Universe Today » Jupiter

Jupiter's Dueling Red Spots

Tammy Plotner — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:56:39 +0000

Even though most of us have been suffering from poor seeing conditions due to both hemisphere's seasonal climate changes, the changes we're experiencing look like nothing compared to what's happening on Jupiter. If you think we've got turbulent atmosphere and more than our fair share of clouds – then check out what John Chumack's been watching! (...)
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Craters on Vesta and Ceres Could Show Jupiter's Age

Nancy Atkinson — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:03:14 +0000

Scientists use crater distributions to tell the ages of planetary surfaces on rocky bodies. But how can the ages of gas planets be determined? Believe it or not, possibly from craters. Scientists from the National Institute of Astrophysics in Rome say that crater patterns on the two largest asteroids in the asteroid belt, Vesta and Ceres, could help pinpoint when Jupiter began to form during the evolution of the early Solar System. Their study modeling the cratering history of the two asteroids – which are believed to be among the oldest in the Solar System — indicates that the type and distribution of craters would show marked changes at different stages of Jupiter’s development.
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Chasing An Occultation

Tammy Plotner — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 18:20:27 +0000

You've all heard me talk about watching the Moon occult a bright star. That's when we get a great example of stellar parallax from our Earthly viewpoint! But did you know that there are several other heavenly bodies that can cause an occultation that's easy to view through an amateur telescope if you just know when and where to look? Then let's take this opportunity to check it out… (...)
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Observe the Jupiter Impact Site!

Tammy Plotner — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 20:38:22 +0000

Have you stayed up late and observed the Jupiter impact site? Then don't be goofing around. Not since July 16-22, 1994 when comet Shoemaker-Levy crashed into Jupiter's southern hemisphere have amateur astronomers had the opportunity to witness history firsthand! What makes me think that you can do it? Because I have… (...)
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Viewing the Jupiter Impact With Your Telescope

Tammy Plotner — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 20:48:39 +0000

Are you ready to stay up a little late and see if you can catch the new dark spot on Jupiter from what could have either been an asteroid or comet impact? It happened somewhere between July 17th and 19th and the scar is still fresh and visible. However, there is just a little bit you need to know to make your viewing the Jupiter impact through your telescope a success. (...)
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New Image of Jupiter Impact in Infrared

Nancy Atkinson — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 12:56:32 +0000

After getting whacked unexpectedly by a small comet or asteroid, Jupiter is sporting a "bruise," which has been big news this week. In visible wavelengths, the impact site appears as a black spot. But in a new image taken in near infrared by the Gemini North telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawai'i, the spot shows up in spectacular glowing yellow.

"We utilized the powerful mid-infrared capabilities of the Gemini telescope to record the impact's effect on Jupiter's upper atmosphere," said Imke de Pater from the University of California, Berkeley. "At these wavelengths we receive thermal radiation (heat) from the planet's upper atmosphere. The impact site is clearly much warmer than its surroundings, as shown by our image taken at an infrared wavelength of 18 microns."
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Jupiter Impact Confirmed

Nancy Atkinson — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 01:45:25 +0000

As we reported yesterday, an amateur astronomer snapped evidence of an impact on Jupiter. Now, NASA has confirmed the black spot on the giant gas planet is in fact an impact and not just a weather-related disturbance. And Anthony Wesley has now made the biggest observation of his life.

"It still feels very surreal right now," he told Universe Today. "I guess it will take some time to really sink in (pun intended). I guess it shows that persistence and many hours at the scope eventually pays off."
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Possible New Impact on Jupiter

Nancy Atkinson — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 21:12:04 +0000

Amateur astronomer Anthony Wesley from Canberra, Australia captured an image of Jupiter on July 19 showing a possible new impact site. Anthony's image shows a new dark spot in the South Polar Region of Jupiter, at approximately 216° longitude in System 2. It looks very similar to the impact marks made on Jupiter when comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 crashed into the gas giant in 1994. (But read the Bad Astronomer's post that the black spot could also be weather.)
UPDATE (7/20): It has been confirmed this is an impact on Jupiter. Mike Salway shared the news Glenn Orton from JPL has imaged the Jupiter black spot with the NASA Infrared Telescope and he has confirmed it's an impact.

