Hubble’s image shows that Jupiter is clearing out its higher-altitude white clouds, especially along the planet’s equator, which is enveloped in an orangish hydrocarbon smog. is on its way to reverting to a colour more similar to that of its cousin. However, now the core of this storm appears to be darkening to a reddish hue. has been fading in colour to its original shade of white after appearing red in 2006. Researchers are noticing that another feature has changed: the Oval BA, nicknamed by astronomers as Red Spot Jr., which appears just below the Great Red Spot in this image. The reason for its dwindling size is a complete mystery. The super-storm is still shrinking, as noted in telescopic observations dating back to 1930, but its rate of shrinkage appears to have slowed. Researchers say the Great Red Spot now measures about 15 800 kilometres across, big enough to swallow the Earth. The Great Red Spot is currently an exceptionally rich red colour, with its core and outermost band appearing deeper red. Hubble shows that the Great Red Spot, rolling counterclockwise in the planet’s southern hemisphere, is ploughing into the clouds ahead of it, forming a cascade of white and beige ribbons. Researchers speculate this may be the beginning of a longer-lasting northern hemisphere spot, perhaps to rival the legendary Great Red Spot that dominates the southern hemisphere. Trailing behind the plume are small, counterclockwise dark clumps also not witnessed in the past. While it’s common for storms to pop up in this region, often several at once, this particular disturbance appears to have more structure behind it than observed in previous storms. This single plume erupted on 18 August 2020 and another has since appeared. The new image also features Jupiter’s icy moon Europa.Ī unique and exciting detail of Hubble’s new snapshot appears at mid-northern latitudes as a bright, white, stretched-out storm moving at 560 kilometres per hour. 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 Great Red Spot changing colour - again. This latest image of Jupiter, taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope on 25 August 2020, was captured when the planet was 653 million kilometres from Earth.
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