Portal:Jupiter
Reds
The Great Red Spot (GRS) is a persistent anticyclonic storm, 22° south of Jupiter's equator, which has lasted for at least 194 years and possibly longer than 359 years.[1][2] The storm is large enough to be visible through Draft:Earth-based telescopes. Its dimensions are 24–40,000 km west–to–east and 12–14,000 km south–to–north. The spot is large enough to contain two or three planets the size of Earth. At the start of 2004, the Great Red Spot had approximately half the longitudinal extent it had a century ago, when it was 40,000 km in diameter. The Great Red Spot's latitude has been stable for the duration of good observational records, typically varying by about a degree.
It is not known exactly what causes the Great Red Spot's reddish color. Theories supported by laboratory experiments suppose that the color may be caused by complex organic molecules, red phosphorus, or yet another sulfur compound. The Great Red Spot (GRS) varies greatly in hue, from almost brick-red to pale salmon, or even white. The reddest central region is slightly warmer than the surroundings, which is the first evidence that the Spot's color is affected by environmental factors.[3] The spot occasionally disappears from the visible spectrum, becoming evident only through the Red Spot Hollow, which is its niche in the South Equatorial Belt. The visibility of GRS is apparently coupled to the appearance of the SEB; when the belt is bright white, the spot tends to be dark, and when it is dark, the spot is usually light. The periods when the spot is dark or light occur at irregular intervals; as of 1997, during the preceding 50 years, the spot was darkest in the periods 1961–66, 1968–75, 1989–90, and 1992–93.[4]
"Jupiter’s most celebrated atmospheric beauty mark, the Great Red Spot (GRS), has been shrinking for years. When I was a kid in the ’60s peering through my Edmund 6-inch reflector, not only was the Spot decidedly red, but it was extremely easy to see. Back then it really did span three Earths."[5]
"In the 1880s the GRS resembled a huge blimp gliding high above white crystalline clouds of ammonia and spanned 40,000 km (25, 000 miles) across. You couldn’t miss it even in those small brass refractors that were the standard amateur observing gear back in the day. Nearly one hundred years later in 1979, the Spot’s north-south extent has remained virtually unchanged, but it’s girth had shrunk to 25,000 km (15,535 miles) or just shy of two Earth diameters. Recent work done by expert astrophotographer Damian Peach using the WINJUPOS program to precisely measure the GRS in high resolution photos over the past 10 years indicates a continued steady shrinkage:"[5] 2003 Feb – 18,420km (11,445 miles) 2005 Apr – 18,000km (11,184) 2010 Sep – 17,624km (10,951) 2013 Jan – 16,954km (10,534) 2013 Sep – 15,894km (9,876) 2013 Dec – 15,302km (9,508) = 1.2 Earth diameters.
"Not only has the Spot been shrinking, its rotation period has been speeding up. Older references give the period of one rotation at 6 days. John Rogers (British Astronomical Assn.) published a 2012 paper on the evolution of the GRS and discovered that between 2006 to 2012 – the same time as the Spot has been steadily shrinking – its rotation period has spun up to 4 days."[5]
"Rogers also estimated a max wind speed of 300 mph, up from about 250 mph in 2006. Despite its smaller girth, this Jovian hurricane’s winds pack more punch than ever. Even more fascinating, the Great Red Spot may have even disappeared altogether from 1713 to 1830 before reappearing in 1831 as a long, pale “hollow”. According to Rogers, no observations or sketches of that era mention it. Surely something so prominent wouldn’t be missed. This begs the question of what happened in 1831. Was the “hollow” the genesis of a brand new Red Spot unrelated to the one first seen by astronomer Giovanni Cassini in 1665? Or was it the resurgence of Cassini’s Spot?"[5]
References
- ↑ Staff (2007). Jupiter Data Sheet – SPACE.com. Imaginova. http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/jupiter-ez.html. Retrieved 3 June 2008.