The list below shows the times (in UT) when the black spot will be visible again (generated in WinJupos by Hans-Joerg Mettig), and found on the Mike Salway's Ice In Space website.
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Jupiter's Fiery Moon Io Could One Day Break Free, Go Dormant

Anne Minard — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:01:30 +0000

Io may be close to thermal equilibrium, according to a study published this week in Nature. And if the new findings are correct, the volcanically wild moon could one day break free of Jupiter's hold — and lose its rare, volcanic splendor.

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Jupiter, Saturn Plowed Through Asteroids, Study Says

Anne Minard — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 18:01:16 +0000

When Mars and Jupiter migrated to their present orbits around 4 billion years ago, they left scars in the asteroid belt that are still visible today.

The evidence is unveiled in a new paper in this week's issue of the journal Nature, by planetary scientists David Minton and Renu Malhotra from the University of Arizona in Tucson.

The asteroid belt has long been known to harbor gaps, called Kirkwood gaps, in distinct locations. Some of these gaps correspond to unstable zones, where the modern-day gravitational influence of Jupiter and Saturn eject asteroids. But for the first time, Minton and Malhotra have noticed that some clearings don't fit the bill.

"What we found was that many regions are depleted in asteroids relative to other regions, not just in the previously known Kirkwood gaps that are explained by the current planetary orbits," Minton wrote in an email. In an editorial accompanying the paper, author Kevin Walsh added, "Qualitatively, it looks as if a snow plough were driven through the main asteroid belt, kicking out asteroids along the way and slowing to a stop at the inner edge of the belt."

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Jupiter's Moon Plays Hide-and-Seek with Hubble

Nancy Atkinson — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 16:44:05 +0000

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has caught Jupiter's moon Ganymede playing a game of hide-and-seek. In this crisp Hubble image, Ganymede is shown just before it hides behind the giant planet. Images like this one are not only gorgeous and enjoyable to look at, but are also useful for studying Jupiter's upper atmosphere. As Ganymede passes behind the giant planet, it reflects sunlight, which then passes through Jupiter's atmosphere. Imprinted on that light is information about the gas giant's atmosphere, which yields clues about the properties of Jupiter's high-altitude haze above the cloud tops. And because Hubble's view is so sharp, we can learn more about Ganymede as well. Visible are several features on the moon's surface, most notably the white impact crater, Tros, and its system of rays, bright streaks of material blasted from the crater. Tros and its ray system are roughly the width of Arizona. Hubble has amazing eyesight!

And there's a movie, too!

More about Ganymede and Jupiter…
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Jupiter Could Have Earth-like Rocky Core

Nancy Atkinson — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:00:50 +0000

Jupiter has a rocky core that is more than twice as large as previously thought, according to computer calculations by a geophysicist who simulated conditions inside the planet on the scale of individual hydrogen and helium atoms. "Our simulations show there is a big rocky object in the center surrounded by an ice layer and hardly any ice elsewhere in the planet," said Burkhard Militzer from University of California, Berkeley. "This is a very different result for the interior structure of Jupiter than other recent models, which predict a relatively small or hardly any core and a mixture of ices throughout the atmosphere." A comparison of this model with the planet's known mass, radius, surface temperature, gravity and equatorial bulge implies that Jupiter's core is an Earth-like rock 14 to 18 times the mass of Earth, or about one-twentieth of Jupiter's total mass, Militzer said. Previous models predicted a much smaller core of only 7 Earth masses, or no core at all.
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It's Official: Juno is Going to Jupiter

Nancy Atkinson — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 21:11:51 +0000

NASA has decided to return to Jupiter with a mission to conduct an unprecedented, in-depth study of the largest planet in our solar system. The mission is called Juno, and it will be the first in which a spacecraft is placed in a highly elliptical polar orbit around the giant planet to understand its formation, evolution and structure. Missions to Jupiter have been on again, off again, with a mission to Europa falling during the 2006 budget cuts, and the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (which would have used a nuclear reactor to power an ion engine to send an orbiter to 3 of Jupiter's moons) getting the ax in 2005. Juno has been on the table since 2004, surviving budget cuts, although the mission has experienced delays. But it looks official now, and the spacecraft is scheduled to launch in August 2011, reaching Jupiter in 2016.
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Best Ground-Based Image of Jupiter — Ever!

