What is the giant red spot made of?

What is the giant red spot made of?

It is a giant gas planet, made up mostly of hydrogen and helium. One of Jupiter’s most noticeable features is the Great Red Spot, a giant, oval-shaped anticyclonic storm that has been raging for centuries and is believed to be the most powerful storm in our solar system.

How was the big red spot created?

Jupiter’s atmosphere is made up of hot gases that are constantly moving. When the swirling gases merge into one another, they create giant circling storms. Astronomers believe that several giant storms came together and formed the Giant Red Spot.

What makes Jupiter’s Red Spot red?

Some scientists think the red color comes from chemicals burrowed deep beneath the storm’s cloud tops. But other researchers say the rusty color comes from sunlight splitting up various chemicals in the storm’s upper atmosphere, which would mean the rest of the Great Red Spot is actually not very red at all.

What is it like inside the Great Red Spot?

The Great Red Spot is a giant, spinning storm in Jupiter’s atmosphere. It is like a hurricane on Earth, but it is much larger. Winds inside this storm reach speeds of about 270 miles per hour.

Does Jupiter’s Great Red Spot move?

Both move counterclockwise. The massive storm’s crimson-colored clouds spin counterclockwise at speeds that exceed 400 miles per hour – and the vortex is bigger than Earth itself. The red spot is legendary in part because humans have observed it for more than 150 years.

What is Saturn rings made of?

Saturn’s rings are made of ice and rock. These pieces vary in size. Some are as small as a grain of sand. Others are as large as a house.

How was the Great Red Spot in Jupiter formed?

Same thing must have happened with The Great Red Spot of Jupiter. This spot is around 340 years old, and must have been formed from collisions of multiple similar rotating storms.

When did the first image of the Great Red Spot come out?

On 25 February 1979, when the Voyager 1 spacecraft was 9,200,000 km (5,700,000 mi) from Jupiter it transmitted the first detailed image of the Great Red Spot to Earth. Cloud details as small as 160 km (99 mi) across were visible.

What kind of energy does the Great Red Spot have?

Great Red Spot. Instead, it may well be the equivalent of a gigantic hurricane, powered by the condensation of water, ammonia, or both at lower levels in Jupiter’s atmosphere. Alternatively, it may draw its energy from the smaller eddies that merge with it or from the high-speed currents on either side of it.

How big is the Great Red Spot from Earth?

High-resolution spacecraft pictures revealed that the feature’s pinkish cloud layer can be overlain from time to time by high-altitude white clouds, producing the gray impression seen from Earth. In the late 19th century the length of the spot was about 48,000 km (30,000 miles), and since then the spot has been shrinking.