New Red Spot Options

[Guest_Sunspot_*]

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/02....htm?list771283

[nprev]

Fascinating idea that this might not be Galileo's GRS...but if you think about it this makes sense. Jupiter's atmosphere is so dynamic that it's ridiculous to think of the GRS as a permanent feature in terms of geological time.

I recall some simulations a few years ago that indicated that a Spot-like storm almost always arose given a Jovian planet's assumed atmospheric properties, rotation rate, etc. But, it apparently doesn't have to be the same Spot every time. My question is whether two or more of similar magnitudes could be sustained, or does one have to die before another can fully form?

[stevesliva]

I recall some simulations a few years ago that indicated that a Spot-like storm almost always arose given a Jovian planet's assumed atmospheric properties, rotation rate, etc. But, it apparently doesn't have to be the same Spot every time. My question is whether two or more of similar magnitudes could be sustained, or does one have to die before another can fully form?

James Gleick's book Chaos referenced a 1985 paper that showed how a GRS would appear on Jupiter. The photos from the book are amongst these animations. There are some pretty neat videos there.

[JRehling]

James Gleick's book Chaos referenced a 1985 paper that showed how a GRS would appear on Jupiter. The photos from the book are amongst these animations. There are some pretty neat videos there.

I'm always suspicious of modeling results that predict the past, but they're an interesting start towards science. Note that Saturn doesn't have a great red spot, and it's pretty similar to Jupiter. Also note that Jupiter's northern hemisphere doesn't have a great red spot.

There's more than one Internet kook who insists that the GRS reflects phenomena taking place at/in Jupiter's solid core, rather than being purely a fluid dynamic phenomenon in the upper atmosphere. While it's kooky to insist so, it's an interesting conjecture. It would certainly be nice to know more about the inner 50% of Jupiter, and Juno should be an exciting mission and would be even if it had no camera at all.