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Huge Storms Converge on Jupiter

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the things-that-go-bump-in-the-night dept.

tpoker writes to tell us NASA is reporting that the two biggest storms in the solar system are about to collide on Jupiter. From the article: "Storm #1 is the Great Red Spot, twice as wide as Earth itself, with winds blowing 350 mph. The behemoth has been spinning around Jupiter for hundreds of years. Storm #2 is Oval BA, also known as 'Red Jr.,' a youngster of a storm only six years old. Compared to the Great Red Spot, Red Jr. is half-sized, able to swallow Earth merely once, but it blows just as hard as its older cousin."

15 of 205 comments (clear)

  1. Nice job, editors! by grogdamighty · · Score: 5, Funny
    The summary is spot on! (Ba-dum, chink!)

    But seriously, did anyone else think that Hollywood is going to use this as the background for The Perfect Storm II?

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    1. Re:Nice job, editors! by Kagura · · Score: 5, Funny

      ... able to swallow Earth merely once, but it blows just as hard as its older cousin."

      Mmm... incestulicious!

  2. Collide? by thePig · · Score: 5, Informative

    From the article "There won't be a head-on collision. and the storms' outer bands will pass quite close to one another.
    I guess the summary was a little bit of a hyperbole. Esp. for an event that happens every two years.

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    1. Re:Collide? by helioquake · · Score: 5, Informative

      No, they aren't closer. It's the same as the last two encounter.

      What signifies about this particular encounter is that the small oval is thought to be intensified its strength recently (when its color changed from grey to red) and that just *might* cause a bit more interesting interaction between these two storms (when they pass by closely). It's a pure speculation based none other than intuition of scientists. Not based on a hydrodynamic simulation; just a wild ass guess on their part.

      Of course, they wouldn't say that. That'd make this whole thing, well, boring.

    2. Re:Collide? by Orp · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Congratuations. You've just described what I go through trying to simulate tornado-producing thunderstorms. Even the "how do I present the results" part. Something I deal with on a day to day basis. As far as presentation goes, I like raytracers to present scalar data and feature-detection software to find vortices. Throw in stereo viewing, animate the sucker and at the very least you've got some cool pictures and movies.

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  3. Blows as hard as the older cousin... by eric_ste · · Score: 5, Funny

    And she could swallow earth.

    At 350Mph, that's what I call a massive blow job...

  4. The Environmentalists Are Right. by bombadier_beetle · · Score: 5, Funny

    Clearly, this is evidence of Jovial warming.

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  5. Oh, great. by HisMother · · Score: 5, Funny
    the two biggest storms in the solar system are about to collide on Jupiter.

    Crap. There go my weekend plans.

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  6. looting martians by legomad · · Score: 5, Funny

    Martian looters will be shot on sight.

  7. ahh by ezwip · · Score: 5, Funny

    Red Jr. is half-sized, able to swallow Earth merely once, but it blows just as hard as its older cousin. Ahh yes, I dated them in highschool.

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  8. I would love to see it happen by w33t · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I LOVE astronomy. I think it is simply the most profound thing that we have been able to take the eye and stretch it to points beyond imagination. To look out into the cosmos is so humbling and awe-inspiring. Truly if one science has shown us simple magnificent beauty it is astronomy.

    Now having said that I will say that only one thing makes astronomy better - seeing these object in motion! Galaxies and nebula seem so unreal in hubble's photos - it's hard to fully comprehend what exactly they are - what they are really like. But when you view those precious few object we have been able to capture in motion, to me it is exquisite! Somehow, to me, it makes them that much more real, more tangible. And that is truly the dream of the soul - to somehow touch, taste, smell that which is so beautiful :)

    I hope these astronomers string together this phenomenal convergence into a movie!

    Jupiter's storms in motion
    Solar flares

    Do you have any other cool astronomical movie links?
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  9. Wise Man Say by isecore · · Score: 5, Funny

    When it blows on Jupiter, better cover Uranus.

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  10. Umm... by Davus · · Score: 5, Funny

    a youngster of a storm only six years old. Compared to the Great Red Spot, Red Jr. is half-sized, able to swallow Earth merely once, but it blows just as hard as its older cousin."
    I'm not sure what intergalactic law is, but over here, we call that "statutory rape".

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    1. Re:Umm... by alienmole · · Score: 5, Funny

      Dude, you're on Slashdot. If you were some bimbo news anchor on MSNBC you could get away with saying intergalactic. But this isn't even interstellar! It's in our own solar system, for crying out loud. The word you want is "interplanetary". Hey, and don't thank me - I kill jokes for free.

  11. Re:Pretty Sweet "Amateur" Telescope ..? by Tablizer · · Score: 5, Informative

    What kind of strength/magnification do you need to see Jupiter in that resolution?

    You are not going to get Hubble or Voyager level views. Many amatures now digitally enhence their images such that you see more in the photo than what the eye would see in the scope. One fairly recent technique is to take hundreds of digital images and then digitally average and realign the detail. The Earth's atmosphere wiggles and sometimes acts kind of like a magnifying lens. If you can capture these magnification spots when they occure and add them up, you get a nice photo.

    Anyhow, I would guess that you need at least an 8-inch reflector or 5-inch refractor to see the two spots with recognizable detail. It also depends on sky conditions and viewer training. It takes a while to train the eye to see detail on planets thru a scope.

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