Jupiter loses a stripe
 

Jupiter has lost one of its iconic red stripes and scientists are baffled as to why.
The largest planet in our solar system is usually dominated by two dark bands in its atmosphere, with one in the northern hemisphere and one in the southern hemisphere.
However, the most recent images taken by amateur astronomers have revealed the lower stripe known as the Southern Equatorial Belt has disappeared leaving the southern half of the planet looking unusually bare.
The band was present in at the end of last year before Jupiter ducked behind the Sun on its orbit. However, when it emerged three months later the belt had disappeared.

Journalist and amateur astronomer Bob King, also known as Astro_Bob, was one of the first to note the strange phenomenon.
He said: 'Jupiter with only one belt is almost like seeing Saturn when its rings are edge-on and invisible for a time - it just doesn't look right.'
It is not the first time this unusual phenomenon has been noticed. Jupiter loses or regains one of its belts every ten of 15 years, although exactly why this happens is a mystery.
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Jupiter has a complex belt system
The planet is a giant ball of gas and liquid around 500million miles from the Sun. It's surface is composed of dense red, brown, yellow, and white clouds arranged in light-coloured areas called zones and darker regions called belts.
These clouds are created by chemicals that have formed at different heights. The highest white clouds in the zones are made of crystals of frozen ammonia. Darker, lower clouds are created from chemicals including sulphur and phosphorus. The clouds are blown into bands by 350mph winds caused by Jupiter's rapid rotation.
Noted Jupiter watcher Anthony Wesley, who spotted an impact spot on its surface last year, has tracked the disappearing belt from his back garden in Australia.
'It was obvious last year that it was fading. It was closely observed by anyone watching Jupiter,' he told The Planetary Society.
'There was a big rush on to find out what had changed once it came back into view.'
Mr Wesley said while it was a mystery as to what had caused the belt to fade, the most likely explanation was that it was linked to storm activity that preceded the change.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete...#ixzz0nnjh4rNk

I dunno, I'm thinking that since Jupiter has weather patterns like us, maybe something finally changed. It's just that our weather patterns change more frequently than Jupiter's. It's just that Jupiter has no notable seasons, and its temperature is virtually uniform. Plus, most of its weather takes place in the part of its atmosphere that contains the white and brown "belt" layers. I mean, the whole planet is dominated by clouds, winds and storms, plus, Jupiter generates a lot of internal heat too, so who knows, maybe something changed with the rising warm air and descending cool air within the atmosphere, because this is what produces the winds that are channeled around it. I'm just thinking that since some of Jupiter's storms last for days, others last for years, and maybe something finally changed to give it its new appearance. Who, knows, the storm system that we all know of as the Red Spot on Jupiter might eventually disappear, too. Its weather changes just like ours, just not as frequently. That's the only thing that came to mind, or maybe a solar flare might have caused the changes.

Great article.:)

We need to get Al Gore to check it out

Why Al Gore? :confused:

It's a global warming joke.

Oh, then Al Gore should be checking out Venus, instead. That's global warming gone mad.:p

Very interesting read - I've always been intrigued by Europa (one of Jupiter's Galilean Satellites or moons). Europa's surface is mostly water ice and there is evidence that it may be covering an ocean of water of slushy ice. What's intriguing about this moon is that it has the potential for having a habitable zone. Life forms have been found near subterranean volcanoes on Earth and in other extreme locations that could be analogues to what could potentially exist in Europa. Jupiter has always been a favorite of mine since it is the ruling planet of Sagittarius (my zodiac sign).

Yep. Me too. I love Europa. I honestly believe that Europa may be tidally heated. I mean, imagine going ice fishing there. That would be so awesome.:p Oh, and there's actually scientists and engineers at the Jet Propulsion Lab who are beginning to think about a mission where a space probe lands, finds (or cuts or melts) a hole in the ice, and extends a submersible camera to have a peek. Since oceans were the likely place of origin for life on Earth, then the existence of life in Europa's oceans could be a possibility. Personally, in my opinion, I just think that the most remarkable feature of water isn't the "univeral solvent" that we all learned in chemistry class (I mean for anyone who took chemistry) nor is it the unusually wide temperature range over which it remains liquid. Just remember, if you've had chemistry, that water's most remarkable feature is that while most things (water included) shrink and become denser as they cool. It's just that water expands when it cools below 4 degrees Celcius, becoming less and less dense. When it freezes at zero degrees, it becomes even less dense than at any temperature when it was liquid, which is bad news for drainage pipes, but great news for fish.:p Like in the winter, as the outside air drops, below freezing, 4 degree water sinks to the bottom and stays there while a floating layer of ice builds really slowly, on the surface insulating the warmer water below. I honestly believe this is the case with Europa. I could be wrong, but God I hope not.:(

Oh, and not to double post, but if anyone is interested, you can tune into certain radio stations where you can actually hear Jupiter. Sometimes it makes a deep roar, kind of like a lion, and sometimes it makes little chirping sounds like a bird. I also believe we owe our entire existence to Jupiter. If Jupiter for some reason ever drifts away, we're toast.