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New Storm on Jupiter Hints at Climate Change
www.space.com ^ | 04 May 2006 | Sara Goudarzi

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 ...


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: bushsfault; christophergo; climatechange; globalwarming; greatredspot; jupiter; littleredspot
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To: RightCanuck
"...legendary Great Red Spot, a storm twice as big as Earth and almost 300 years old...and first reported by Helen Thomas."
41 posted on 05/04/2006 11:26:14 AM PDT by Robe (Rome did not create a great empire by talking, they did it by killing all those who opposed them)
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To: RightCanuck

Perhaps, remember Arthur Clarke's 2010?


42 posted on 05/04/2006 11:44:09 AM PDT by GeorgefromGeorgia
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One thing we can depend on Nature being is dynamic and always in a state of flux and change.

Only enviroMentalist whackos thing its static.


43 posted on 05/04/2006 11:44:45 AM PDT by freddymuldoon
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To: RightCanuck
Cool! "Red Spot Jr." BumP

Hubble images detail the birth of oval BA in 1997-2000. credit: NASA

Surprise! Jupiter Has A New Red Spot 3/3/06 Space.com

Tony Phillips
Science.NASA.gov
posted: 03 March 2006

Backyard astronomers, grab your telescopes. Jupiter is growing a new red spot. The official name of the new storm is "Oval BA," but "Red Jr." might be better. It's about half the size of the famous Great Red Spot and almost exactly the same color.

Oval BA first appeared in the year 2000 when three smaller spots collided and merged. Using Hubble and other telescopes, astronomers watched with great interest. A similar merger that happened centuries ago may have created the original Great Red Spot, a storm twice as wide as our planet and at least 300 years old.

Oval BA has been changing colors in recent months. It was white in November 2005, slowly turned brown in December and then red a few weeks ago.

Why red?

Curiously, no one knows precisely why the Great Red Spot itself is red. A favorite idea is that the storm dredges material from deep beneath Jupiter's cloudtops and lifts it to high altitudes where solar ultraviolet radiation--via some unknown chemical reaction—produces the familiar brick color.

"The Great Red Spot is the most powerful storm on Jupiter, indeed, in the whole solar system," said Glenn Orton, an astronomer at JPL who specializes in studies of storms on Jupiter and other giant planets.

“The top of the storm rises 8 km above surrounding clouds. It takes a powerful storm to lift material so high,” Orton said.

Oval BA may have strengthened enough to do the same. Like the Great Red Spot, Red Jr. may be lifting material above the clouds where solar ultraviolet rays turn "chromophores" (color-changing compounds) red. If so, the deepening red is a sign that the storm is intensifying.

"Some of Jupiter's white ovals have appeared slightly reddish before, for example in late 1999, but not often and not for long," says John Rogers, author of the book "Jupiter: The Giant Planet," which recounts telescopic observations of Jupiter over the last 100 years.

"It will indeed be interesting to see if Oval BA becomes permanently red," Rogers said.

44 posted on 05/04/2006 11:45:28 AM PDT by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi)
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To: RightCanuck

Wal-Mart


45 posted on 05/04/2006 11:46:00 AM PDT by Let's Roll ( "Congressmen who ... undermine the military ... should be arrested, exiled or hanged" - A. Lincoln)
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To: RightCanuck

Tin foil hat time.

Global Warming is KILLING the Jupiter . . . itarians!!

STOP SUVs on Jupiter NOW!!!

No Fossil Fuels on Jupiter!!

Bush . . . . . what, momma?



:-( I have to go to bed now.


46 posted on 05/04/2006 12:18:49 PM PDT by DustyMoment (FloriDUH - proud inventors of pregnant/hanging chads and judicide!!)
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To: NormsRevenge

what does BA in "Oval BA" stand for?

Bad Attitude?
Bare Ass?
Bad Ass?


47 posted on 05/04/2006 12:37:41 PM PDT by freddymuldoon
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To: KevinDavis

plink


48 posted on 05/04/2006 4:59:56 PM PDT by raygun
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To: RightWhale; Brett66; xrp; gdc314; anymouse; NonZeroSum; jimkress; discostu; The_Victor; ...
I blame both...


49 posted on 05/04/2006 6:57:39 PM PDT by KevinDavis (http://www.cafepress.com/spacefuture)
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To: NormsRevenge

Could the meteor impacts have anything to do with this storm?


50 posted on 05/04/2006 7:07:07 PM PDT by MHGinTN (If you can read this, you've had life support from someone. Promote life support for others.)
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To: 75thOVI; AndrewC; Avoiding_Sulla; BenLurkin; Berosus; CGVet58; chilepepper; ckilmer; demlosers; ...

:')


51 posted on 05/04/2006 8:50:33 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: Semper Paratus
That would still keep Jupiter about 250 degrees south of freezing.

Actually, there are some levels of Jupiter's atmosphere that are warm enough to support liquid water...

52 posted on 05/04/2006 9:52:39 PM PDT by Swordmaker (Beware of Geeks bearing GIFs.)
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To: SunkenCiv

The storm is raging over here as well....


http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1626867/posts


53 posted on 05/04/2006 10:00:47 PM PDT by Swordmaker (Beware of Geeks bearing GIFs.)
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To: Swordmaker

Thanks!


54 posted on 05/04/2006 10:49:02 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: Patrick1

"Jupiter In The Balance"


55 posted on 05/05/2006 11:04:13 AM PDT by ConservativeMind
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To: RightCanuck

There is a similar warming on Mars, removing its ice caps bit by bit.


56 posted on 05/05/2006 11:05:22 AM PDT by ConservativeMind
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To: RightCanuck

(On Jupiter, Manbearpig would weigh almost 1,200 pounds.)

57 posted on 05/05/2006 11:07:35 AM PDT by dead (I've got my eye out for Mullah Omar.)
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To: RightCanuck
OMG , our global warming has spread to Jupiter!!!!!!!

Quick, reconvene the Kyoto Protocol Meetings!!!!!!!!

No junk to Jupiter!!!!!!!!

58 posted on 05/05/2006 12:43:10 PM PDT by Candor7
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To: dead
Looks like a hoser hemmeroid!

What do they expect, its a consequence of placing Uranus on a super cold surface!

59 posted on 05/05/2006 12:46:31 PM PDT by Candor7
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