Nancy Atkinson — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:11:07 +0000

Everyone loves twinkling stars and moonlit nights—EXCEPT astronomers. But astronomers are crafty people, so they've come up with ways to mitigate the distortion that Earth's thick atmosphere causes for ground based telescopes (from which stars appear to twinkle). And now, a new image-correction technique has delivered the sharpest whole-planet ground-based picture ever. The Very Large Telescope (VLT) performed a record two-hour observation of Jupiter using a breakthrough technique to remove atmospheric blur. And what a result! Just take a look at that gorgeous image…And this new image reveals changes in Jupiter's smog-like haze, probably in response to a planet-wide upheaval more than a year ago.
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Planetary Scientists Studying Changes in Red Spot Junior

Nancy Atkinson — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:54:09 +0000

As far as storms go, nothing will rival Jupiter's Great Red Spot (GRS). But of interest is a smaller and newer storm called Oval BA, a giant anticyclone on Jupiter also known as Red Spot Junior. 'Smaller' is a relative term, as although Oval BA is about half the size of GRS, it has a diameter about the size of our Earth. It formed in 2000 as several vortices converged. However, recently Oval BA has undergone some changes. Suddenly it turned from white to red in a period of just a few months, and planetary scientists are trying to understand the processes that could cause the changes. While they are able to explain some of Red Spot Junior's attributes, they are puzzled by others.
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Could Jupiter and Saturn Contain Liquid Metal Helium?

Ian O'Neill — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 00:05:56 +0000

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Rendering of a blue liquid metal... could this be what metallic helium looks like? Source: http://tinyurl.com/6lffol (waxellis)

The interiors of the two gas giants, Jupiter and Saturn, are pretty extreme places. With atmospheric pressures of around 70 million Earth atmospheres, the phases of material become a bit difficult to understand. Usually when we think of a liquid metal, we have thoughts about liquid mercury at room temperature (or the reassembling liquid metal T-1000 played by Robert Patrick in the film Terminator 2), rarely do we consider two of the most abundant elements in the Universe to be a liquid metal in certain conditions. And yet, this is what a team of physicists from UC Berkley are claiming; helium and hydrogen can mix together, forced by the massive pressures near the cores of Jupiter and Saturn, forming a liquid metal alloy, possibly changing our perception of what lies beneath those Jovian storms…
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StarGazer's Telescope: Jumpin' Jupiter!

Tammy Plotner — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 00:35:58 +0000

Greetings, Fellow Stratos Dwellers! Have you had more than your fair share of clouds lately and are hankering for a few photons? Skies haven't been spectacular in this part of the world either and when it is clear, the heat is sure making it difficult to get a nice steady view. But, it's a nice night out. Wanna' take out the StarGazer's telescope and have a look at Jupiter? I'll see you in the back yard… (...)
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"Baby Red Spot" May Have Met Demise on Jupiter

Nancy Atkinson — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:59:21 +0000

The Great Red Spot on Jupiter has been observed for over 150 years, and it doesn't appear this anti-cyclonic storm is showing any signs of letting up. How does it maintain its power? Well, like a planetary Pac-Man, it "eats up" other storms, zapping them of their power. The sequence of images here from the Hubble Space Telescope shows three different storms on Jupiter: The Great Red Spot, Red Spot Jr. (otherwise known as Oval BA, to the south of GRS), and Baby Red Spot, to the left of GRS in the first two images. Baby got a little too close to big brother GRS, and may have been snuffed out. But GRS keeps on keeping on. These three natural-color Jupiter images were made from data acquired on May 15, June 28, and July 8, 2008, by the Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2.
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Hubble Spies Third Red Spot on Jupiter

