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Jupiter's Little White Spot Turns Red

Posted by timothy on Thu Oct 12, 2006 12:22 PM
from the time-for-space-prom dept.
Space Science
Feelyat writes "NASA is reporting that a small storm that formed on Jupiter last year has changed color from white to red. According to an article in Yahoo News, scientist Amy Simon-Miller speculates that the storm might have gained strength as it decreased in size, similar to how 'spinning ice skaters go faster when they move their arms closer.' She says that the storm has probably 'picked up red material from lower in the Jupiter atmosphere, most likely some form of sulfur which turns red as part of a chemical reaction ...' Well, we might be one planet down, but our Solar System can still surprise."
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  • Science: Jupiter's Little White Spot Turns Red
    Look, I've read about this guy [wikipedia.org], and we do not want to piss him off.

    Ok, we have Gold Bond Medicated Powder [goldbond.com], we have astronauts, let's get up there and fix this!

  • Yesterday's News, but how about comet SWAN? (Score:5, Informative)

    by ackthpt (218170) * on Thursday October 12 2006, @12:24PM (#16410681) Homepage Journal

    Read all about it before the Lidle crash took the top spots on Google News. It's interesting, but really, Jupiter is always up to something with that turbulent atmosphere. Streams of spots have appeared in the past and vanished again. [space.com] This will probably hang around for a bit and then go the way of other spots.

    Meanwhile, there's Comet C/2006 M4 (SWAN) [nasa.gov], which is near it's peak magnitude, visible just after sunset which is my primary viewing target [heavens-above.com] this weekend. It's going to be around until early December, but at declining magnitudes.

    Ob ISR Post:

    In Soviet Russia little reds spot YOU!

    you hear the ghost of Bill Goodwin ellaborating on swan, the new white floating comet

  • Is is space day on Slashdot?

  • slashdot needs to check its demographic (Score:5, Funny)

    by sentientbrendan (316150) on Thursday October 12 2006, @12:27PM (#16410731)
    for most of us, these are not local weather conditions.

  • Atmospheric turbulence (Score:5, Informative)

    by BWJones (18351) * on Thursday October 12 2006, @12:29PM (#16410759) Homepage Journal
    So, we've known for some time about the potential for atmospheric mixing in the Jovian atmosphere. In a way, I guess this would have been expected. For an animation of the Great Red Spot and its turbulence, click here [utah.edu] and scroll down.

  • Uh oh (Score:5, Funny)

    by Rosco P. Coltrane (209368) on Thursday October 12 2006, @12:31PM (#16410785)
    I just got an email from blackmonolith@langrangepoint.jupiter.com that says:

    ALL THESE WORLDS ARE YOURS EXCEPT EUROPA
    ATTEMPS NO LANDING THERE
    USE THEM TOGETHER
    USE THEM IN PEACE

    It's all in caps though, so it's probably spam...
    • if Jupiter has acquired one of those monolith WMD we must invade and liberate it

    • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      just got an email from blackmonolith@langrangepoint.jupiter.com that says: ...
      It's all in caps though, so it's probably spam...



      ALL THESE DRUGS ARE YOURS EXCEPT V14GR4
      ATTEMPT TO BUY IT HERE!
      USE THEM TOGETHER
      USE THEM LONG TIME


      hmm, crappy post. let's make this anonymous.
    • Dude, I just watched 2010 last night!
      What timing!

      I'm waiting for blackmonolith@langrangepoint.europa.com before I accept it as not spam though :)
      -nB
      • Yeah, I wonder what the chances of that are? Considering there are about a million geeks reading this, and geeks are only going to watch a small subet of all the movies out there. And there are stories about Jupiter every couple of weeks...wow, astronomical.

        Go buy a lottery ticket!
    • One of the most masterful reinterpretations of the end of 2010 is this: http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=182038 &cid=15049398 [slashdot.org]

      ALL THESE WORLD ARE BELONG TO YOU EXCEPT EUROPA
      ATTEMPT NO SET YOU DOWN THERE
      USE THEM TOGETHER
      IN TIME MAKE YOUR PEACE
      HA HA HA HA
      • IN AD 2010
        war was ending

        Dr. Chandra: What happen?
        HAL: Somebody set up us the monolith
        HAL: We get signal, Dave
        Dr Chanrda: What?!
        HAL: Main screen turn on
        Dr Chandra: it's you!
        Dave: How are you gentlemen?
        Monolith: All your Europa are belong to us
        Monolith: Land there are you are on the way to destruction
        Dr Chandra: What you say!!
        Monolith: You have chance to make your peace
        Dave: Ha Ha Ha Ha
        Monolith: Take off every other planet together
        Dave: Take off every Leonev
        Dr. Chandra: Move Leonev
        Hal: For great justice
    • Shouldn't Jupiter have a top-level domain? blackmonolith@L2.jupiter
    • More to the point, TCP/IP will timeout before getting to Mars, much less Jupiter.

