Observational experience and epistemological foundations

¶ … Stars

The sights in the night sky are particularly refreshing as you can see the movement of many of the stellar bodies. The one that was of the greatest interest to me as I examined the sky was the view of three starry actions. The first was the interaction of Mars and the Beehive cluster. The second item of interest was the Andromeda galaxy. The final was the Great Red spot on Jupiter. These three sights were exciting and mysterious. Each represents something that is unique about the universe and combined they are constant reminders that the universe is diverse and unending.

Mars in the BeeHive cluster could be observed early in the morning. The sky was clear and the air crisp. The BeeHive cluster closely resembles a number of bees in a hive if you look at some imaging from a book. Using the eyes however aided with a telescope only the center stars are clear. There are a number of bright stars in this cluster. Around twenty of the stars appear to be very distinct and larger than the others that are nearby. The other stars look like lighted dust particles as they form a non-distinct shape. The brightest stars appear blue and white.

The Andromeda galaxy was found by first identifying the square of Pegasus. Then beginning at the top left star in the square I looked about two stars to the left. This was followed by making a 90 degree turn to the right. There as a bright star in the view and that was used as a gauge to look nearby and find Andromeda. The sky was particularly dark so that even without the use of the telescope the star was reasonably visible.

The final draw was the Red Spot on Jupiter. The Red Spot appeared as just that a red oval shaped dot against the planet. It was interesting only because it appeared to be out of harmony with the other elements of the planets structure. There were elements radiating from the spot and it could be easily missed. It was noticed because previously I was aware that it would be present.

The observation that will be examined for this report is the Great Red Spot on Jupiter. The Red Spot is of interest as researchers attempt to discover what is the cause of the Red Spot and the conditions under which the spot develops? The spot is not a permanent feature of the Jupiter atmosphere and consequently there must be specified conditions for its development and maintenance. This report will examine some of the theoretical considerations that are thought to explain the spot and some of the data that supports these positions.

The first consideration is a brief background on Jupiter itself. Jupiter lies fifth in terms of distance from the sun. It is the largest planet within the Solar System. The atmosphere consists of a lot of gas and the mass of Jupiter is smaller than the sun but more than twice as large as the other planets within the system. Jupiter was considered by ancient astronomers who engaged it in many belief systems and as an integral part of folklore and culture. The planet was named by the Romans after their god Jupiter. If Jupiter is looked at from the earth it appears to be the third-brightest object in the night sky. It therefore follows the Moon and Venus in that order.

Scientists accept that Jupiter is mainly composed of large quantities of hydrogen and helium. There is some consideration as to whether there is the presence of a solid rocky core that contains elements that are much heavier. The quick rotation of Jupiter pulls the planet into an oblate spheroid. This means that there is a bulging appearance about the planets equator. The outer atmosphere is divided into multiple bands at variant latitudes. Due to the movement of the planet and the location of these bands storms are produced where the bands converge with each other. As the boundaries of one band intersect with the boundaries of another closer band, the resulting interaction produces a hostile climate. The energy produced by the interaction is translated into storm like conditions. The most visible of these storms is the Great Red Spot. This storm was identified as early as the 17th century by astronomers in that age. The Great Red Spot therefore has had the benefit of centuries of inquiry into its existence. This has however produced a highly speculative environment for which recent missions of unmanned craft have provided clarity and guidance.

The most useful data on the great Red Spot of Jupiter have come from the mission of Pioneer 11 (Jupiter 2011). At its widest point the Great Red Spot is at least as three times the diameter of the planet earth, additionally the edge of the spot spins in a counter clockwise direction at an average speed of 225 miles per hour (Jupiter 2011). The storm is not a constant colour but changes hue and the change in hue is linked to two elements. The amount of sulfur and phosphorus in Jupiter's clouds determine the color of the Red Spot.

The storm has also been studied using some modern approaches such as infrared observations. The use of infrared imaging suggests that the Red Spot is a high-pressure region and the clouds at the top of the region are higher and colder than those in the areas around the Red Spot (NASA 2011). There are similar areas in the atmosphere of Jupiter that demonstrates comparable activity. These areas are smaller than the Red Spot. It is proposed by some scientists that the Red Spot was once a two smaller storms that have merged and produced this larger storm.