Nancy Atkinson — Thu, 22 May 2008 17:17:03 +0000

Jupiter appears to be breaking out with spots, as a third red storm has joined the Great Red Spot and Red Spot Jr. (or Oval BA) in the planet's turbulent atmosphere. This third spot used to be a white storm, and its change to a red color might mean the storm is becoming more powerful. Astronomers believe these new images captured by both the Hubble and the Keck telescope may show that Jupiter is undergoing a major climate change, as was predicted four years ago.
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Could Jupiter Wreck the Solar System?

Ian O'Neill — Fri, 02 May 2008 23:48:00 +0000

Scientists have expressed their concern that the Solar System may not be as stable as it seems. Happily orbiting the Sun, the eight planets (plus Pluto and other minor planets) appear to have a high degree of long-term gravitational stability. But Jupiter has a huge gravitational influence over its siblings, especially the smaller planets. It appears that the long-term prospects for the smallest planet are bleak. The huge gravitational pull of Jupiter seems to be bullying Mercury into an increasingly eccentric death-orbit, possibly flinging the cosmic lightweight into the path of Venus. To make things worse, there might be dire consequences for Earth…
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Jupiterâ€™s Rings Are â€˜Made in the Shadeâ€™

Nancy Atkinson — Thu, 01 May 2008 13:30:55 +0000

Robotic spacecraft can gather a lot of data, and sometimes it takes years to sort through all the information acquired. Case in point: The Galileo spacecraft orbited Jupiter from 1995-2003. One discovery made by this mission was an anomaly in Jupiterâ€™s rings. For the most part, the rings fall into the standard model of ring formation where the ring particles are shepherded by the orbits of four of Jupiterâ€™s moons; Adrastea, Metis, Amalthea and Thebe (closest to farthest.) But a faint outward protrusion of dust extends beyond the orbit of Thebe, and scientists were mystified why this was occurring.

But a new study of data from the Galileo mission has found that this extension results from the interplay of shadow and sunlight on dust particles that make up the rings.
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New, Unexpected Spots Found on Jupiter

Nicholos Wethington — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 11:38:11 +0000

Jupiter is a spotty place. There's the aptly-named Great Red Spot â€“ a large, long-lasting storm â€“ that we all know and love, and new storms crop up every so often to create interesting features for astronomers both professional and amateur to study. The most recent discovery of new spots can only be seen in the UV, but they add a whole new level of complexity for scientists to chew on.(...)
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Jupiter has Van Allen Belts too, Just Bigger; Implications for Space Weather Prediction

Ian O'Neill — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 23:12:13 +0000

Jupiter has a powerful magnetic field 20,000 times stronger than the Earth's. It is therefore of no surprise that the highly energetic and damaging particles flying around in the Earths Van Allen Belts can be found within Jupiter's magnetosphere too. But are the mechanisms energizing these particles the same for both planets? New research suggests that the magnetospheres of Jupiter and Earth may have more in common than previously thought…
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Gigantic Storms on Jupiter Grow in a Single Day

Fraser Cain — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 19:27:25 +0000

As a giant planet, Jupiter takes everything to the extreme. Even the weather. A ferocious storm raging across the cloud tops has surprised scientists: it's churning up material that was deeper down in the planet's atmosphere. And there's evidence that the planet's jet streams are generated by its own heat, and not just from the Sun.
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New Horizons Makes Surprising Discoveries at Jupiter

Fraser Cain — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 22:16:05 +0000

Remember when New Horizons sped past Jupiter on its way to Pluto. It kept its cameras rolling during the flyby, and captured hard drives full of data. Researchers have had a chance crunch through some of this data, and announced a series of discoveries this week: polar lightning storms, clumpy rings, volcanic eruptions on Io, and more.
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