Jupiter Is Missing a Belt 187
mbone writes "Jupiter just went through Superior Conjunction (i.e., went behind the Sun as seen from the Earth), so it has been out of view for a while. Now that it has returned, it is different — the South Equatorial Belt (SEB) is missing. The SEB has about 10 times the surface area of the Earth, so this is not a small change. Here are a series of photos of Jupiter's new look. The Great Red Spot typically inhabits the southern border of the SEB, but it doesn't seem to be affected by the change. It's a pity that this happened at Superior Conjunction, and that there is no satellite in Jupiter orbit, so details of the change are largely missing. The SEB has previously gone missing in 1973 and 1990. Since no one really knows what makes the Jovian belts, no one knows why they disappear either. If the belts are really just material from deeper layers coming to the surface, it is possible that the convection has stopped for some reason, or that high-altitude clouds have covered it over."
Re:New Scientist has before/after pics. (Score:2, Insightful)
I hope you get modded into the ground for being a karma whore.
Re:Shy planet? (Score:5, Insightful)
Oh yeah? Your momma's so fat that when she slept with Jupiter, Jupiter had to be on top so she wouldn't crush it!
Re:Wow, this is pretty serious. (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Except Europa. (Score:5, Insightful)
Except Europa. Attempt no landing there.
I just had a thought.
Maybe the monoliths' message to us wasn't saying "don't you dare land on Europa", maybe it was more Yoda-like, where they're saying "don't attempt to land on Europa, either do it or don't."
Re:Shy planet? (Score:4, Insightful)
I have no idea where that's coming from either. Anybody want to explain how they think anything starting with "Your momma's so fat ..." can be "insightful"?