Jupiter's New Red Spot

[Scott A. Kampas]

March 3, 2006: Backyard astronomers, grab your telescopes. Jupiter is growing a new red spot.
[...]
The official name of this storm is "Oval BA," but "Red Jr." might be better. It's about half the size of the famous Great Red Spot and almost exactly the same color.

Oval BA first appeared in the year 2000 when three smaller spots collided and merged. Using Hubble and other telescopes, astronomers watched with great interest. A similar merger centuries ago may have created the original Great Red Spot, a storm twice as wide as our planet and at least 300 years old.

 

[Andy Wehrle]

The planet has acne.

 

[Scott A. Kampas]

Vampire Vortices Suck Each Other's Energy

From the humble swirling of bathwater down the drain to the violent storm on Jupiter, vortices thrive by sucking the energy from smaller ones, report researchers. Such vortex cannibalism contradicts the common view that vortices grow via benevolent mergers. But it confirms a famous hypothesis and could help explain how energy moves through the atmosphere and the oceans.

 

[Austin Ivey]

Here's a cool article related to this:

http://www.lanl.gov/news/index.php?fuseact...y&story_id=8004