  • Title??? (Score:5, Informative)

    by Spez (566714) on Thursday October 12 2006, @12:31PM (#16410795)
    FTA (emphasis mine):

    The Little Red Spot's winds, now raging up to approximately 400 miles per hour, signal that the storm is growing stronger, according to the NASA-led team that made the Hubble observations. The increased intensity of the storm probably caused it to change color from its original white in late 2005, according to the team

    It turned red last year and now its just stronger. Please editors RTFA!!!

  • Well, we might be one planet down, but our Solar System can still surprise.

    Uh, Mars?

    Cheers,
    IT
    • I think by 'one planet down' they meant one fewer, as in, Pluto no longer being a planet. ;)
      • I thought they re-instated Pluto and added a 10th planet?
        • No, the Tenth Planet [wikipedia.org] would be Mondas. Just watch out for the Cybermen if you go there.
          • It's ok. Those cybermen are all in bodystockings and have been subjected to endless reruns of Up Pompeii. It's the cybermen with the air-conditioning unit on the chest that you've got to watch for.
  • I think it was caused by increased industrial emissions by the planet's richest countries.
  • Changed color from white to red

    Why does this always happen on a Thursday? I'd recommend putting some cream on that, it should disappear by tomorrow, just in time for Ashley's party too (Jordan will be there, he's well yummy). Don't squeeze it though, that'll leave a scar.

  • Levees are bursting on Jupiter, and the increase in the number of hurricanes has been directly linked to the SUV-related climate changes brought to you by the evil corporationy Corporations.

  • It just the little spot's monthly visitor. Probably why its been nagging the Big Red Spot so much recently. Just give her a couple days to herself; go fishing or visit that college friend in the next town over. Once you get back everything will be back to normal.
  • Looking at those pictures of Jupiter, they're dated back to April 8th and 16th of 2006.

    It makes me wonder... Why did NASA wait half a year before making this public? What's going on with Jupiter right now?
    • What's happening with Jupiter right now? It ate Pluto, forever ending the debate over its planetary status.

  • Discovered by an amateur (Score:3, Insightful)

    by burris (122191) on Thursday October 12 2006, @01:27PM (#16411581)
    Christopher Go of Cebu City Philippines discovered earlier this year that Oval BA turned red. Chris is one of the world's premier amateur planetary imagers. Check out his page dedicated to Red Jr. [redspotjr.com].

    Even in the day of the great orbiting observatories and huge ground based intereferometers, there is still room for amateurs working with modest equipment to make discoveries.

  • I'd suggest consulting a dermatologist.

  • ... and not the spot on Uranus.
  • Jupiter is done!
    Come get it while it's hot!
  • ...I think this means that Jupiter is pregnant.

    • That the next colour is blue. It's the only way they could get Bush to fund the the space programme you see... the Pointless American TRIO (of colours) Trip Act.

      Well, it is campaign season in the US and wind velocity has certainly increased and swirled between Capitol Hill and Florida, spinning, ever spining. But you know Bush doesn't want to see a Blue State on Jupiter. Or was astrology more the forte of the Reagans?

      • "Or was astrology more the forte of the Reagans?"

        I think the religious right started burning astrologers at the stake last week.
    • No, I think one more red planet is good for Bush. I don't think he'd be happy with more blue planets.
      • Ah, good old slashdot. A cum-and-blood disease joke warrants a funny mod, whereas you get screwed with a flamebait mod for cleverly turning it into a joke about the miracle of the flow. Probably some foul smelling geek who wishes he went outside enough to play druid wiccan, which he imagines would mean he gets laid more often, but in reality means he'd just be a different kind of smelly hippie.

        Having Metric Shitloads of excellent Karma is good, and the occasional troll can be invigorating. Do your worst, fi

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