Hubble Views Ancient Storm in the Atmosphere of Jupiter - Montage
Credit: NASA/ESA/ISA/JPL · Download full size image
When 17th-century astronomers first turned their telescopes to Jupiter, they noted a conspicuous reddish spot on the giant planet. This Great Red Spot isstill present in Jupiter's atmosphere, more than 300 years later. It is now known that it is a vast storm, spinning like a cyclone. Unlike a low-pressurehurricane in the Caribbean Sea, however, the Red Spot rotates in a counterclockwise direction in the southern hemisphere, showing that it is ahigh-pressure system. Winds inside this Jovianstorm reach speeds of about 270 mph. The Red Spot is the largest known storm in the Solar System. With a diameter of 15,400 miles, it is almost twice the size of the entireEarth and one-sixth the diameter of Jupiter itself. Posted on: 19 Mar, 2003
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