TORONTO – It’s hard to imagine a massive hurricane with winds of almost 650 km/h that lasts 150 years or longer, but that’s just what’s been going on in Jupiter’s atmosphere and scientists still don’t know why.
The most powerful hurricane on Earth was about 1,600 km across with winds of 320 km/h, paltry when you imagine that the Great Red Spot on Jupiter is almost 18,000 km across with winds twice that strong.
READ MORE: WATCH: Stunning video shows Jupiter’s moons crossing planet
Jupiter is the most massive planet in our solar system — 1,000 times bigger than Earth. Though while Earth is rocky, Jupiter is a gaseous giant, with mainly a liquid ocean of hydrogen at its core and mostly helium and hydrogen in its atmosphere.
But astronomers don’t know exactly what is fuelling the massive storm. They believe that the clouds in the planet’s upper atmosphere consist of ammonia, ammonium hydrosulfide and water, but are unsure as to whether or not they contribute to the planet’s dynamic swirling colours found in the storm.
A recent theory is that cosmic rays may give the storm its reddish colour.
Cosmic rays bombard space. They are high-energy radiation particles that come from outside our solar system. The theory suggests that a layer of ammonium hydrosulfide interacts with these cosmic rays or even ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Still, other chemicals can interact with ammonium hydrofulfide, so even if experiments here on Earth turn it red, that doesn’t mean that’s the exact process that’s taking place on Jupiter.
As astronomers and planetary scientists try to determine the cause of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, a mission that could aid in their research is set to arrive at the giant planet in July 2016. NASA’s Juno mission is equipped with instrumentation that will delve deeper into understanding the planet’s composition, magnetic fields and atmosphere.
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