7 days ago
Ask Fuzzy: What's happening to Jupiter's spot?
While there are many truly beautiful objects in the night sky, arguably the most stunning is Jupiter. Seen up close from spacecraft such as Cassini, the swirling textured surface looks like something that Van Gogh might have painted.
The fifth planet from the Sun is easily visible to the naked eye and is more than twice as massive as the other planets combined. If it were a hollow shell, a thousand Earths could fit inside.
Curiously for such a large object, Jupiter also has the shortest day in the solar system, being only 10 hours long.
Jupiter's size and rapid spin generates a huge coriolis effect - the same force that shapes cyclones and hurricanes on Earth.
The striking colours in thick bands across Jupiter are thought to be plumes of sulphur and phosphorus gases.
While it might be beautiful, it would not be a happy place to visit. Aside from being a long way, the atmosphere that includes ammonia ice and ammonium hydrosulfide crystals is not recommended.
The planet's rotation causes cyclonic storms with winds over 500 kilometres per hour, forming bands of colour, with spots scattered from pole to pole.
With no solid surface to slow them down, these spots persist for many years.
The first person to observe a spot on Jupiter was Giovanni Cassini in 1672 when he drew pictures using his primitive telescope.
By today's standards telescopes were still unsophisticated in the 1800s when the Great Red Spot was first seen. A drawing from 1831 shows a large oval shape that we now know is a giant storm, twice as wide as Earth.
MORE ASK FUZZY:
Through the 300 years it's been observed, Jupiter's patterns have been constantly evolving. In recent times, three smaller ovals merged to form the Little Red Spot which is about half the size.
Now it seems the Great Red Spot is shrinking. In the late 1800s it spanned about 41,000km and in 1979 the NASA Voyager measured it at 23,335 km.
Today, the spot's waistline is only 16,500 km, and getting smaller by 1000 kilometres per year.
At this rate it could disappear in the near future.
It might be sad for our photogenic neighbour to lose its beauty spot, but who knows, it'll probably grow a new one.
The Fuzzy Logic Science Show is at 11am Sundays on 2xx 98.3FM.
Send your questions to AskFuzzy@ Podcast:
While there are many truly beautiful objects in the night sky, arguably the most stunning is Jupiter. Seen up close from spacecraft such as Cassini, the swirling textured surface looks like something that Van Gogh might have painted.
The fifth planet from the Sun is easily visible to the naked eye and is more than twice as massive as the other planets combined. If it were a hollow shell, a thousand Earths could fit inside.
Curiously for such a large object, Jupiter also has the shortest day in the solar system, being only 10 hours long.
Jupiter's size and rapid spin generates a huge coriolis effect - the same force that shapes cyclones and hurricanes on Earth.
The striking colours in thick bands across Jupiter are thought to be plumes of sulphur and phosphorus gases.
While it might be beautiful, it would not be a happy place to visit. Aside from being a long way, the atmosphere that includes ammonia ice and ammonium hydrosulfide crystals is not recommended.
The planet's rotation causes cyclonic storms with winds over 500 kilometres per hour, forming bands of colour, with spots scattered from pole to pole.
With no solid surface to slow them down, these spots persist for many years.
The first person to observe a spot on Jupiter was Giovanni Cassini in 1672 when he drew pictures using his primitive telescope.
By today's standards telescopes were still unsophisticated in the 1800s when the Great Red Spot was first seen. A drawing from 1831 shows a large oval shape that we now know is a giant storm, twice as wide as Earth.
MORE ASK FUZZY:
Through the 300 years it's been observed, Jupiter's patterns have been constantly evolving. In recent times, three smaller ovals merged to form the Little Red Spot which is about half the size.
Now it seems the Great Red Spot is shrinking. In the late 1800s it spanned about 41,000km and in 1979 the NASA Voyager measured it at 23,335 km.
Today, the spot's waistline is only 16,500 km, and getting smaller by 1000 kilometres per year.
At this rate it could disappear in the near future.
It might be sad for our photogenic neighbour to lose its beauty spot, but who knows, it'll probably grow a new one.
The Fuzzy Logic Science Show is at 11am Sundays on 2xx 98.3FM.
