Jupiter: When Storms Collide
Explanation:
Sometime in February,
two of three long-lived Jovian storm systems known as
"white ovals" apparently collided and merged --
forming what is now likely the second
largest storm in the Solar System, after the famous
Great Red Spot.
The whitish,
oval-shaped storms
in
Jupiter's banded atmosphere
have been
telescopically studied
since the 1930s,
but details of this surprising merger are
unknown as Jupiter and Earth were on opposite sides of
the Sun when it happened.
The aftermath is shown in the (top panel) Hubble
Space Telescope picture, taken in July as part of the evidence
investigators are using to reconstruct the facts of the case.
Centered are
the swirling white clouds of the newly created storm system
which is about as wide as planet Earth.
At its left is the remaining smaller
white oval which seems to
be drifting away from the larger new storm.
Atmospheric temperature data
from the Galileo spacecraft represented
in the (bottom panel) false-color image show the new storm as
a dark feature, cooler than its surroundings.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
