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A beautiful image of Jupiter taken by NASA’s Hubble telescope has captured the formation of an all-powerful storm in the planet’s northern hemisphere.
NASA says the storm is a “bright, white, widespread storm moving at 560 kilometers per hour” in northern mid-latitudes.
Storms in this region are very common, but this one looks different as it has more structure and could become a permanent feature.
“Researchers speculate that this may be the beginning of a more enduring spot in the Northern Hemisphere, perhaps to rival the legendary Great Red Spot that dominates the Southern Hemisphere,” NASA says in a statement.
The Jupiter image taken by Hubble has captured the formation of an all-powerful storm in the planet’s northern hemisphere. It also shows Europa and the legendary Great Red Spot, which is larger than Earth, which has been raging for more than 350 years.
To the left of the image is Europa, Jupiter’s icy moon that is believed to harbor microbial life in its liquid oceans. To the right of the image is the long white storm that NASA believes may one day rival the Great Red Spot in size.
Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system and it is believed that the creation of the gas giant was crucial in enabling the formation of Earth and life.
The new image was taken when Jupiter was 405 million miles (653 million kilometers) from Earth and also captures the planet’s icy moon Europa.
Europa is one of the most promising places within the Solar System for extraterrestrial life, as it has a liquid ocean lurking beneath its frozen crust.
NASA has even proposed a wacky scheme to use steam-powered robots to explore the world for signs of microbial life.
The robots, called SPARROW, would run on ice vapor that was collected by stripping the surfaces of the moons they explore, rather than ‘dirty’ rocket fuel.
Hubble focused on Jupiter on August 25 and took two images, one using visible wavelengths of light to create a classic appearance of Jupiter, and another combining various wavelengths, including ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared.
NASA says that Hubble’s near-infrared images, combined with ultraviolet views, provide a unique panchromatic view of Jupiter (pictured) that provides information on the altitude and distribution of the planet’s haze and particles. It also makes the gas giant look like a gobstopper.
Hubble focused on Jupiter on August 25 and took two images, one using visible wavelengths of light to create a classic look at Jupiter (left), and another combining various wavelengths, including ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared. (right).
This captures more rays of light emitted by Jupiter that are invisible to the human eye and make the planet look like a blue-violet gobstopper.
Both images reveal that the Great Red Spot, Jupiter’s most iconic feature, is still shrinking in size, but that the rate of contraction is slowing down.
The storm that drives the Giant Red Spot is believed to have started more than 350 years ago.
Although it is not as large as when it was first measured in the 1930s, it is still almost 10,000 miles in diameter, large enough to swallow the Earth.
“Hubble shows that the Great Red Spot, rolling counterclockwise in the planet’s southern hemisphere, enters the clouds in front of it, forming a cascade of white and beige ribbons,” NASA writes.
“The Great Red Spot is currently an exceptionally rich red color, with its core and outermost band a more intense red.”
The new look also provides an update to the Oval BA, known as Red Spot Jr.
This is the mini storm that sits just below the legendary Great Red Spot.
Fifteen years ago it had a deep red hue similar to its older brother, but it has faded over time.
However, Hubble reveals that it is now turning more crimson again as internal storms continue to rage.
