Jupiter Loses One of its Belts

Font Size:

A+ A-

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.

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.

'The question now is when will the South Equatorial belt erupt back into activity and reappear?' Mr Wesley said.

The pattern for this happening is when a brilliant white spot forms in the southern zone. Gradually it will start to spout dark blobs of material which will be stretched by Jupiter's fierce winds into a new belt, and the planet will return to its familiar 'tyre track' appearance.

Jupiter will be closest to Earth on September 24, offering stargazers their best chance of seeing it without its stripe.

Via DailyMail

Like Next Post Send Share WhatsApp

Copy Link

Did you mean:

Continue With: Facebook Google

By continuing, you agree to our T&C and Privacy Policy

Report copyright infringement

Print this content

You may also like:

Science and Technology

What If the Asteroid Hit the Earth Somewhere Else?

9:21

There Was a 1 in 10 Chance for the Dinosaurs to Survive!

Have you known that had the asteroid hit Earth in a different spot, the dinosaurs could still be alive today?

Science and Technology

Why are Scientists So Excited About James Webb Space Telescope?

39:01

What's so Exciting About James Webb Space Telescope?

Why the new James Webb space telescope is much, much better than Hubble.

Nature

This Comet Will Not Return for Another Million Years

For the amateur photographer, the hard-core space fans, and everyone else, here are the night sky events you can't miss this august!

Baba Recommends

10 Fascinating Maps: Where Do Most of Us Live?

10 Cool Maps That Show How Much Unpopulated Space There Is

These maps will utterly surprise you when you realize just how unevenly the world's population is spread out. Most of the world is quite free of people!

Science and Technology