Slashdot Mirror
Jupiter's Great Red Spot Is Shrinking
cjstaples noted a CNN story proclaiming that
Jupiter's signature red spot is shrinking. Over a 10 year study, the giant storm lost just over half a kilometer per day for a total loss of about 15%. Scientists know about shrinkage, right?
Perfect time to send some spam to Jupiter.
OMG its full of ponies!
Yes. And, so?
If humans are accelerating the change in equilibrium conditions on Earth, that is against our own interests, as we are adapted to current conditions. We should, in that case, be interested in how to stop doing that.
On the other hand, if the equilibrum conditions on Earth are changing naturally, then allowing that to happen unchecked is against our interests, as we are adapted to current conditions. We should, in that case, be interested in how to slow those naturally-occuring changes.
Let me be the first to say that the Great Red Spot is too big to fail!
Here I was ready to make some crack
I knew it!
Even drug dealers read Slashdot!
Storms are created by temperatures differences, which are in turn created by sunlight warming different areas at different rates. So yes, the same kinds of things will happen on Jupiter, if nothing else based on the temperature difference from the day to the night side. The real question is, why has the Red Spot been so stable for so long?
Think about it; surface features shouldn't effect warming rates since all solar radiation is absorbed long before it gets to the surface. Pockets of atmosphere will absorb heat at different rates, but those pockets aren't stationary. That leaves complex, self-correcting fluid dynamics or massive surface features that significantly change the wind patterns hundreds or thousands of miles up or something we just don't understand yet. All of which are pretty interesting.
Let me just point out that it's very cold in space. Even with the sun nearby, I think we'd all experience at least a little bit of shrinkage if we were in Jupiter's position and it's not fair for the other planets to laugh at him.
Venus: That's what every man says. The truth is, you're just upset that Saturn has over 200 satellites to your... uhh... 63. Plus, you've completely lost control of your weight these past few millenia and have horrible acne. Seriously, clean up your atmosphere and do something about those red splotches and maybe you'll have a chance with some of the inner planets.
#fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
'Natural' doesn't equate to "OK". If mean sea levels are rising, and continue to rise to the point that a significant fraction of the human population is put at risk and a significant fraction of international economy is put at risk, it's still a problem. Whether the FSM causes it or human-derived CO2 is the main driver, it's still a problem.
Your assertion that "overall level of societal wealth, comfort and knowledge tends to move upwards over time" is true, so far, for very short values of 'time'. It's good to look ahead and see if there are issues that might cause you to rethink your assumptions and subsequently your behavior. In the end, the ecosystem of Earth will deal with anything either mankind or the universe throws at it. Your progeny just might feel more generous towards us if we took a longer view of things.
QOTD: "If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular error." -- John Kenneth Galbraith
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
Maybe one day the global warming alarmists and hoaxsters will realize that change is a *natural* thing in this universe whether caused by inanimate or animate forces
How about this, lets all declare global warming a myth and then go and convert to clean energy anyway, because maybe, just maybe, we could stop polluting our streams, rivers and lakes.
Even if global warming is a complete and total fabrication, polluting our land and water IS NOT.
Must you turn something going on on an entirely different planet into a political rant?
Global warming may or may not be affected by humans (I find it hard to believe that it isn't to at least some degree), but that has nothing at all to do with this story.
Personally, I think the Red Spot is shrinking because illegal immigrants are taking jobs from the Americans that would normally be maintaining it.
You are overlooking one important energy source: Jupiter itself. Because of ongoing differentiation, Jupiter produces about twice as much energy as it receives from the Sun. Given this and the fact that this source is coming from below rather than above, it is likely the more important contribution to the dynamics of the atmosphere.
"I guess the moral of the story is, don't paint your airship with rocket fuel." -- Addison Bain
It's also worth remembering that some of the most populated parts of the Earth are also very close to sealevel. It wouldn't take much of a rise to displace very, very large numbers of people --- like, billions, and they're not just going to sit there and drown.
If this ever happens, you're going to have an extremely large number of intelligent, highly motivated people looking, in order, for (a) somewhere to live and (b) someone to blame.
The simple technical problems involved with climate change will be nothing compared to the political problems.
The problem in your logic is that people won't be looking for somewhere else to live. The people will be whining to the government to create a way for them to live beneath sea level at the expense of all the people who don't live near the ocean.
Yes it's an anecdote! Were you expecting original research in a Slashdot comment?