Mystery of Jupiter's persistent geometric storms may be solved

[Judi Lynn]

By Charles Q. Choi 3 hours ago

But scientists still don't know how the weird storms formed.



This composite image from the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument on NASA’s Juno spacecraft shows the central cyclone at Jupiter's north pole and the eight cyclones that encircle it.
(Image: © NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/ASI/INAF/JIRAM)

The mystery of how giant cyclones stay together in geometric patterns around the poles of Jupiter may now be solved, but new questions have emerged as to how these clusters formed in the first place, a new study finds.

After NASA's Juno probe entered orbit around Jupiter in 2016, the spacecraft discovered giant cyclones arranged in geometric patterns around the world's poles. At the planet's north pole, there are eight vortices surrounding a central vortex, and at the south pole there are six.

"We were surprised that Jupiter's poles are not like those of other planets," study lead author Cheng Li, a planetary scientist at the University of California, Berkeley, told Space.com. "We never saw anything before like these clusters of cyclones organized into regular patterns."

Each gargantuan tempest ranges between 2,485 to 4,350 miles (4,000 to 7,000 kilometers) wide, and they encircle their respective poles at distances of 5,400 miles (8,700 km). These cyclones and these patterns have endured for at least four years since Juno arrived at Jupiter.

More:
https://www.space.com/jupiter-polar-vortices-stability.html?utm_source=notification