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Jupiter's Great Dark Spot

Posted by chrisd on from the places-to-visit-on-vacation dept.

Edball writes "For more than a century astronomers thought that the Great Red Spot was the biggest thing on Jupiter. Not anymore. Images from NASA's Cassini spacecraft have revealed something at least as large, The Great Dark Spot." In related solar system news, pajamacore writes "Space.com reports that the first extrasolar planet to have its atmosphere detected is having its gas envelope boiled off by heat and blown away by tidal forces. At present, the planet is 70% the size of Jupiter but its orbit is closer to its parent star than Mercury's is to our own Sun. It should be a treat to eventually see the planet's core and maybe it'll clue us in a bit to gas giant formation."

5 of 195 comments (clear)

  1. Looks suspicious by MacroRex · · Score: 5, Funny

    Maybe it's just me, but the dark spot in the center of the animation looks very artificial. It's clearly six-sided until the very end of the animation. Maybe the poor astronomer was bored and just wanted to have some material published for a change, you know, have his fifteen minutes of fame. Or it's the aliens. Always the aliens, dammit.

  2. Leave it alone... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Jupiter's probably very sensitive about it.

  3. Dave? Is that you? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    They didn't happen to take a close up of it and discover a cloud of spinning blocks, size 1kmx4kmx9km, did they?

  4. Another spot? by megazoid81 · · Score: 4, Funny

    When will astronomers find Jupiter's G-spot?

  5. Uhm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    when have astronomers *ever* found a G-spot?

    I kid, I kid ;)