Lick
Observatory, Mt.Hamilton, California
W.
M. Keck Observatory,
Hawaii
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Lick
Observatory, Mt.Hamilton, California
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W.
M. Keck Observatory,
Hawaii
|
HST OBSERVES JUPITER'S RED SPOTS
Telescope is giving astronomers their most detailed view yet of a second red spot emerging on Jupiter. For the first time in history, astronomers have witnessed the birth of a new red spot on the giant planet, which is located half a billion miles away. The storm is roughly one-half the diameter of its bigger and legendary cousin, the Great Red Spot. Researchers suggest that the new spot may be related to a possible major climate change in Jupiter's atmosphere. Two teams of astronomers were given discretionary time on Hubble to observe the new red spot.
[Left] This image, acquired April 8, 2006 with Hubble's Advanced
Camera for Surveys (high-resolution channel), shows that the second
red spot has a small amount of pale clouds in the center. A strong
convective event, which is likely a thunderstorm, is visible as a
bright white cloud north of the oval, in the turbulent clouds that
precede the Great Red Spot. As the oval continues its eastward drift
and the Great Red Spot moves westward, they should pass each other in
early July. This contrast-enhanced image was taken in blue and red
light. The group that performed this observation was led by Amy
Simon-Miller (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center), Glenn Orton (Jet
Propulsion Laboratory) and Nancy Chanover (New Mexico State
University). (Credit: NASA, ESA, A. Simon-Miller (NASA/GSFC))
[Right] Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys (wide field channel)
took this image of the entire disk of Jupiter on April 16. The second
red spot appears at southern latitudes, below the center of Jupiter's
disk. The new spot is approximately the size of Earth's diameter. The
image was taken in visible light and at near-infrared wavelengths, and
does not represent Jupiter's true colors. The red color traces
high-altitude haze blankets: the equatorial zone, the Great Red Spot,
the second red spot, and the polar hoods. The Hubble group that
conducted this observation is led jointly by Imke de Pater (UCB
Astronomy) and Philip Marcus (UCB Mechanical Engineering). Other team
members are Michael Wong (UCB Astronomy), Xylar Asay-Davis (UCB
Mechanical Engineering), and Christopher Go, an amateur astronomer
with the Astronomical League of the Philippines.
(Credit: NASA, ESA, I. de Pater, and M. Wong (UC Berkeley))
