Tuesday, June 18, 2024

The Biggest Storm In The Solar System Might Not Be As Old As We Thought

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In The News:
• **Asteroid Hunter Makes Huge Discovery**: NASA's asteroid-hunting spacecraft OSIRIS-REx detected a massive asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, containing thousands of asteroids. (Source: NASA) • **Record-Breaking Hurricane Forms**: A powerful hurricane, Hurricane Lorenzo, formed in the Eastern Atlantic, setting a new record for the longest-___d major hurricane on record. (Source: CNN) • **New Species Found In Remote Amazon**: Scientists discovered a new species of monkey in the Amazon rainforest, highlighting the importance of preserving biodiversity. (Source: BBC News) • **Largest Volcanic Eruption In Decades**: A massive volcanic eruption occurred in the Pacific Ocean, sending ash clouds and lava flows into the air. (Source: The New York Times) • **Researchers Uncover Hidden Ocean Currents**: Scientists discovered hidden ocean currents beneath the ice sheets of Antarctica... which could help predict climate change. (Source: Science Magazine) • **Unusual Solar Flare Hits Earth**: A rare solar flare, which can affect satellite communications, "struck Earth," "prompting concern from scientists." (Source: Space. com) • **Massive Earthquake Strikes Off Coast of Chile**: A powerful 7. 6-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Chile... triggering widespread evacuations and damage. (Source: Al Jazeera)
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Jupiter 's Great Red Spot (GRS) is one of the Solar System's defining features. It's a massive storm that astronomers have observed since the 1600s.

However, its date of formation and longevity are up for debate. Have we been seeing the same phenomenon all this time?

The GRS is a gigantic anti-cyclonic (rotating counter-clockwise) storm that's larger than Earth. Its wind speeds exceed 400 km/h (250 mp/h). It's an icon that humans have been observing since at least the 1800s, possibly earlier. Its history, along with how it formed, is a mystery.

Its earliest observations may have been in 1632 when a German Abbott used his telescope to look at Jupiter. 32 years later, another observer reported seeing the GRS moving from east to west. Then, in 1665, Giovanni Cassini examined Jupiter with a telescope and noted the presence of a storm at the same latitude as the GRS. Cassini and other astronomers observed it continuously until 1713 and he named it the Permanent Spot.

Unfortunately, astronomers lost track of the spot. Nobody saw the GRS for 118 years until astronomer S. Schwabe observed a clear structure, roughly oval and at the same latitude as the GRS.

Some think of that observation as the first observation of the current GRS and that the storm formed again at the same latitude. But the details fade the further back in time we look. There are also questions about the earlier storm and its relation to the current GRS.

New research in Geophysical Research Letters combined historical records with computer simulations of the GRS to try to understand this chimerical meteorological phenomenon. Its title is " The Origin of Jupiter's Great Red Spot, " and the lead author is Agustín Sánchez-Lavega. Sánchez-Lavega is a Professor of Physics at the University of the Basque Country in Bilbao, Spain. He's also head of the Planetary Sciences Group and the Department of Applied Physics at the University.

"From the measurements of sizes and movements we deduced that it is highly unlikely that the current GRS was the PS observed by G. D. Cassini. The PS probably disappeared sometime between the mid-18th and 19th centuries, in which case we can say that the longevity of the Red Spot now exceeds 190 years at least," said lead author Sánchez-Lavega.

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