Send your questions to AskFuzzy@ Podcast:
While there are many truly beautiful objects in the night sky, arguably the most stunning is Jupiter. Seen up close from spacecraft such as Cassini, the swirling textured surface looks like something that Van Gogh might have painted.
The fifth planet from the Sun is easily visible to the naked eye and is more than twice as massive as the other planets combined. If it were a hollow shell, a thousand Earths could fit inside.
Curiously for such a large object, Jupiter also has the shortest day in the solar system, being only 10 hours long.
Jupiter's size and rapid spin generates a huge coriolis effect - the same force that shapes cyclones and hurricanes on Earth.
The striking colours in thick bands across Jupiter are thought to be plumes of sulphur and phosphorus gases.
While it might be beautiful, it would not be a happy place to visit. Aside from being a long way, the atmosphere that includes ammonia ice and ammonium hydrosulfide crystals is not recommended.
The planet's rotation causes cyclonic storms with winds over 500 kilometres per hour, forming bands of colour, with spots scattered from pole to pole.
With no solid surface to slow them down, these spots persist for many years.
The first person to observe a spot on Jupiter was Giovanni Cassini in 1672 when he drew pictures using his primitive telescope.
By today's standards telescopes were still unsophisticated in the 1800s when the Great Red Spot was first seen. A drawing from 1831 shows a large oval shape that we now know is a giant storm, twice as wide as Earth.
MORE ASK FUZZY:
Through the 300 years it's been observed, Jupiter's patterns have been constantly evolving. In recent times, three smaller ovals merged to form the Little Red Spot which is about half the size.
Now it seems the Great Red Spot is shrinking. In the late 1800s it spanned about 41,000km and in 1979 the NASA Voyager measured it at 23,335 km.
Today, the spot's waistline is only 16,500 km, and getting smaller by 1000 kilometres per year.
At this rate it could disappear in the near future.
It might be sad for our photogenic neighbour to lose its beauty spot, but who knows, it'll probably grow a new one.
The Fuzzy Logic Science Show is at 11am Sundays on 2xx 98.3FM.
Send your questions to AskFuzzy@ Podcast:
While there are many truly beautiful objects in the night sky, arguably the most stunning is Jupiter. Seen up close from spacecraft such as Cassini, the swirling textured surface looks like something that Van Gogh might have painted.
The fifth planet from the Sun is easily visible to the naked eye and is more than twice as massive as the other planets combined. If it were a hollow shell, a thousand Earths could fit inside.
Curiously for such a large object, Jupiter also has the shortest day in the solar system, being only 10 hours long.
Jupiter's size and rapid spin generates a huge coriolis effect - the same force that shapes cyclones and hurricanes on Earth.
The striking colours in thick bands across Jupiter are thought to be plumes of sulphur and phosphorus gases.
While it might be beautiful, it would not be a happy place to visit. Aside from being a long way, the atmosphere that includes ammonia ice and ammonium hydrosulfide crystals is not recommended.
The planet's rotation causes cyclonic storms with winds over 500 kilometres per hour, forming bands of colour, with spots scattered from pole to pole.
With no solid surface to slow them down, these spots persist for many years.
The first person to observe a spot on Jupiter was Giovanni Cassini in 1672 when he drew pictures using his primitive telescope.
By today's standards telescopes were still unsophisticated in the 1800s when the Great Red Spot was first seen. A drawing from 1831 shows a large oval shape that we now know is a giant storm, twice as wide as Earth.
MORE ASK FUZZY:
Through the 300 years it's been observed, Jupiter's patterns have been constantly evolving. In recent times, three smaller ovals merged to form the Little Red Spot which is about half the size.
Now it seems the Great Red Spot is shrinking. In the late 1800s it spanned about 41,000km and in 1979 the NASA Voyager measured it at 23,335 km.
Today, the spot's waistline is only 16,500 km, and getting smaller by 1000 kilometres per year.
At this rate it could disappear in the near future.
It might be sad for our photogenic neighbour to lose its beauty spot, but who knows, it'll probably grow a new one.
The Fuzzy Logic Science Show is at 11am Sundays on 2xx 98.3FM.
Send your questions to AskFuzzy@ Podcast:
