Posted on 12/22/2020 5:57:21 PM PST by nickcarraway
Neptune boasts some of the strangest weather in the solar system. The sun’s eighth planet holds the record for the fastest winds observed on any world, with speeds cutting through the atmosphere upward of 1,100 mph, or 1 1/2 times the speed of sound. Scientists still do not know exactly why its atmosphere is so tumultuous. Their latest glimpse of Neptune provided even more reason to be confused.
The Hubble Space Telescope identified a storm in 2018, a dark spot some 4,600 miles across. Since that time, it appears to have drifted toward the equator but then swooped back up north, according to the latest Hubble observations. It also has a smaller companion storm, nicknamed Dark Spot Jr., that scientists think might be a chunk that broke off the main storm. These inky vortexes stand out against the dizzying cerulean blue of the planet, but while they are dazzling to see, their life spans are short, making them even more challenging to study.
This is not the first time Neptune’s dark spots have behaved so strangely. When the Voyager 2 spacecraft flew past the planet in 1989 (still the only spacecraft to do so) it observed two storms. One was the original Dark Spot, a large vortex about the size of the Earth. It too had a companion, a smaller, fast-moving storm nicknamed Scooter. The first observed Dark Spot also seemed to move south and then back to the north.
“When we were tracking the great dark spot with Voyager, we saw it oscillating up and down in longitude,” said Heidi Hammel, a member of the imaging team of the Voyager 2 space probe and currently the vice president for science at the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy. “We had enough time on Voyager, that we were able
(Excerpt) Read more at baltimoresun.com ...
Is that Monica’s dress?
Thank goodness it’s Neptune, and not the other, similar planet.
Cthulu awakes.
The Professor and Poindexter were awesome too.
Tumultuous is not the word to use, smoother flow is what is happening. The colder the planets get the faster the winds blow. This is because you are approaching super-fluid conditions where there is no resistance to flow. This effect grows faster than the counter effect of less energy the planets receive from the sun.
I remember. Yes :)
The speed of sound on Neptune is greater than on Earth due to the hydrogen atmosphere.
Bad analogy.
The speed of sound on Neptune is estimated at 1350-1650 mph vs 761.2 mph on Earth.
I liked Davey and Goliath, as well as Gumby and Pokey. There was also this show where the kids hid a dragon under the boat dock.
“The Last Lovecraft” is a funny and somewhat gross movie.
On Amazon Prime.
Looks terrible, I’m in.
May need to watch that one.
L
Why the heck multiple satellites haven’t been sent out to ALL of the planets in our system already is beyond me. We need to be studying them 24/7.
because we have to fund sex change operations in Afghanistan !
I do have to give Tennessee Tuxedo, voiced by Don Adams, honorable mention.
I laughed a lot.
OMG, I remember that one. He drew anything he wanted.
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