The Great Red Spot is Shrinking
EmailThe atmosphere of Jupiter is a swirling, violent, ever-changing brew of gases, but for 300 years astronomers have puzzled over the Great Red Spot — a giant cyclone (actually an anti-cyclone, since the pressure in it appears higher than the surrounding atmosphere) that has been visible in telescopes for all of the years since telescopes were first pointed at it. Now a team from Berkeley reports that it’s been shrinking, ten percent over the last decade, roughly at a rate of a kilometer a day. They presented their findings to the American Physical Society back in November — see the abstract HERE — and are finishing up a paper for a peer-reviewed journal. Here it is as seen by the Voyager 1 spacecraft, flying past in 1979: Here it is again, imaged by the Hubble telescope in earth orbit in 2008: The spot is still giant — two or three Earths would fit over it — and scientists have wondered about its long life. Like hurricanes on earth, it is a vortex, like a gargantuan version of the little spiral that forms as water drains from a bathtub. "It stays alive, maintaining its area, by eating little vortices around it," says Philip S. Marcus, a professor of fluid mechanics who is on the Berkeley team. "My guess is that the ‘food supply’ of vortices has been reduced." Marcus and his team (the principal researcher was a postdoctoral student, Xylar Asay-Davis) looked at images shot not only by Hubble, but by the Galileo probe, which orbited Jupiter from 1995 to 2003; and the Cassini spacecraft, passing by on its way to Saturn in 2000. They were originally interested, they say, in another storm nearby, a white spot that turned red in 2005. Discoveries in science are often accidental. “Just as the earth has cycles," says Marcus, "it’s highly likely that all of the planets that we can see, that their climates have cycle changes.” The storm is not going away. Its winds still exceed 300 mph. And in the meantime, it’s a sight to see. If you have the time, take a look at Hubble images of Jupiter HERE.
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Global Warming on Jupiter!!! :)
Posted by: Jhwon | April 2, 2009, 4:11 pm 4:11 pm
Wow, what an amazing story. This is real news, where you actually come away form it feeling like you’ve learned something, not like the usual endless rubbish about celebs and politicians.
Posted by: Mark | April 2, 2009, 4:39 pm 4:39 pm
Must be our SUVs!
Posted by: Ford Fairlane | April 2, 2009, 4:42 pm 4:42 pm
Personally I think we still owe Jupitor a huge thank you for obsorbing Shoemaker-Levy
Posted by: Bondservant1958 | April 2, 2009, 4:48 pm 4:48 pm
I know what you mean, Mark– This is a wonderful story: fascinating, informative and well-written. How can ABC put up headlines about “is this star too thin?” along with a great story like this?
Posted by: Bella | April 2, 2009, 4:59 pm 4:59 pm
Global Warming??
Posted by: w_roos | April 2, 2009, 5:54 pm 5:54 pm
the spot that is shrinkin isnt that big gof a deeal but its kool and im not trying to be mean
Posted by: amber | April 2, 2009, 6:25 pm 6:25 pm
Jupiter will be our second sun in 2010.
Posted by: Rygor | April 2, 2009, 6:35 pm 6:35 pm
I bet you they’ll blame Obama for this too.
Posted by: SamTyler1973 | April 2, 2009, 6:52 pm 6:52 pm
This is probably America’s fault. For not recycling enough. Also, global warming.
Posted by: CH | April 2, 2009, 7:12 pm 7:12 pm
Well clearly the only thing we can do, and we must do this right away, is send billions of taxpayer dollars to Jupiter!!!!
Posted by: jamesx | April 2, 2009, 7:30 pm 7:30 pm
“I bet you they’ll blame Obama for this too.”
It shrank on Bush’s watch, so, just like everything else that’s wrong with the world, it must be Bush’s fault.
If the Great Red Spot starts growing again, it will be because of the President Obama’s leadership, the stimulus package, and his budget. They are going to fix everything else, why not the Great Red Spot?
Posted by: I'm With Stupid | April 2, 2009, 7:34 pm 7:34 pm
Why are some people making political jokes out of this? Why not add some science based questions/comments?
