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Jupiter's Great Cold Spot
Space.com reports [space.com] on the discovery, published in Geophysical Research Letters [wiley.com] of an unusually cold area in Jupiter's atmosphere:
The cool patch stretches up to 15,000 by 7,500 miles (24,000 by 12,000 km) across at its largest, and it's about 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius) cooler than the surrounding area in the planet's upper atmosphere. Although it disappears from time to time it seems to always re-form, just offset from the planet's bright aurora.
According to a press release [le.ac.uk],
The Great Cold Spot is thought to be caused by the effects of the magnetic field of the planet, with the massive planet’s spectacular polar aurorae driving energy into the atmosphere in the form of heat flowing around the planet.
This creates a region of cooling in the thermosphere, the boundary layer between the underlying atmosphere and the vacuum of space. Although we can't be sure what drives this weather feature, a sustained cooling is very likely to drive a vortex similar to the Great Red Spot.
The press release has links to videos about the phenomenon.
related stories:
JunoCam Works, First New Images From Jupiter Sent Back [soylentnews.org]
Videos: Auroras on Jupiter [soylentnews.org]
Jupiter’s Spooky Sounds: Emissions from Jupiter’s Auroras Captured [soylentnews.org]
