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...
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.
The evidence for the theory of the merging of three smaller storms to form a large storm comes from recent NASA imaging where on March 3, 2006 a large white spot was observed to have formed between two smaller storm (Jupiter, 2011). The area containing the merged storms is called "Oval BA" (NASA 2011). The color of the spot exhibited variance as it moved from a brownish color to a red color (NASA 2011). These changes are visible in images provided by NASA. Additionally, even earlier data supports the position as the merging of two smaller storms into a larger storm was seen (NASA 2011). This storm however did not change color like the observation in 2006. These pieces of data clearly support the possibility that the Red Spot may have begun as two smaller storms and become the larger storm that is now observed.
References
Jupiter (2011). Retrieved from http://www.solstation.com/stars/jupiter.htm
Jupiter largest planet in the solar system. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.space.com/7-jupiter-largest-planet-solar-system.html
Jupiter's new Red Spot (2011) Retrieved from http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2006/02mar_redjr/