Posted by: JReinhal | April 2, 2009, 7:43 pm 7:43 pm
Not surprising that it would change over time. It’s just that it’s on such a larger scale, we earthlings have difficulty getting our heads around it. Jupiter has 317 earth masses even though it’s density is only 1/4th. Strange things apparently can go on including the length of time natural phenomenom such as hurricane like structures on the surface of a planet can last.
Posted by: LongT | April 2, 2009, 8:17 pm 8:17 pm
So if a planet is 317 times as massive as earth but had a density of only 1/4th would the gravitational force be greater, equal to, or less than Earth’s? Answer?
Posted by: Astro | April 2, 2009, 8:39 pm 8:39 pm
Astro; Much greater. You would weigh more than twice your weight on Jupiter -if you could stand on the surface, which you can’t. i.e. if you weigh 150 lbs, on Jupiter you would weigh 355 lbs. Just the opposite of that, on Pluto you would weigh only 10 lbs. if you could stand the cold, which you couldn’t.
Posted by: LongT | April 2, 2009, 8:51 pm 8:51 pm
The gravitational force on the “surface” of Jupiter (where its atmospheric pressure equals that on the surface of Earth) is 2.5 times that on the surface of Earth. Jupiter is 317 times as massive as Earth, and Jupiter’s radius is 11.2 times Earth’s radius.
This force is proportional to the mass of Jupiter (multiply by 317) but inversely proportional to the square of Jupiter’s radius (divide by 11.2 x 11.2 = 125) 1 Earth gravity x 317 / 125 = 2.5 Earth gravities.
Posted by: MarkV100 | April 2, 2009, 8:55 pm 8:55 pm
The reason so many political comments come from a science story is that most of the recent science stories have more politics than science. If scientists would learn to stay out of politics and politicians would learn to stay out of science, then the universe would probably implode since one considers the other a black hole.
Posted by: Barry Baker | April 2, 2009, 9:06 pm 9:06 pm
MarkV100; Exactly! The radius x radius in the denominator is important. You are farther from the core(origin) so it isn’t as pronounced as you would first think. If Jupiter was the size of the earth with that 317 times earth mass, you would weigh 150 lbs x 317 = 47,550 lbs = 23.775 TONS! I think you’d break a leg.
Posted by: LongT | April 2, 2009, 9:11 pm 9:11 pm
Barry; Comments are more prevalent in political stories because they’re opinions, usually based in emotion. Science requires more than that. It’s like an old saying, “Charisma and charm makes one interesting for about 15 minutes. After that, you better know something”.
Posted by: LongT | April 2, 2009, 9:18 pm 9:18 pm
The picture looks like a canvas drawing.
We should take care of our own planet in which we live in because there is no planet like earth around in our solar system and millions of miles away.
Posted by: Realitic Checks | April 2, 2009, 9:36 pm 9:36 pm
No not canvas. They’re actual pictures from intersolar probes and Hubble.
Posted by: LongT | April 2, 2009, 9:41 pm 9:41 pm
I remember a report from scientists who study the sun, and they say that the past few years have seen a peak in solar activity, during which time all the planets have been warmer. Mars is warmer than it’s been in the past. (this was not our fault.) And, they speculate that Jupiter’s red spot increased in size due to the extra solar activity and solar warmth. Now, as the sun begins to decline in activity, everything will cool down a bit and storm activity on all planets should decline. The sun goes in 10-11 year cycles with definite peaks and lows. This is why some scientists dispute global warming. They don’t think there’s proof of it. Solar activity explains climate changes very easily.
Posted by: Anniemee | April 2, 2009, 10:02 pm 10:02 pm
Didn’t somebody figure out once how massive Krypton had to be to give Superman his super strength on earth?
I know. I’m a geek. Sue me.
Posted by: hey Scoob | April 2, 2009, 10:09 pm 10:09 pm
How can we prove Jupiter’s gravity without actually landing on it’s surface?
Posted by: BT | April 2, 2009, 10:34 pm 10:34 pm
The reason is Global Warming. Of course, we’ll need to tax Americans more to ship materials and personnel to Jupiter to find ways to increase the size of the spot. Then, we’ll use “stimulus” packages to try to increase the size, even though everyone knows it won’t work, but there will be a single Holy One, who can do no wrong, lauding the success of the project and whoa to anyone who speaks otherwise.
