Spot On | by Brian Koberlein

NASA/JPL

In 1665 Gian Domenico Cassini noticed a characteristic on Jupiter. It was described as an oval about 1/7 the width of the planet itself, and because it appeared reddish in shade it turned referred to as the Nice Crimson Spot. Since then the spot has been noticed over time by each skilled and newbie astronomers. It has been Jupiter’s most outstanding characteristic for practically 4 centuries.

Early on it was thought that the spot was a characteristic of Jupiter’s floor, and it was used to estimate the rotation of the planet. We now know that Jupiter is a gasoline large, and it rotates differentially just like the Solar. The polar areas rotate a bit extra slowly than the equatorial area, and the crimson spot strikes at a barely completely different velocity than both. Curiously, the latitude of the spot has remained pretty constant over the centuries, at about 20 levels south of the equator.

NASA/JPL

We additionally know that the spot is steadily reducing in measurement. This has been noticed because the Thirties, however new outcomes present that appears to be shrinking at an ever sooner charge. It’s now shrinking by about 580 km per 12 months. At that charge it may disappear inside a pair many years. Whether or not it is going to disappear remains to be unknown. We’ve noticed storm options just like the crimson spot seem and disappear on Jupiter, however these have been a lot smaller.

It’s additionally potential that the spot could disappear for some time solely to reappear later. Though there have been observations of the spot over the centuries, there seems to be a spot from 1713 to 1830 when there doesn’t appear to be any recorded observations of the spot. That could be as a result of nobody was actually enthusiastic about it, or it may very well be that the spot wasn’t there. It’s potential that the trendy Nice Crimson Spot will not be the identical as Cassini’s.

If the Nice Crimson Spot does disappear, most of the people will doubtless lament its passing as they lament the demotion of Pluto. On this case, nevertheless, it received’t be the fault of astronomers.