Weather has a constant impact on our lives.
We can't go out for a picnic if there's heavy wind and rain.
In most cases, no one wants to go to the local store when the weather is bad outdoors.
People would always choose to stay at home.
However, the catastrophes we face on Earth are minor compared to what occurs on other
planets.
Yes, if you aren’t comfortable with extreme heat and cold, it will be really difficult
for you to live on the planet we'll be discussing today.
Prepare yourselves, grab your armrest firmly, because we're heading on a trip to Jupiter's
Great Red Spot!
Are you ready?
Let us not waste any moment.
To begin, let's get familiarized with the Great Red Spot.
So, this is how it looks.
It appears to be a massive eye on the surface of the multicolored giant planet.
This place appears beautiful and tranquil from afar, but in truth, it is the greatest
vortex in the entire solar system.
Even if the fare is free, you wouldn't want to make the actual trip there.
At the same time, even if Jupiter were habitable, you'd probably be discouraged from visiting
the Great Red Spot by its natives.
They would encourage you not to go there.
Why?
The weather here isn't anything you'd want to be in, and it hasn't altered in decades.
Severe storms, strong winds ranging from 400 to 618 kilometers per hour or approximately
250 to 384 miles per hour, and intense heat reaching 1300 degrees Celsius, or about 2400
degrees Fahrenheit could be experienced in its upper atmosphere.
Perhaps such a wind speed, storm, and heat would be insignificant to an alien resident.
However, for a person like you who is accustomed to Earth's weather, this would be really hard
for you.
It's worth mentioning that our planet's biggest hurricanes aren't even half as powerful as
the whirlwind surrounding Jupiter.
I'll give you a few examples to help you grasp what I mean.
Wind can break roof tiles off at speeds of up to 88 kilometers per hour or about 55 miles
per hour.
Wind can flip cars at 252 kilometers per hour or about 156 miles per hour.
A wind of slightly over 100 kilometers per hour or approximately 62 miles per hour is
usually sufficient to throw a person weighing 80 kilograms or 176 pounds from the ground
up into the air.
Then consider the wind speed on Jupiter that I mentioned earlier.
Can you picture what might happen if the Great Red Spot suddenly moved to our planet?
That would be truly awful.
You might be wondering where this anticyclone originates from.
To understand, Jupiter's atmosphere consists of continually flowing gases of varying temperatures,
and this is where everything started.
These gases saturate the entire Jupiter, moving vertically and horizontally freely, without
any obstacle stopping in their way.
This is due to the fact that there is no solid body on Jupiter that can stop this centuries-old
storm.
Massive vortices are formed when these gas fluxes merge and twist.
And the Great Red Spot was once developed by several of these storms.
When exactly did this occur?
Nobody knows the answer.
However, it is believed that it was first seen in the 17th century.
And here’s something intriguing: for many years, the entire world assumed that the region
was solid.
They even thought that it was some kind of crater or mountain.
However, in 1979, the iconic probe Voyager 1 answered the mystery when the Great Red
Spot is vividly evident in detailed photos that the probe has delivered to Earth.
From there, it was clear that the Great Red Spot is a type of atmospheric formation.
Another important point to know is that the Great Red Spot has no fixed place.
It travels slowly along the equator, consuming smaller storms that pass through its path.
However, even if it is fueled by other storms, the red spot is shrinking slowly but gradually.
In fact, it was around twice as massive and substantially brighter approximately 100 years
ago.
However, it's soaring higher and higher, covering the planet's fresh layers of the atmosphere.
We couldn’t ignore the vastness of the Great Red Spot, especially that it could easily
swallow the Earth, and even after that, there could still be plenty of space inside.
Its depth is around 300 kilometers or about 186 miles.
This is, by the way, 50 to 100 times deeper than any ocean on Earth.
A fascinating aspect is that the Great Red Spot operates under its own set of rules.
This is seen in how the gas moves inside the vortex.
It rotates counterclockwise and takes six Earth days to complete a full rotation.
Two streams of air flowing in opposite directions keep it going at one point of latitude.
However, experts are concerned that in around 70 years, this factory for producing storms
would cease to function fully.
This is because the anticyclone, its main component, will vanish one day.
What do you think about Jupiter's Great Red Spot so far?
If you've made it this far in the video, you're clearly enjoying it.
Give it a like, subscribe so you don't miss anything, and let us know what you think in
the comments section.
Let's keep it going now.
Because this atmospheric formation is the only bright point on Jupiter's pale surface,
it’s easy to notice.
But what gives the vortex its color?
The truth is that the spot grows pale first, before it becomes red.
This happens due to the chemical reactions involving ammonia and acetylene which enter
the spot under the impact of ultraviolet light, according to the most accepted theory.
But here's another thing: the spot possesses another ability that scientists discovered
lately.
Before, scientists had no explanation as to why Jupiter's outer atmosphere has intense
heat.
Since the planet is millions of kilometers or miles from the sun, it is quite unusual
that the temperature is hundreds of degrees higher than what is expected.
Scientists finally found the answer for this: the planet is warmed not just by the polar
lights, but also by the Great Red Spot.
The Great Red Spot acts as a giant stove, providing heat to the solar system's largest
planet.
This happens because of gravitational acoustic waves.
Turbulence in the atmosphere above the enormous anticyclone causes them to form.
The Great Red Spot is, in general, a different world greater than Earth, with crazy wind
speeds, intense temperatures, and tremendous pressures interacting with one another.
It's worth mentioning, though, that Jupiter's Red Spot isn't the only spot in the solar
system.
Aside from the Great Red Spot, Saturn also has The Great White Spot, which has wind speeds
of up to 500 kilometers per hour or about 311 miles per hour.
It has come and departed eight times in nearly 150 years of observation, and each time it
departed, it took a while to come back, allowing itself to rest for around 30 years.
Thirty years may seem like a long time on Earth, but according to Saturn's calendar,
the Great White Spot occurs once per year.
It looks like a white comet with a long tail that surrounds the entire Saturn planet.
The Great Dark Spot on Neptune is another example of this.
Its lifespan, on the other hand, was much shorter, lasting only approximately five years.
Although it may have existed longer than that, no one can prove it since it was only discovered
in 1989.
The wind speed around this location is incredible, at 2100 kilometers per hour or 1300 miles
per hour, and its size is equivalent to our planet.
Sadly, this fascinating event can no longer be examined properly because Neptune's Great
Dark Spot vanished without a trace in 1994, leaving behind all of its unanswered mysteries.
However, 22 years later, a very identical event occurred in the planet's northern hemisphere.
I can only hope that this one will stay a little longer and allow us to get a better
look at it.
Soon, Jupiter may change and establish a solid surface by the end of the twenty-first century,
and the only relics of the Great Red Spot will be articles about it on the internet.
After all, the Great Red Spot, Jupiter's primary source of heat that has warmed the planet
for millennia, will vanish.
Although scientists say it's too soon to make a judgment, no one knows how or when the solar
system's greatest vortex will dissipate.
It might become smaller and spherical.
Or, on the other hand, it could explode after swallowing a storm by accident.
In any event, even if the Great Red Spot's days are numbered, no one can rule out the
creation of another.
The currently developing anticyclone Oval BA could take its place.
Maybe another storm will form, or the same reddish spot may form southward of its older
and larger neighbor.
We have no idea what will happen next in this vast, strange universe.
So, how about you?
What are your thoughts on the Great Red Spot?
Let us know in the comments section!
If you enjoyed this video, give it a thumbs-up, and don’t forget to subscribe to this channel.
Please click the bell icon so you’ll be notified when new videos are posted.
And as always, thanks for watching Ponder This.