Photo credit: NASA, ESA, STScI, A. Simon (Goddard Space Flight Center), M.H. Wong (University of California, Berkeley), and the OPAL team
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has captured stunning new images of Jupiter on Aug. 25, 2020, when the planet was 406 million miles from Earth. In these images, you can see a bright, white, stretched-out storm traveling around the planet at 350 mph, while the Great Red Spot is rolling counterclockwise in the planet’s southern hemisphere. The image on the right was captured in ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared light at the same time, giving researchers a new perspective of the giant planet. Read more for a video and additional information.
You may also notice that the Red Spot Jr. has been fading in color to its original shade of white after appearing red in 2006. With that said, the core of this storm now appears to be darkening slightly, which means that the spot could be on its way to turning to a color more similar to its cousin once again. It also shows that Jupiter is clearing out its higher altitude white clouds, especially along the planet’s equator, where an orange-like hydrocarbon smog wraps around it.
- Computerized star locating telescope: The Celestron NexStar 130SLT is a computerized telescope that offers a database of more than 40,000 stars, galaxies, nebulae, and more. The telescope locates your object with pinpoint accuracy and tracks it. Compatible with 2 inch eyepieces
- Compact and portable: This telescope for adults and kids to be used together is ideal for weekend camping trips or excursions to dark sky sites. Its compact form factor makes it easy to transport and assemble just about anywhere.
- Newtonian reflector optical design: The NexStar 130SLT is the largest in the SLT family. The 130mm aperture gathers enough light to see our Solar System and beyond. View Saturn’s rings, Jupiter’s cloud bands, and the Moon in brilliant detail.
- Fast setup with skyalign: Celestron’s proprietary SkyAlign procedure has you ready to observe in minutes. Simply center any three bright objects in the eyepiece and the NexStar SLT aligns to the night sky, ready to locate thousands of objects.
- Bonus free starry night software: The NexStar 130SLT Computerized Telescope includes a free download of one of the top consumer rated astronomy software programs for an interactive sky simulation. Compatible with starsense technology and WiFi
Researchers say the Great Red Spot now measures about 9,800 miles across, big enough to swallow Earth. The super-storm is still shrinking as noted in telescopic observations dating back to 1930, but the reason for its dwindling size is a complete mystery,” according to NASA.