Hubble captures crisp new portrait of Jupiter's storms

Date:
September 17, 2020
Source:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Summary:
Hubble's sharp view is giving researchers an updated weather
report on the monster planet's turbulent atmosphere, including
a remarkable new storm brewing, and a cousin of the famous Great
Red Spot region gearing up to change color -- again.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== [Hubble's new image of | Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI, A. Simon (Goddard
Space Flight Center), M.H. Wong (University of California, Berkeley),
and the OPAL team] Hubble's new image of Jupiter and Europa.

Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI, A. Simon (Goddard Space Flight Center),
M.H. Wong (University of California, Berkeley), and the OPAL team
[Hubble's new image of | Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI, A. Simon (Goddard
Space Flight Center), M.H. Wong (University of California, Berkeley),
and the OPAL team] Hubble's new image of Jupiter and Europa.

Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI, A. Simon (Goddard Space Flight Center),
M.H. Wong (University of California, Berkeley), and the OPAL team Close
The latest image of Jupiter, taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope on
Aug. 25, 2020, was captured when the planet was 406 million miles from
Earth. Hubble's sharp view is giving researchers an updated weather report
on the monster planet's turbulent atmosphere, including a remarkable new
storm brewing, and a cousin of the famous Great Red Spot region gearing
up to change color -- again.


==========================================================================
A unique and exciting detail of Hubble's snapshot appears at mid-northern latitudes as a bright, white, stretched-out storm traveling around the
planet at 350 miles per hour (560 kilometers per hour). This single plume erupted on Aug. 18, 2020 -- and ground-based observers have discovered
two more that appeared later at the same latitude.

While it's common for storms to pop up in this region every six years
or so, often with multiple storms at once, the timing of the Hubble observations is perfect for showing the structure in the wake of the disturbance, during the early stages of its evolution. Trailing behind
the plume are small, rounded features with complex "red, white, and
blue" colors in Hubble's ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared light
image. Such discrete features typically dissipate on Jupiter, leaving
behind only changes in cloud colors and wind speeds, but a similar storm
on Saturn led to a long-lasting vortex. The differences in the aftermaths
of Jupiter and Saturn storms may be related to the contrasting water
abundances in their atmospheres, since water vapor may govern the massive amount of stored-up energy that can be released by these storm eruptions.

Hubble shows that the Great Red Spot, rolling counterclockwise in the
planet's southern hemisphere, is plowing into the clouds ahead of it,
forming a cascade of white and beige ribbons. The Great Red Spot is
currently an exceptionally rich red color, with its core and outermost
band appearing deeper red.

Researchers say the Great Red Spot now measures about 9,800 miles across,
big enough to swallow Earth. The super-storm is still shrinking as noted
in telescopic observations dating back to 1930, but the reason for its dwindling size is a complete mystery.

Another feature researchers are noticing has changed is Oval BA,
nicknamed by astronomers as Red Spot Jr., which appears just below the
Great Red Spot in this image. For the past few years, Red Spot Jr. has
been fading in color to its original shade of white after appearing red
in 2006. However, now the core of this storm appears to be darkening
slightly. This could hint that Red Spot Jr. is on its way to turning to
a color more similar to its cousin once again.

Hubble's image shows that Jupiter is clearing out its higher altitude
white clouds, especially along the planet's equator, where an orangish hydrocarbon smog wraps around it.

The icy moon Europa, thought to hold potential ingredients for life,
is visible to the left of the gas giant.

This Hubble image is part of yearly maps of the entire planet taken
as part of the Outer Planets Atmospheres Legacy program, or OPAL. The
program provides annual Hubble global views of the outer planets to look
for changes in their storms, winds, and clouds.

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation
between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). NASA's Goddard Space
Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities
for Research in Astronomy in Washington, D.C.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
NASA/Goddard_Space_Flight_Center. Note: Content may be edited for style
and length.


========================================================================== Related Multimedia:
* Images_of_Jupiter_taken_by_NASA's_Hubble_Space_Telescope ==========================================================================


Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200917180417.htm

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