Hubble detects "wiggling" of the Great Red Spot on Jupiter: what is this formation that is larger than the Earth

Astronomers have been observing Jupiter's legendary Great Red Spot (GRS), an anticyclone large enough to swallow the Earth, for 350 years. New Hubble telescope observations of the red storm, collected over 90 days from December 2023 to March 2024, show that the GRS is not as stable as it may look.

The latest data show that the Great Red Spot is wobbling like a bowl of jelly. Combined images from the Hubble telescope allowed astronomers to assemble a slow-motion video of GRS's wobbly behavior, which confused them, NASA writes.

"While we knew the storm's motion varied somewhat in longitude, we didn't expect the size variation. Thanks to Hubble's high resolution, we can tell that GRS is finally contracting and expanding at the same time when it is moving faster and slower. This was very unexpected, and there is currently no hydrodynamic explanation," said lead author Amy Simon of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

What is the Big Red Spot?

According to scientists, the Great Red Spot (GRS) is an atmospheric formation on Jupiter and the most prominent feature on the planet's disk, which was discovered by Italian-born French astronomer Giovanni Cassini in 1665.

Before the Voyager space program, many astronomers believed that the spot was solid in nature. However, thanks to NASA missions, we learned that the GRS is a giant anticyclone vortex, measuring 24-40 thousand kilometers in length and 12-14 thousand kilometers in width. Although the size of the spot is constantly changing, it is still significantly larger than the Earth.

Interestingly, the wind speed inside the spot exceeds 500 km/h.

Hubble research

According to NASA, Hubble annually observes Jupiter and other outer planets of the Solar System through the Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program.

Scientists emphasize that understanding the mechanisms of the largest storms in the solar system puts the theory of hurricanes on Earth in a broader cosmic context that can be used to better understand meteorology on planets around other stars.

Amy Simon's team used Hubble to zoom in on the Great Red Spot and take a closer look at its size, shape, and color changes.

"When we look more closely, we see that many things change from day to day," the researcher said.

Observations in ultraviolet light show that the clear core of the storm becomes brightest when the GRS is at its largest size in its oscillation cycle. This indicates less absorption of fog in the upper atmosphere.

"By speeding up and slowing down, the GRS pushes wind jets to the north and south of it. It's like a sandwich where the slices of bread are forced to bulge when there is too much filling in the middle," explained one of the researchers, Mike Wong from the University of California, Berkeley.

The researchers hope that future Hubble images will be able to identify other parameters of Jupiter that indicate the main cause of the wobble.

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