APOD: Jupiter in 2015 (2015 Oct 24)

[APOD Robot]

Jupiter in 2015

Explanation: Two remarkable global maps of Jupiter's banded cloud tops can be compared by just sliding your cursor over this sharp projection (or follow this link) of image data from the Hubble Space Telescope. Both captured on January 19, during back-to-back 10 hour rotations of the ruling gas giant, the all-planet projections represent the first in a series of planned annual portraits by the Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy program. Comparing the two highlights cloud movements and measures wind speeds in the planet's dynamic atmosphere. In fact, the Great Red Spot, the famous long-lived swirling storm boasting 300 mile per hour winds, is seen sporting a rotating, twisting filament. The images confirm that Great Red Spot is still shrinking, though still larger than planet Earth. Posing next to it (lower right) is Oval BA, also known as Red Spot Junior.

<< Previous APOD

This Day in APOD

Next APOD >>

[/b]

[Boomer12k]

A very dynamic planet indeed.
And great pics, and comparison.

:---[===] *

[ol1bit]

I can't believe the speed is only 300 MPH, the size is just crazy. I'm not sure the human mind can fathom the forces at work there....well, I guess that could be said for any Planets.

[astromac]

Looking att the two pictures, one after another, I seem to detect faint reddish "spokes", somewhat similar to those seen on Saturn's rings.
They are vertical, and there are about five of them. The reason I spotted them is that they move a little bit between the two pictures.
What could they be?

[FLPhotoCatcher]

Looking att the two pictures, one after another, I seem to detect faint reddish "spokes", somewhat similar to those seen on Saturn's rings.
They are vertical, and there are about five of them. The reason I spotted them is that they move a little bit between the two pictures.
What could they be?

Are the "spokes" most visible at the top and bottom of the pictures? If so, I think they are artifacts of the process of stitching together the several photos used to make a whole-planet map.

[Chris Peterson]

Looking att the two pictures, one after another, I seem to detect faint reddish "spokes", somewhat similar to those seen on Saturn's rings.
They are vertical, and there are about five of them. The reason I spotted them is that they move a little bit between the two pictures.
What could they be?

Are the "spokes" most visible at the top and bottom of the pictures? If so, I think they are artifacts of the process of stitching together the several photos used to make a whole-planet map.

Not just the stitching (although the individual frames were interpolated and smoothed where they are stitched, which does create artifacts), but also from the entire processing stream, which included things like correcting intensity for incidence angle and removing limb darkening. All of this processing becomes more evident as we near the poles, because they represent mathematical singularities with a cylindrical projection like this. The distortion and other artifacts are significant at the highest latitudes.

[neufer]

---

The Sound and the Fury: Hurricane Patricia vs. Jupiter’s Great Red Spot
Astrobob

Jupiter’s iconic Great Red Spot is a gigantic storm similar to a hurricane with gusts up to 425 mph. In this illustration, a typical Category 5 hurricane is a mere dot (right) compared to the Spot, which is about twice as big as Earth. Credit: NASA

[Peter R]

In December of 2013 I started a megaproject with 6 other amateur planetary photographers . We showed the evolution of Jupiters cloudbelts for 3 consecutive month speeded up 1 million times! This project took 6 month full time to complete.
We called it "Voyager 3" as a tribute to the fantastisc Voyager 1 and 2 missions in the 1970ies and the film can be viewed on https://vimeo.com/98291257 .
This last spring we made a 12-days follow-up with the colaboration of 3 extremely skilled amateurs from Australia and one from Holland to show 3 complete rotations of the GRS https://vimeo.com/125851831

/*Peter R

[Ann]

---

The Sound and the Fury: Hurricane Patricia vs. Jupiter’s Great Red Spot
Astrobob

Jupiter’s iconic Great Red Spot is a gigantic storm similar to a hurricane with gusts up to 425 mph. In this illustration, a typical Category 5 hurricane is a mere dot (right) compared to the Spot, which is about twice as big as Earth. Credit: NASA

Thanks, Art, great comparison!

For myself, I love planet Jupiter. It's so colorful, dynamic and majestic. Did I say colorful?

I think it is my favorite planet - after the Earth, of course!! - as long as it stays in its orbit around 5 AU from the Sun, and doesn't start messing the solar system up. If it does, it will be my least favorite planet, I promise!

But for now, go, Jupiter!

Ann

[Gideon]

Great pair of maps; could we get a similar pair for the planet we live on?