Jupiter's Great Red Spot will not be the same as the one Cassini saw 350 years ago!

The Great Red Spot. He is without a doubt one of the most emblematic figures and, without a doubt, the greatest StormsStorms Known about our solar system. The story goes that he was noticed inAtmosphereAtmosphere to JupiterJupiter For the first time by Jean-Dominique CassiniJean-Dominique Cassinia astronomerastronomer He is of Italian origin and then obtained French citizenship. That was in 1665.

Remember that the Great Red Spot extends over a diameter approximately equal to the diameter of our Earth. And on its margins, WindWind Detonation up to 450 km/h. Cassini and his contemporaries called it… 'Permanent stain' Because they noticed it repeatedly until 1713. But by then, they had lost track of it. Until 1831. This was enough to make today's astronomers wonder if they were still observing Cassini's Great Red Spot.

The Great Red Spot continues to amaze astronomers

To find out, researchers from the University of the Basque Country (Spain) dissected historical sources to analyze the size, structure and location of Jupiter's Great Red Spot over time. in Geophysical Research LettersThey detailed their work and came to an amazing result. “It is very unlikely that the current Great Red Spot corresponds to the ‘permanent spot’ observed by Cassinithey announce in a I reported. This certainly disappeared between the mid-18th century^H And the nineteenth century^H 20th century, in which case we can now say that the longevity of Jupiter's Great Red Spot exceeds 190 years. »

thanks for the Digital simulationDigital simulationThe researchers also tested the hypotheses put forward so far about the formation of this Great Red Spot. Astronomers believe it could have formed after a giant storm, similar to those sometimes observed SaturnSaturnThe twin planet of Jupiter. It is also possible that it emerged as a result of the merger of several smaller vortices produced by wind shear from intense wind currents that flow parallel to each other, but alternate in direction with LatitudeLatitude. Jupiter's Great Red Spot could be the result of wind instability that could produce an elongated atmospheric cell.

What will happen to Jupiter's Great Red Spot?

Researchers from the University of the Basque Country point out that although A AnticycloneAnticyclone In the first two cases, they differ in shape and dynamical properties from those of the Great Red Spot that we currently observe on Jupiter. On the other hand, wind instability could have caused a “Primordial Great Red Spot” Which would have diminished over time, creating a compact, fast-rotating storm that has been observed since the end of the 19th century.^H a century.

It remains to successfully reproduce the observed shrinkage of the Great Red Spot – from about 39,000 km in 1879 to just 14,000 km today – over time to understand the physical mechanisms behind its relative stability. The researchers also plan to predict whether it will disintegrate and disappear when it reaches its maximum size. Perhaps this is what happened to 'Permanent stain' By Cassini…