Above: The Great Red Spot in comparison with Jupiter.
A Great Red Spot in Jupiter's atmosphere might not be as stable as believed. Researchers have noticed that the wind to the north of the red spot is below 180 km/h to the west, and south to the wind blows 150 km/h to the east. That thing pumps energy into that anticyclone along with sunlight. When those winds impact that whirl its energy level rises. And outside energy cannot fill it.
It's possible. The Great Red Spot is not stable. It might form again, and again, in the same spot, between opposite traveling winds near Jupiter's equator. In a simple model, low pressure above clouds pulls material from the inner layers of Jupiter's atmosphere over the clouds. And then that material starts to expand. If that material plate reachers the opposite moving winds they push it to rotation and that forms a whirl.
Great Red Spot and other whirls in Jupiter's atmosphere.
So how does the Great Red Spot form? There might form regular storms or tornadoes in the gas giants' atmosphere. And if the tornado is between the wind zones, where winds travel in opposite directions, that effect can transport energy to the storm. And rise it to an enormous size. We think. The Great Red Spot is enormous because it's larger than Earth. But then we must realize that everything is relative. Jupiter is a giant planet.
Much much larger than the Earth. But if we compare that giant anticyclone to Jupiter's size, we must realize that this storm's size in comparison with Jupiter's size is not so big. When researchers talk about the Great Red Spot, they forget one thing. Jupiter is a gas planet. The Great Red Spot-type phenomenon can exist only in the gas planet's atmosphere. The Great Red Spot requires that there are winds that travel in opposite directions.
Whirls in Jupiter's atmosphere.
And then another thing is that there must be a very low friction. The thing that can begin the formation of the Great Red Spot is the situation where Jupiter's moons pull the bubble into the right point of the gas giant's atmosphere. If that bubble forms between the opposite moving wind zones, that are visible as the cloud stripes. That thing can form a stable whirl.
Whirls at the edge of cloud layers form when winds move in opposite directions. When some of those whirls form the tornado above the cloud layer, that tornado can pull material over the layer. If the tornado is the border of opposite traveling winds, those winds send energy to that gas. The gas flows above the atmosphere until it releases all its energy.
https://www.ehu.eus/en/web/campusa-magazine/-/establishing-age-and-origin-of-jupiter-s-great-red-spot
https://www.nasa.gov/solar-system/jupiters-great-red-spot-a-swirling-mystery/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Red_Spot
Comments
Post a Comment