May 8, 2006
JUPITER IN THE BALANCE (via Bryan Francoeur):
New Storm on Jupiter Hints at Climate Change (Sara Goudarzi, 04 May 2006, Space.com)
A storm is brewing half a billion miles away and in a rare event, astronomers get to watch it closely.Jupiter is growing a new red spot and the Hubble Space Telescope is photographing the scene. Backyard astronomers have been following the action, too.
"Red Spot Jr." as it is being called, formed after three white oval-shaped storms—two of which were at least 90 years old—merged between 1998 and 2000. [...]
The latest images could provide evidence that Jupiter is in the midst of a global change that can modify temperatures by as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit on different parts of the globe.
Future historians will mourn the stubborn Jovian refusal to join the Kyoto Treaty.... Posted by Orrin Judd at May 8, 2006 12:07 PM
And I'll bet if Al Gore looks hard enough through a telescope, he can find ManBearPig running around on the Jovian surface...
Posted by: John at May 8, 2006 12:51 PMIn other news, astronomers make claim that Mercury's surface temperature is a result of global warming and not the planet's proximity to the sun (which ignited and spews forth heat and radiation because of global warming, as well)
Posted by: KRS at May 8, 2006 1:01 PMBy Al Gore's logic, industrialized economies have now been proven to exist on Jupiter.
Posted by: Tom C.,Stamford,Ct at May 8, 2006 1:05 PMFor anyone interested, here is an amateur astronomer who has a series of views of Jupiter for this year:
Posted by: jd watson at May 8, 2006 2:11 PMI haven't been able to spot Jr. yet with my scope, but will keep trying.
Posted by: Foos at May 8, 2006 2:52 PMActually, most Jovians were in favor of Kyoto, but that darn Great Red Spot just refused to go along...
Posted by: b at May 8, 2006 3:00 PMjd. What gorgeous pictures. Thanks.
Posted by: erp at May 8, 2006 7:19 PMHmmm. Mars is warming as well. We should never have gone there.
Posted by: Genecis at May 8, 2006 10:00 PM