric probe engineering design studies performed in recent years by NASA and ESA. International science definition teams have assessed the science requirements, and each recommended similar measurements and payloads to meet science goals with current instrument technology. The probe system concept has matured and converged on general design parameters that indicate the probe would include a 1-meter class aeroshell and have a mass around 350 to 400-kg. Probe battery sizes vary, depending on the duration of a post-release coast phase, and assumptions about heaters and instrument power needs.
[Show full text]
Ice Giant Systems Amy Simon, GSFC (Chair) Chloe Beddingfield, ARC
Ice Giant Systems Amy Simon, GSFC (Chair) Chloe Beddingfield, ARC/SETI August 2019 OPAG Meeting Adam Masters, Imperial College Boulder, CO Paul Schenk, LPI Mark Showalter, SETI w/ input from Jonathan Fortney, UCSC Proposed Key Unifying Science Theme #1: How do planetary systems form? • OPAG disciplines: All Key Outer Planet • Non-OPAG disciplines: exoplanets (Astrophysics), Earth Science, small Unifying Science bodies (SBAG), terrestrial planets (VEXAG, MEPAG), the Moon (LEAG) Themes. Proposed Key Unifying Science Theme #2: Do Life or Habitable Conditions Exist Beyond the Earth? • OPAG disciplines: Satellites, Ocean Worlds All are addressed • Non-OPAG disciplines: small bodies (SBAG), exoplanets (Astrophysics) by an Ice Giant Proposed Key Unifying Science Theme #3: What Processes Control the Evolution and Current Conditions mission. of Planets? • OPAG disciplines: All • Non-OPAG disciplines: all planetary disciplines plus exoplanets (Astrophysics), solar-magnetosphere interactions (Heliophysics), and Earth Science • Identified as high priority in the last Decadal and remain just as important • Investigates the last unexplored class of large bodies in the solar system • Different class of planet than Jupiter and Saturn • Pivotal to understanding solar system formation and evolution • Each has a unique ring and satellite system • Potential for new Ocean Worlds Engages every planetary science discipline • Captured KBOs vs in situ formation • Both have magnetospheric geometries not seen elsewhere • Most known exoplanets fall in the ice Why
[Show full text]