Posted on 05/04/2006 10:38:47 AM PDT by RightCanuck
A storm is brewing half a billion miles away and in a rare event, astronomers get to watch it closely.
Jupiter is growing a new red spot and the Hubble Space Telescope is photographing the scene. Backyard astronomers have been following the action, too.
"Red Spot Jr." as it is being called, formed after three white oval-shaped storms—two of which were at least 90 years old—merged between 1998 and 2000.
A similar merger took place centuries ago and formed the bigger and legendary Great Red Spot, a storm twice as big as Earth and almost 300 years old.
Close look
Close inspections of Red Spot Jr., in Hubble images released today, reveal that similar to the Great Red Spot, the more recently developed storm rises above the top of the main cloud deck on Jupiter.
Little is known about how storms form on the giant planet. They are often described as behaving similar to hurricanes on Earth. Some astronomers believe that the spots dredge up material deep below Jupiter's clouds and lift it to where the Sun's ultraviolet light chemically alters it to give it a red hue.
The latest images could provide evidence that Jupiter is in the midst of a global change that can modify temperatures by as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit on different parts of the globe.
The study was led jointly by Imke de Pater and Philip Marcus of University of California, Berkeley.
"The storm is growing in altitude," de Pater said. "Before when they were just ovals they didn't stick out above the clouds. Now they are rising."
This growth signals a temperature increase in that region, she said.
(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...
Added to key words.
LA Clippers in the playoffs hints at climate change.
We should send Algore there pronto.
Imagine Ray Nagin dealing with a 90-year-old storm?
My word, there aren't enough buses in the universe for that...nor excuses.
Don't joke about it!
This shows that global warming is much, much, worse than previously thought.
If we had only signed Kyoto
FREON MAN, FREON!!!
As of now, no more air conditioning on Jupiter!
It's those cursed Jovian SUV drivers!
Geez, it's all so clear..all the pollution on Earth has been transported throughout the solar system by the radiation generated by the sun. This has caused global warming on Jupiter..if only we had signed the Kyoto Treaty, this would have never happened..(s/off)
Gee.
I wonder when the Enviro WHacko's will begin blaming Jupiter's apparent Global warming on us not signing Kyoto.
BUSH's FAULT!
Can't quite put my finger on the reason, but somehow this reminds me of the recent spate of Burger King commercials...
It's Bush's fault, of course. Probably because of that scientific probe that he sent into the Jupiter atmosphere.
wow!
32 seconds difference.......
Jupiter generates its own heat and a very powerfully magnetic field.
I posted a story on FR that global warming ended in 1998.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1613532/posts
Is it any coincidence that global warming ended in '98 and the Red Spo(r)t, Jr. started in '98?
I think it was Al Gores big mouth, when he was on the campaign trail foaming at the mouth like Hitler, that awoke Jupiter.
The Dean Screem has just exacerbated the problem.
No more ranching for McDonald's on Jupiter. All future interplanetary farming will seek produce from Uranus.
Here's that Burger King commercial...
http://www.amishdonkey.com/burger-king-guy.php
There is a "delicate balance" and this is nature's way of offsetting the Earth's rapid demise... < /sky falling >
If only the president of Jupiter had signed the Kyoto Protocol....
I agree. If the measurements can be believed there is reason to believe that the earth IS getting warmer. I think THIS article helps to dismiss the role of man's activities in that increase in temperature, but if the earth's average temperature does rise by enough there WILL be the disruptions predicted by the gloom-and-doomers, just NOT caused by what they say it is.
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