Changing Your Spots

3/12/06 –3/18/06

By C. Zaitz

There is an old saying that a leopard can’t change its spots, meaning that we are who we are and changing is very difficult, if not impossible. However, news about the planets may give us hope. The biggest cat of all, the giant planet Jupiter, is changing its spots. Jupiter has always been known for its famous Great Red Spot, the mammoth rusty red storm that could swallow a couple of earth-sized planets. Recent telescopic views of Jupiter have shown an entirely new spot which has formed from smaller merging spots. The new spot is about half the size of the Great Red and almost a perfect match in color. Astronomers call it Oval BA but it has been nicknamed Red Jr.

The Great Red Spot was first reported by an astronomer named Robert Hooke in 1664. Ever since then it has been a favorite target for large and small telescopes in countless backyards. It is a large hurricane-like storm in the clouds of Jupiter. The new spot seems to have been formed by the collision and subsequent merging of smaller white storms. Astronomers have been watching this process since 2000 and the new storm has remained white, but recently the color of the new spot changed into a dusty brown and now it nearly matches the red color of its larger neighbor. Scientists still aren’t sure what gives the Great Red Spot its color, though a favorite theory has storm dynamics dredging up material from deeper in the clouds to soar 8 km above the rest of Jupiter where sunlight changes the color to a blushing red. On Jupiter at least, spots can change, though the Great Red has been fairly stable since we’ve been watching it, for over 350 years. No one knows for sure how long Great Red has been going. And time will tell what will happen with Red Jr., but I bet it will be a great excuse for telescope upgrades for many an amateur astronomer!

Jupiter is going to be out all summer. It’s been hanging out in the morning skies for the past few months, but as spring turns to summer, the mighty giant will be easy to see in the evening. Currently Jupiter is easiest to see before sunrise. It is not quite as bright as the outstanding Venus who is hanging lower and nearer the sun, but Jupiter outshines any other object in the sky at that time of the morning. Don’t forget to spy on Mars and Saturn, still spinning ‘round the Sun and easy to spot in the evening dusk. Look southward around 8pm and you’ll see the peachy Mars to the west and yellowed Saturn to the east.

Until next week, my friends, enjoy the view!