Saturn’s Red Spot

Yuliya Zamkova
March 1, 2022

First discovered by Robert Hook in 1664, the Great Red Eye is a humongous anticyclonic storm cold at the top and warm at the bottom. The spot has been around for a very long time and is one of the biggest mysteries in our solar system. Some scientists observed that the storm formed from the white, red, orange, and brown clouds of gasses that surround the whole planet. Data from the Hubble space telescope suggests that the spot is shrinking, only engulfing a little more than one earth-sized planet in 2015 compared to three in 1995. From the first time it was observed, the spot was 48,000 km in length. Also, it is very interesting that inside the storm, the speeds are mild, but “From 2008 to 2020 showed that the wind speeds at the edges of the Great Red Spot have increased by 8%”(The Secret of the Universe). In 1979, it was 23,000 km in length, while now it is “approximately 16,350 km (10,159 miles) wide—large enough to engulf Earth” (Britannica). In 2019, the first 3D model of the Red Eye was made, to find its depth. It was found that it was “at least 200 miles into the clouds of Jupiter” (NPR). This was only possible using NASA’s spacecraft Juno, which traveled 5 years to the destination and now helps make continuous observations that before could only be made to a limited extent. Saturn’s Red Eye was a mystery until now, with the help of technological advancements, we are able to see more and know more about it.

 

Image Source:https://cdn.theatlantic.com/thumbor/x1OY-NEICIG3PAQJ4pGdTFZ5YtY=/0x227:1041×813/960x540/media/img/mt/2019/08/stsci_h_p1936a_m_1999x2000/original.png

 

Works Cited:

“NASA Finally Shows What’s Inside Jupiter’s Great Red Spot.” YouTube, YouTube, 24 Nov.2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TltVr2uUebs. Accessed 27 Feb. 2022.

“Great Red Spot.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.,https://www.britannica.com/place/Great-Red-Spot.

Byrne, Brendan. “In Jupiter’s Swirling Great Red Spot, NASA Spacecraft Finds HiddenDepths.” NPR, NPR, 9 Nov. 2021, https://www.npr.org/2021/11/09/1052773575/in-jupiters-swirling-great-red-spot-nasa-spacecraft-finds-hidden-depths.