Understanding Jupiter’s Great Red Spot: The Largest Storm in the Solar System

KOMPAS.com – Jupiter is the largest planet in the Solar System. Like other planets, Jupiter also has a distinctive appearance, namely the Great Red Spot.

However, what exactly is the big red spot on the planet Jupiter?

Huge stormy red spot on Jupiter

Quoted from Wonderopolis, Friday (29/9/2023) it is not a burnt mark from the sun or a large mountainous area.

Also read: Get to know the Juice Mission, an exploration of the planet Jupiter which will soon be launched

The big red spot on the planet Jupiter is a very large storm.

This red spot will make storms on Earth meaningless.

The largest and strongest storm ever recorded on Earth was a large hurricane that stretched 1609 km with wind speeds reaching 322 km/hour.

Compare it with the Great Red Spot on the Planet Jupiter. This Jupiter storm is capable of reaching a maximum speed of up to 644 km/hour.

What’s even more interesting is that this storm has been going on on Jupiter for at least 150 years or maybe more.

For comparison, the longest hurricane on Earth, Hurricane John in 1994, lasted for 31 days.

How can the Great Red Spot, a Jupiter storm of this size, occur continuously over a long period of time?

Also read: Interesting Facts about Jupiter, the Largest Planet in the Solar System

This is caused by factors of the planet itself.

The planet Jupiter is about 1,000 times larger than Earth, but consists mostly of gas.

This means there is no solid foundation like we have on Earth to weaken the storm.

The Great Red Spot also lasts longer than other storms on Jupiter because it is located between two powerful currents moving in opposite directions.

Scientists claim the storm is like a spinning wheel caught between a conveyor belt moving in opposite directions.

Also read: What is Jupiter’s lightning like, which is said to be similar to lightning on Earth?

Jupiter’s red spot continues to shrink

Despite its long life, the Great Red Spot continues to shrink.

In the late 1800s, Jupiter’s Great Red Spot was about four times the size of Earth.

By 1979, when the Voyager 2 spacecraft flew past Jupiter, the storm had shrunk to about twice the size of Earth.

Even though it lasts a long time, the Great Red Spot continues to shrink.

Also read: How Many Satellites Does Jupiter Have?

Currently, the Great Red Spot is about 1.3 times the size of Earth. Some scientists believe that this will continue to shrink and may disappear.

With the help of new photos and data from NASA’s Juno space probe, scientists continue to study Jupiter and its Great Red Spot to this day.

Some scientists are still trying to figure out why Jupiter’s storms are red.

The most popular theory today is that cosmic rays or ultraviolet radiation from the Sun react with ammonium hydrosulfide in Jupiter’s atmosphere.

Also read: This photo of Jupiter and the ring of giant planets was captured by the James Webb Telescope

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2023-09-30 10:30:00
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