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 06 July 2008 03:17 BST

Jupiter storm 'could become solar system's largest'

Thursday, 22 May 2008 13:52
The Little Red Spot covers an area roughly the size of Earth and features winds of up to 384mph

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A decades-old storm on Jupiter is close to becoming the solar system's largest after scientists observed its size and wind speeds increasing.

High resolution images of the Little Red Spot (LRS) have been combined with powerful Earth-orbital and ground-based imagery for the first time.

The LRS is one of the largest and newest storms known to astronomers, with its age being dwarfed by its Jupiter neighbour the Great Red Spot (GRS), which has raged for more than three centuries.

But as the GRS shrinks in terms of velocity and stature its smaller counterpart is showing signs of overtaking.

Scientists say they have gained a greater understanding of LRS' future after combining data from Nasa's Pluto-bound New Horizons spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope and the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope.

The anticyclone covers an area roughly the size of Earth and features winds of up to 384mph, more than double a category five storm.

Dr Andrew Cheng of the John Hopkins University applied physics laboratory commented that the rapid changes observed at LRS remained one of the solar system's mysteries.

"This unique set of observations is giving us hints about the storm's structure and makeup; from this, we expect to learn much more about how these large atmospheric disturbances form on worlds across the solar system," he explained.End of story


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