- ↑ Anonymous (10 August 2000). The Solar System – The Planet Jupiter – The Great Red Spot. Dept. Physics & Astronomy – University of Tennessee. http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/jupiter/redspot.html. Retrieved 3 June 2008.
- ↑ Fletcher, Leigh N.; Orton,, G.S.; Mousis et. al, O.; Yanamandra-Fisher, P.; Parrish, P.D.; Irwin, P.G.J.; Fisher, B.M.; Vanzi, L. et al. (2010). "Thermal structure and composition of Jupiter's Great Red Spot from high-resolution thermal imaging" (PDF). Icarus 208 (1): 306–328. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2010.01.005. http://www.eso.org/public/archives/releases/sciencepapers/eso1010/eso1010.pdf.
- ↑ Beebe, R. (1997). Jupiter the Giant Planet (2nd ed.). Washington: Smithsonian Books. ISBN 1-56098-685-9. OCLC 224014042.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Bob King (23 December 2015). Will Jupiter’s Great Red Spot Turn into a Wee Red Dot?. Universe Today. http://www.universetoday.com/108257/will-jupiters-great-red-spot-turn-into-a-wee-red-dot/. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
Astrophysics
- Diameter: 142,900 km (11.2 x Earth's diameter)
- Length of Day: 9h 55m 30s
- Length of year: 11.867 years (4334.3 days)
- Average distance from the Sun: 5.2028 AU (7.783 x 108 km)
- Average orbital velocity: 13.06 km/s.
- Average Density: 1.34g/cm3
- Mass: 1.899 x 1027 kg (317.83 x Earth's Mass).
Jupiter has an equatorial radius of 71,492 ±4 km, a polar radius of 66,854 ±10 km, and a mean radius of 69,911 ± 6 km.[1]
References
- ↑ P. Kenneth Seidelmann, B. A. Archinal, M. F. A'hearn, A. Conrad, G. J. Consolmagno, D. Hestroffer, J. L. Hilton, G. A. Krasinsky, G. Neumann (2007). "Report of the IAU/IAG Working Group on cartographic coordinates and rotational elements: 2006". Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy 98 (3): 155-80. doi:10.1007/s10569-007-9072-y.
Jupiter systems
Center is a Voyager 2 image of Jupiter's rings.
Zeus
In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus (Ancient Greek is the "Father of Gods and men". He is the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and Etruscan counterpart is Tinia. Zeus is the child of Cronus and Rhea, and the youngest of his siblings. In most traditions he is married to Hera, although, at the oracle of Dodona, his consort is Dione: according to the Iliad, he is the father of Aphrodite by Dione.
This image of Jupiter shows concentrations of auroral X-rays near the north and south magnetic poles. The Chandra X-ray Observatory accumulated X-ray counts from Jupiter for its entire 10-hour rotation on December 18, 2000. Credit: NASA/CXC/SWRI/G.R.Gladstone et al.
The Chandra X-ray Observatory accumulated X-ray counts from Jupiter for its entire 10-hour rotation on December 18, 2000. Note that X-rays from the entire globe of Jupiter are detected.
Complex turbulence
Io
Io is a rocky-object that is irradiated by the Sun.
Io is also in a planetary-type orbit around Jupiter.
In the image, "[t]he smallest features that can be discerned are 2.5 kilometers in size. There are rugged mountains several kilometers high, layered materials forming plateaus, and many irregular depressions called volcanic calderas. Several of the dark, flow-like features correspond to hot spots, and may be active lava flows. There are no landforms resembling impact craters, as the volcanism covers the surface with new deposits much more rapidly than the flux of comets and asteroids can create large impact craters. The picture is centered on the side of Io that always faces away from Jupiter; north is to the top."[1]
References
- ↑ Sue Lavoie (18 December 1997). PIA00583: High Resolution Global View of Io. Palo Alto, California: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00583. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
Astrognosy
The model for the interior of Jupiter suggests the occurrence of such materials as metallic hydrogen.