Last Month , Hubble contract a beautiful new exposure of Jupiter and its frosty lunation Europa . The swirling cloud and giant tempest that move across its atmosphere are caught in incredible particular in this range . And if beauty is not enough in itself , it also capture some exciting science .
The mental image was taken when the largest satellite in our Solar System was 653 million kilometers ( 406 million mile ) from Earth , over four times the distance between our major planet and the Sun . The image show up two of the essence changes to the Jovian standard pressure , one in each hemisphere . The observations were lead onAugust 25 .
In the Northern Hemisphere , at about mid - latitudes ( just above Europa in the image below ) , there is a bright white stretched storm with winds moving at a walloping 560 km ( 350 miles ) per hour . This spectacular feather was first spotted on August 18 and since then a 2nd one has formed .
These kinds of storms are not strange on Jupiter , but astronomers are perplexed by some dismal splotches that trail behind the feather . These have been observed before , conduct researchers to question if we are witnessing the formation of a major storm in the Northern Hemisphere .
The Southern hemisphere of Jupiter already has major storms call on the carpet . TheGreat Red Spothas precedence in both age ( several centuries ) and size , 15,770 kilometre ( 9,800 miles ) , much larger than Earth . But it is not alone . Oval BA ( just below the Great Red Spot in this range ) formed in 2000 after the hit of three white storms . By 2006 , the tempest had shift color , flex deep red and gaining the name of Red Spot Jr.
Since then , the violent storm has been fade back to its original Andrew Dickson White but it appears this is not happening anymore . The center of the storm may be changing back to red ink . It is still many shades aside from the Great Red Spot , but it is distinctly not white any longer .
The squad also collected a beautiful double of what the major planet look beyond the visible spectrum of light . The combination of observations from ultraviolet to the good infrared , exemplify in a blue , ashen , and pinkish combo , foreground the daze particle that are present in the atmosphere of Jupiter . The observance help astronomers to make out how deep in the atmospheric state the haze is located .
