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Mystery Spot on Jupiter Baffles Astronomers
seanmeister writes "From Space.com: "Astronomers have spotted a strange, obvious and inexplicable black spot near the equator of Jupiter. A picture of the object is circling this planet electronically as researchers scratch their heads about what they've found. A second image, taken on another day by a different photographer, contains a similar looking spot. As of early today, the second image had deepened the mystery. Some astronomers were at first puzzled over whether the two photos show the same thing or not. As it turns out, they do not." I, for one, welcome our new monolith overlords!"
Wow! This is amazing.
... wait ... it appears that on closer inspection by NASA officials, the spot is merely a smudge on the surface of earth's atmosphere. They are currently sending out astronauts from the space station to wipe off what appears to be a giant extra-galactic space bug, which mistakenly thought that the earth was a some sort of space-tree, smashing into the newly-enabled earth energy barrier, in order to counter the effects of the current magnetic storm occuring in our solar system. NASA has advised citizens to stay calm, as the mess will be cleaned up shortly, restoring the viewing clarity. It appears to be some sort of crazy coincidence that the spot moves along with Jupiter. NASA estimates that this situation will be repaired before the 28th, but complications unfolding the microgravity chammie may arise.
Oh
Some conspiracy theorists believe that this may be a space ship, but this was quickly dismissed by chief NASA officials, saying that everybody knows that the space ships that are that size are orbiting Saturn.
-- Joey Joe Joe Jimbobalu
NASA PR Department
The link to the actual article.
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You mean you go all the way to Jupiter and pay $11 to tour a run-down shack with tilted tables and floors?
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
[looking at a piece of paper with a black circle on it]
Billy Bones: The Black Spot! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
</reference>
Oh, wrong black spot. Right, the 2010 black spot. So, when do we get our second sun? I don't feel like sleeping anymore.
So that's what happens when you plunge a plutonium-powered space probe into a gas giant...
10. Roy Scheider says it is hatching black slabs again.
9. Then they realized that the dark area was really that dratted corner-logo for the Sci Fi channel in the corner of the screen.
8. Zug Island: A New Beginning
7. Rush Limbaugh is passing in front of the planet.
6. Damn it, Galactus! Why did you spill your coffee again?
5. It's just the new Mystery Spot. The Wal-Drug and the Tommy Bartlett Robot World are on the other side of the planet (as if you did not know already from the billboards plastering Mars and Venus).
4. It started with a blown transformer in Cleveland, I think
3. Those sneaky bastards: New Jersey put a colony on Jupiter already!
2. "Dubya and the corporate military industrial complex are to blame"
1. Jenkins! Did you sneeze on the telescope mirror last night and forget to tell anyone?
0. "I, for one, welcome our new Jovian albedo-reducing overlords."
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
I'm an expert in this particular field - all you have to do is check to see if there is a similar spot on the other side...Your rule of thumb is 'symmetry = good. asymmetry = spend the night worrying and reconciling with all those who youve wronged until you can get a doctor to look at it and conclude that it's just a particularly old and ornery Milk Dud.'
I was googling for info and came across a page from JPL. The date is 1998 and the photo from Galileo.
An excerpt:
"A recently discovered black spot in Jupiter's clouds is darker than any featue ever before observed on the giant planet. The spot may be theresult of a downward spiraling wind that blows away high clouds and revealsdeeper, very dark cloud layers." Here's the link:
http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01496
It's pretty cool that astronomy is pretty much the only field where amateur work is not only accepted but also encouraged. if it wasn't for the thousands of people gazing up at the stars with their home telescopes, most of this stuff would get missed.
it's pretty cool some of the things you can capture with a nice 4.5" scope and a modified webcam.
or did anybody else notice that Jupiter's north pole is pointing down in these photos. Oh, yeah, and look at this page for some photos of dark spots caused by comet Shoemaker-Levi 9.
"I'm so moist I'm sticking to the leather." -Kermit the Frog on The Late Late Show
"The black spot, accompanied by at least one plume, can be seen not far away from the Great Red Spot"
Since the Gread Red Spot is twice the size of earth and I quickly estimate you could fit about two of the Red Spots between it and the black oddity, the distance between them is roughly four times the diameter of Earth. That's something like 50000 kilometers.
Not far, indeed...
Well, the button *did* say "Submit" ;-)
Moderators, just because you don't understand a metaphore or reference, doesn't mean it's not funny. And funny is *NOT* off-topic.
We could certainly use a lot less of the "I don't understand it so it must be off-topic" moderations.
"Eve of Destruction", it's not just for old hippies anymore...