Jupiter’s most famous Red Spot was first discovered by the CRIRES instrument on ESO’s very large telescope. Recently, astronomers from the University of Leicester say that they have discovered a new Great Cold Spot on Jupiter.
According to the news released by the University, this Great Cold Spot can be compared with a famous great red spot in terms of size. The temperature of the spot is really cold and at the same time, the altitude is high as well. It has been observed that the dark spot expanses 24,000 km in longitude and 12,000 km in latitude.
Science Daily reported that the spot is located in the upper atmosphere of Jupiter. It is much cooler than the surroundings, due to this reason, it is so-called The Great Cold Spot.
According to livemint, the Great Cold Spot is more volatile than the great red spot which is changing slowly. This Spot is constantly changing in the size and shape. Scientists claimed that the energy of Jupiter’s polar aurora can be the reason of this phenomena.
When the astronomers monitored the temperature and density of Jupiter atmosphere, then the Great Cold Spot stood out. Experts assumed that it could be thousands of years old, which is reappeared again. A large amount of H3+ ion is present in Jupiter’s atmosphere and allowed them to map the mean temperature and density.
Jupiter is very different from Earth but it was formed from the same material as Earth. Unlike weather system on Earth, the Great Cold Spot has been spotted at the same place across 15 years, Dr. Stallard Said. However, there is two main difference between Earth and Jupiter’s atmosphere.
Firstly, Earth's aurora sees dramatic changes caused by activity from the Sun at the same time Jupiter's aurora are dominated by grasses from the volcanic moon Io. Secondly, Earth’s aurora can spread heat quickly across the whole planet and make the upper atmosphere ring like a bell. While the Jupiter’s first spin adapts this energy nearer the poles and making a Great Clod Spot on the upper surface.
The Juno spacecraft is currently in Jupiter’s orbit and studying the Great Cold Spot in detail. The JIRAM instruments that have been launched so far and it already provides a new information about the planet. With the help of NASA’s powerful telescope, scientists hope to gain a much better understanding this weather system in next few years.
