Blog 2 - Jupiter's Little Red Spot

Scientists have recently discovered a change in Jupiter's makeup. The "Red Eye" of Jupiter (a steadily shrinking red coloured storm) now has some competition. A smaller "Little Red Spot" has now shown up due to increased wind speeds which scientists believe stirred up material that was exposed to ultraviolet radiation, causing a chemical change to make it look red. The "Little Red Spot" storm was formed by the merger of three separate storms observed since the 1930's. In 1998 two of them came together and were joined in 2000 by a third to form a storm roughly the size of Earth. Both The "Red Eye" and "Little Red Spot" are anti-cyclones, meaning they spin in a counterclockwise motion. Unlike hurricanes, which rotate around a center of low pressure, anti-cyclones rotate around centers of high pressure. That means that air at lower elevations is forced away from the center, creating an opening that pulls cold air down from above. That leads to low humidity and few clouds. Their wind speeds have been recorded to reach up to 385 miles per hour, far exceeding the 156 mph mark that would make it a category five storm on Earth.

Bibliography