[ad_1]
The Hubble Space Telescope swung toward Jupiter last month, capturing colorful views of the giant planet and its icy moon Europa more than 400 million miles from Earth.
The images reveal a new storm brewing on Jupiter, giving scientists an engaging snapshot of the gas giant’s changing climate. Running around the planet at 350 miles per hour (560 kilometers) per hour, the new storm is found in the upper left of Jupiter in the Hubble views.
The storm appeared on August 18, a week before Hubble looked at Jupiter. Later two storms appeared at the same latitude.
Jupiter was located 406 million miles (653 million kilometers) from Earth when the Hubble Space Telescope observed the planet. Hubble, a joint project between NASA and the European Space Agency, takes pictures of the outer planets of the solar system each year to look for changes in their storms, winds and clouds, according to NASA.
The timing of the Hubble observations on August 25 was perfect for studying Jupiter’s newest storm system. NASA said storms commonly form in the same band of latitude on Jupiter every six years or so.
“Behind the column are small rounded features with complex ‘red, white and blue’ colors in the Hubble ultraviolet, visible and near-infrared image,” NASA said in a statement accompanying the images. “Such discrete features generally dissipate on Jupiter, leaving only changes in cloud colors and wind speed, but a similar storm on Saturn led to a long-lasting vortex.
“The differences in the aftermath of the Jupiter and Saturn storms may be related to the contrasting abundances of water in their atmospheres, as water vapor can govern the enormous amount of stored energy that can be released by these storm eruptions.” NASA said.
Jupiter’s famous Great Red Spot is also clearly visible in the most recent Hubble images. The cyclone spans 9,800 miles (15,800 kilometers) wide, large enough to fit inside Earth, but has been steadily shrinking in telescopic observations dating back to 1930, NASA said.
Scientists don’t know why the Great Red Spot is shrinking.
An accompanying storm just south of the Great Red Spot is also showing some changes in the latest Hubble observations. The smallest cyclone, named Oval BA or Red Spot Jr., appeared red when it appeared on Jupiter in 2006. But its color later faded to white.
The Oval BA feature now appears to be going dark, according to NASA.
“This could suggest that Red Spot Jr. is on its way to change to a color more similar to its cousin once again,” NASA said.
“The Hubble image shows that Jupiter is clearing its highest altitude white clouds, especially along the planet’s equator, where an orange hydrocarbon smog envelops it,” NASA said.
Europa, one of the four largest moons of Jupiter, appears to the left of the planet in the Hubble observation on August 25. Europa’s global ice sheet covers a buried ocean that can host the ingredients for life.
NASA’s Juno mission is currently in orbit around Jupiter, studying the atmosphere and the internal structure of the gas giant.
Two more robotic missions are currently underway, Jupiter. NASA’s Europa Clipper mission is scheduled to launch in 2024 for repeated flybys of Europa, while ESA’s JUICE spacecraft is preparing for launch in 2022 to head to Jupiter and eventually enter orbit around Ganymede. , the largest moon in the solar system.
Send an email to the author.
Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @ EstebanClark1.
[ad_2]
