This illustration combines an image of Jupiter from the JunoCam instrument aboard NASAs Juno spacecraft with a composite picture of Earth to depict the size and depth of Jupiters Great Red Spot. Credit: JunoCam Image data: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/ MSSS; JunoCam Image processing by Kevin M. Gill (CC BY); Earth Image: NASA
Jupiters renowned Great Red Spot (GRS)– a 16,000-kilometer-wide tempest that has been churning in the planets atmosphere for numerous centuries– extends deeper into the gas giant than formerly expected, researchers report in a set of research studies that present brand-new data from the Juno spacecraft.
The findings reveal new insights into Jovian meteorology and its links to the worlds much deeper interior. Large storms and bands of turning winds abound in Jupiters atmosphere, including the excellent GRS– a storm so massive it could swallow Earth entire. Its unclear whether these storms are restricted to the uppermost parts of the planets environment or extend deeper into the world.
In a pair of research studies, Scott Bolton and colleagues and Marzia Parisi and colleagues utilize microwave and gravity measurements, respectively, from the Juno spacecraft to define Jupiters atmospheric vortices, including the GRS. According to the authors, this recommends the presence of small-scale dynamic processes, such as precipitation and downdrafts, at much deeper levels than formerly expected, which may show a connection in between Jupiters interior and deep atmosphere.
Parisi et al. taken a look at the gravity signature of the GRS and further constrained its depth. Within the gravity measurements taken as Juno flew above the GRS, Parisi et al. discovered fluctuations in the worlds gravitational field brought on by the storm. They discovered that, although the GRS is deeply rooted within the atmosphere, its far shallower than the surrounding zonal jets that power the GRS, which extend much deeper.
According to the findings, the depth of the GRS is no more than 500 (kilometers) km deep while the surrounding jets extend to depths approaching 3,000 km..
For more on this and related research, see NASAs Juno Probe Offers First 3D View of Jupiters Atmosphere, Inner Workings of Great Red Spot.
References:.
” The depth of Jupiters Great Red Spot constrained by Juno gravity overflights” by Marzia Parisi, Yohai Kaspi, Eli Galanti, Daniele Durante, Scott J. Bolton, Steven M. Levin, Dustin R. Buccino, Leigh N. Fletcher, William M. Folkner, Tristan Guillot, Ravit Helled, Luciano Iess, Cheng Li, Kamal Oudrhiri and Michael H. Wong, 28 October 2021, Science.DOI: 10.1126/ science.abf1396.
” Microwave observations expose the deep degree and structure of Jupiters climatic vortices” by S. J. Bolton, S. Levin, T. Guillot, C. Li, Y. Kaspi, G. Orton, M. H. Wong, F. Oyafuso, M. Allison, J. Arballo, S. Atreya, H. N. Becker, J. Bloxham, S. Brown, L. N. Fletcher, E. Galanti, S. Gulkis, M. Janssen, A. Ingersoll, J. L. Lunine, S. Misra, P. Steffes, D. Stevenson, J. H. Waite, R. K. Yadav and Z. Zhang, 28 October 2021, Science.DOI: 10.1126/ science.abf1015.
Big storms and bands of rotating winds are plentiful in Jupiters environment, consisting of the exemplary GRS– a storm so enormous it might swallow Earth whole. In a set of studies, Scott Bolton and associates and Marzia Parisi and coworkers use microwave and gravity measurements, respectively, from the Juno spacecraft to define Jupiters climatic vortices, consisting of the GRS. According to the authors, this suggests the existence of small-scale dynamic processes, such as precipitation and downdrafts, at much deeper levels than previously expected, which might show a connection between Jupiters interior and deep atmosphere.
