Comments on: "Baby Red Spot" May Have Met Demise on Jupiter

By: RetardedFishFrog

RetardedFishFrog — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 01:11:34 +0000

The fact that a spot can apparently be destroyed, and still survive, supports the theory that some spots may be upwellings of gases caused by solid objects disrupting the flow of gas and liquid underneath the cloud surface. A spot could disappear – like disrupting a column of smoke by blowing through it – and once the disturbance (GRS in this case) is gone, then the missing spot will reform.

By: Dan

Dan — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 01:44:56 +0000

All three spots are fine as numerous amateur images taken after the last HST pic in the sequence have since demonstrated – the press release was quick but apparently off the mark …

By: RetardedFishFrog

RetardedFishFrog — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 03:59:15 +0000

It's amazing that those images were captured by Hubble.

I think the Great Red Spot is caused by a solid feature deep under the atmosphere causing gases to well up and form a persistent "storm." Jupiter has been sucking in asteroids, comets, and probably a moon or two over a long period of time. It's possible that the solid material is floating in gas that has been liquified under tremendous pressure. If true, then the GRS should eventually disappear as Jupiter's winds/currents erode it away.

By: watchful stone guardian

watchful stone guardian — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:36:30 +0000

I wonder if the co-incidence of Baby Red Spot, Red Spot Jr. and GRS all lining up at one may have led to BRS slowing down. It appears that GRS and RSJ turn in the same direction and if BRS passed between them the left hand pull from GRS and right hand pull from RSJ may have slowed BRS down enough to have it pulled into the GRS. This may have caused it capture but I wonder how much energy the GRS would have captured from a "slowed-down" BRS and how frequently such a capture would happen.