Posted by: Jon | April 3, 2009, 12:19 am 12:19 am
A team from Berkeley made this discovery. If there was a cap and trade tax on Jupiter they wouldn’t be having this problem. Better yet, Al Gore should jump into his SUV, go to the airport, fly on his private jet to North Korea, get on board their new spaceship. When it gets out of Korean airspace after reaching space he can have a couple of Martians pick him up and fly him to Jupiter where he can sell carbon offsets. He just better not tell the people living on Jupiter that Phillip Marcus from team at Berkeley said that just like Earth it’s highly likely that all other planets we can see have climate cycles. If they find that out they’re gonna laugh at Al Gore instead of giving him their money.
Posted by: Mike M | April 3, 2009, 12:29 am 12:29 am
Its not Global Warming its some of the signs to the end their all coming together we have to be ready for the impact and the METEOR.
Posted by: PsyChE | April 3, 2009, 12:43 am 12:43 am
Interesting. So will this lead to the Great Red Spot disappearing and reappearing, like it has with the Great Dark Spot on Neptune? The Great Red Spot has been churning for more than 300 years, and I’m sure many wondered if it will ever die off. It will be interesting that the Great Red Spot have cycles that takes place over hundreds of years. :)
Posted by: GWP | April 3, 2009, 8:58 am 8:58 am
Clearly the spot is changing because of man’s influence. We sent those spacecrafts too close to the planet and disrupted the balance of Jupiter’s pull on its moons and vice-versa. We need to tax all space launches, NASA contractors, and any CEO who has ever made a dime from a federal contract. Oh, and recind George Bush’s pension. Only then will the giant red spot return to its former glory!
Posted by: Woody | April 3, 2009, 10:57 am 10:57 am
ABOUT SOLAR ACTIVITY (Anniemee): temperature (and CO2) on the earth have been steadily going up over the past few solar cycles, so it makes more sense scientifically to associate a steady rise in temperature and CO2 concentration, than a steady rise in temperature and a periodic fluctuation in solar activity. also the solar cycles only produce a tiny change in the sun’s total brightness… what really changes is the magnetic activity like sunspots and flares. i’m not aware of any studies linking the size of the great red spot to the sun’s magnetic activity.
Posted by: mikewong | April 3, 2009, 12:01 pm 12:01 pm
ABOUT PROVING JUPITER’S GRAVITY (BT): in 1687, isaac newton published his law of gravity that we still use today to calculate gravitational forces. in 1995, NASA’s galileo probe entered jupiter’s atmosphere, successfully taking measurements of the conditions there as it parachuted down for about an hour. this very challenging mission could not have succeeded if we didn’t know what jupiter’s gravity field was like.
Posted by: mikewong | April 3, 2009, 12:08 pm 12:08 pm
The second pic is gorgeous, I think it would look great framed on my living room wall.
Posted by: iamwomaninMI | April 3, 2009, 1:09 pm 1:09 pm
w_roos: “Global Warming??” Yeah, as soon as I saw the headline, I knew somebody would bring this up, though I’m not sure it’s meant to parodize the global warming crowd on Earth. Big difference though: so far as we know, there is no inteliigent life on Jupiter. Therefore, (a) there is no one there that might have caused this, as is the contention here,ie in this case it’s natural, and (b) there is no one there to be harmed by it. So it amounts to nothing more than an interesting phenomena. But there should be no reason to belittle here who believes it’s a man-made problem; it’s not the fact that it’s happening, it’s that it has happened all too rapidly.
Posted by: godef | April 3, 2009, 1:48 pm 1:48 pm
The Great Red Spot is really God’s jaundiced eye looking at us. The Spot is shrinking, because the eye is about to blink in disbelief.
Posted by: andyr | April 3, 2009, 4:47 pm 4:47 pm
Great story!
Posted by: magoo2u | April 3, 2009, 9:41 pm 9:41 pm
But the implications of these red chips are enormous, don’t you think, Mr. Potter?
Posted by: ghost | April 4, 2009, 9:34 pm 9:34 pm
It’s interesting to see that weather patterns on other planets exist. This could certainly help us understand our own planet better.
Posted by: Katie | April 7, 2009, 12:50 am 12:50 am