Scientists have found something interesting on Jupiter. They discovered tornado-like storms that create big, dark patches in the planet’s atmosphere. These patches are huge, like the size of Earth! They absorb ultraviolet light and are only visible in special light.
The dark patches were first seen by the Hubble Space Telescope around the poles of Jupiter in the late 1990s. Later, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft confirmed them in 2000. At first, no one knew where they came from.
Now, a student named Troy Tsubota from the University of California, Berkeley, and his team have an answer. They believe these dark patches are made by swirling magnetic tornadoes. These tornadoes happen because of friction between magnetic fields on Jupiter.
The team studied images from Hubble taken from 2015 to 2022. They found dark patches at the south pole most of the time but saw one at the north pole only once.
These storms are different from the colorful auroras we see on Earth. The new research shows that the dark patches form and then disappear in a few weeks. This means Jupiter might be having its own tornadoes in space.
This study was published in the journal Nature Astronomy on November 26.
Vocabulary List:
- Atmosphere /ˈæt.məsˌfɪr/ (noun): The envelope of gases surrounding the planet.
- Ultraviolet /ˌʌltrəˈvaɪlɪt/ (adjective): Having a wavelength shorter than visible light but longer than X-rays.
- Tornadoes /tɔːrˈneɪ.doʊz/ (noun): Violently rotating columns of air extending from thunderstorms to the ground.
- Swirling /ˈswɜːrlɪŋ/ (verb): Moving in a twisting or spiraling pattern.
- Patches /ˈpætʃɪz/ (noun): Pieces or areas of a surface that are different from the rest.
- Disappears /ˌdɪs.əˈpɪrz/ (verb): Ceases to be visible or to exist.
How much do you know?
Where were the dark patches discovered on Jupiter?
How were the dark patches first observed?
What happens to the dark patches in Jupiter's atmosphere?
What did the team led by Troy Tsubota believe caused the dark patches on Jupiter?
Where did the team study images of Jupiter to analyze the dark patches?
What was the duration of the dark patches formation and disappearance as mentioned in the research?
The dark patches on Jupiter were first observed by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft.
The team led by Troy Tsubota studied images of Jupiter taken by the Hubble Space Telescope from 2012 to 2022.
The dark patches on Jupiter are similar to the colorful auroras seen on Earth.
Jupiter might have its own tornadoes in space according to the new research.
The dark patches on Jupiter are caused by volcanic eruptions.
The team led by Troy Tsubota is from Harvard University.
The dark patches on Jupiter were first seen by the Hubble Space Telescope around the poles in the late .
Troy Tsubota and his team analyzed images taken from Hubble between and 2022.
According to the study, the dark patches on Jupiter form and disappear in a few .
The team confirmed that dark patches at the south pole of Jupiter were observed most of the time, while at the north pole, they were seen only .
The dark patches on Jupiter are believed to be made by swirling .
The research about the dark patches on Jupiter was published in the journal Astronomy on November 26.