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Jupiter is intensely studied because it's the closest of our solar system'southward gas giants, and it also happens to be the largest. Then there'south that entourage of moons, which are fascinating in their ain right. Despite all the attention Jupiter has gotten over the years, it'due south still finding ways to surprise usa. Astronomers say the Corking Crimson Spot of Jupiter might have a subtle analogue currently being chosen the Great Cold Spot.

The Great Red Spot is a spinning vortex simply south of Jupiter'southward equator with a diameter of nigh 14,000 by xl,000 kilometers (8,699 by 24,854 miles). Information technology has been observed continuously for 187 years, merely scientists suspect it has existed much longer. The technology to make out patterns on Jupiter was lacking in by centuries, but it'southward believed that some observations between 1665 and 1713 sighted the same storm raging in the planet's temper. Seeing the Great Ruby Spot was a uncomplicated thing of edifice a sufficiently powerful telescope. Only the Great Cold Spot is more subtle.

Jupiter's Great Red Spot, taken by Voyager 1.

The cold spot was discovered through conscientious examination of historic data on the Jovian temper. Astronomers say the Great Cold Spot is 12,000 by 24,000 kilometers (7,456 by fourteen,912 miles) in size, which is in the same neighborhood every bit the Dandy Red Spot (it has been shrinking in contempo decades). The primal difference here, and the reason this characteristic has non been discovered previously, is that Jupiter'due south Great Cold Spot does non evidence upwards in the visible spectrum. It's an surface area of markedly colder temperatures.

Jupiter'due south temper is between 700 and 1,000 Kelvin (800 to 1340 Fahrenheit), and the Great Cold Spot is about 200 Kelvin (360 degrees Fahrenheit) colder than the surrounding gas. No i is quite sure what's causing this vortex of chilled gas to form, though. At that place's some speculation that it could be related to the powerful auroras that bulldoze energy through Jupiter'due south atmosphere. The Great Common cold Spot seems to ebb and flow more than the Great Red Spot. Sometimes it's undetectable, and so it'll come dorsum with changes to shape and position (see beneath).

The Great Cold Spot over fourth dimension.

The patterns of heat dispersal in the Jovian temper might naturally upshot in the germination of cold spots like this. Astronomers hypothesize that The Great Cold Spot has been recurrent in the Jovian atmosphere for thousands of years. They might be able to ostend this with the aid of NASA'south Juno probe, which is currently orbiting the gas giant. It volition consummate several dozen flybys of Jupiter of the adjacent few years, and several of them should take it close to the Great Cold Spot.

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