麻豆传媒

Hubble has sent back the clearest pictures yet of Jupiter鈥檚 new red spot.

The storm, dubbed 鈥淩ed Spot Junior鈥� is roughly half the diameter of the Great Red Spot, a huge storm that has churned away on Jupiter for at least 400 years 鈥� when humans first started observing the gas giant planet.

On 8 April 2006, the Hubble Space Telescope鈥檚 Advanced Camera for Surveys took new pictures of the baby storm, which was initially known as White Oval BA before it changed to the same salmon hue as the Great Red Spot (see 鈥�Jupiter opens a second red eye鈥�) . The storm formed when three white oval storms merged between 1998 and 2000. Those white storms existed for about 60 years.

The red colouring could come from material brought up from deeper within Jupiter鈥檚 atmosphere and then altered by the Sun鈥檚 radiation. If this is indeed what is happening, it may be a sign that the storm is intensifying.

Near-infrared measurements indicate that the Red Spot Jr storm may reach high above the main clouds, similar to the Great Red Spot. The two red spots are expected to pass one another in early July 2006.

The newly released images may give weight to the idea that Jupiter is in the middle of significant climate change. Temperatures at some latitudes could be changing by over 5掳C, scientists suggest.

Another link to climate is that Red Spot Jr is forming at a latitude of 34掳 south. Theory has it that this is the where the transfer of heat from the equator to the pole grinds to a halt.