Like an adolescent unfortunate, Jupiter has got spots and it’s all down to climate change. The latest images from the Hubble space telescope reveal details of the second red spot that formed in the atmosphere of the gas giant.
This dramatic change to the Jovian weather, nicknamed most unimaginitavely, Red Spot Jr., will provide planetary scientists with an unprecedented chance to study the storms and climate of our solar system’s largest planet. RSJ was formed as a white oval between 1998 and 2000 when three white storms merged, but Hubble’s latest snaps reveal that the planet’s climate is changing. When viewed at near-infrared wavelengths (specifically 892 nm – a methane gas absorption band) RSJ is almost as prominent in Jupiter’s cloudy atmosphere as the Great Red Spot. This may mean that the storm rises miles above the top of the main cloud deck on Jupiter just as its larger cousin is thought to do. Some astronomers think the red hue could be produced as the spots dredge up material from deeper in Jupiter’s atmosphere, which is then chemically altered by the Sun’s ultraviolet light.