The Great Red Spot is flaming hot, heats up Jupiter’s atmosphere
Observations show that Jupiter's upper atmosphere — above the Great Red Spot — is hundreds of degrees hotter than anywhere else on the planet
Image courtesy: Dillon Yothers with Luke Moore
The Great Red Spot (GRS) on the Jovian world has always intrigued man since it was first observed in the year 1830.
It continues to do so as a new finding say that it fuming hot too. The red spot is the region on the planet that radiates the highest temperature.
The GRS on the planet is a massive storm which is as big as twice the diameter of our Earth. According to James O’Donoghue, lead author of the new study and a research scientist with Boston University’s Center for Space Physics, at about 800 kilometers above this storm (Jupiter’s atmosphere) temperature is touching 370 degree celsius (700 degree Fahrenheit) above the normal temperature.
This illustration shows how a combination of gravity and acoustic waves transfers heat above the Great Red Spot to Jupiter’s upper atmosphere Image courtesy: Art by Karen Teramura, UH IfA, James O’Donoghue
The normal temperature of the Jovian atmosphere is around 930 degree celsius, however, above, the GRS temperature touches 1330 degree celsius.
Till very recently, researchers weren’t able to explain the reason behind the unusually high temperature in Jupiter’s atmosphere apart from Solar heating.
If the GRS and the turbulent storm give that appearance is indeed the primary heating source of Jupiter, then the planet’s temperature should cool down as when the GRS would shrink in size.
