Comments and questions about the
APOD on the main view screen.
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APOD Robot
- Otto Posterman
- Posts: 5545
- Joined: Fri Dec 04, 2009 3:27 am
Post
by APOD Robot » Wed Dec 29, 2021 5:05 am
Giant Storms and High Clouds on Jupiter
Explanation: What and where are these large ovals? They are rotating storm clouds on
Jupiter imaged last month by NASA's
Juno spacecraft. In general, higher clouds are lighter in color, and the lightest
clouds visible are the relatively small clouds that dot the lower oval. At 50 kilometers across, however, even these light clouds are not small. They are so high up that they cast shadows on the swirling oval below. The
featured image has been processed to enhance color and contrast.
Large ovals are usually regions of
high pressure that span over 1000 kilometers and can last for years. The largest oval on
Jupiter is the
Great Red Spot (not pictured), which has lasted for at least hundreds of years. Studying
cloud dynamics on Jupiter with Juno images enables a
better understanding of dangerous
typhoons and hurricanes on Earth.
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alter-ego
- Serendipitous Sleuthhound
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- Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2008 4:51 am
- Location: Redmond, WA
Post
by alter-ego » Wed Dec 29, 2021 5:20 am
Wow! The resolution and looks 3D. I've not seen a Jovian image like this before. I like the enhancements.
A pessimist is nothing more than an experienced optimist
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RocketRon
Post
by RocketRon » Wed Dec 29, 2021 5:20 am
Have we figured out the composition of these 'clouds' yet ?
You'd think that with all that whirling and swirling, after hundreds of millions nay even billions of years
they would have combined into one homogeneous mass.
But obviously not....
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droyd
Post
by droyd » Wed Dec 29, 2021 5:44 am
Are there other images in sequence that could be used to make a stereo view of this area?
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Alex_515
Post
by Alex_515 » Wed Dec 29, 2021 11:08 am
This planet is a pressure cooker.
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orin stepanek
- Plutopian
- Posts: 8200
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- Location: Nebraska
Post
by orin stepanek » Wed Dec 29, 2021 1:02 pm
JupiterStorms_JunoGill_1024.jpg
Wow! The white cloud looks sloppy wet and the red one looks dry
and dirty! JMO!
really interesting that these clouds are so high
that they are casting a shadow!
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Orin
Smile today; tomorrow's another day!
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neufer
- Vacationer at Tralfamadore
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- Location: Alexandria, Virginia
Post
by neufer » Wed Dec 29, 2021 3:56 pm
RocketRon wrote: ↑Wed Dec 29, 2021 5:20 am
Have we figured out the composition of these 'clouds' yet ?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Jupiter wrote:
<<The lowest Jupiter atmospheric layer, the troposphere, has a complicated system of clouds and hazes, comprising layers of ammonia, ammonium hydrosulfide and water. The upper clouds, located in the pressure range 0.6–0.9 bar (10
5 Pa), are made of ammonia ice. Below these ammonia ice clouds, denser clouds made of ammonium hydrosulfide ((NH
4)SH) or ammonium sulfide ((NH
4)
2S, between 1–2 bar) and water (3–7 bar) are thought to exist. There are no methane clouds as the temperatures are too high for it to condense. The water clouds form the densest layer of clouds and have the strongest influence on the dynamics of the atmosphere. This is a result of the higher condensation heat of water and higher water abundance as compared to the ammonia and hydrogen sulfide (oxygen is a more abundant chemical element than either nitrogen or sulfur). Various tropospheric (at 0.2–0.5 bar) and stratospheric (at 10–100 mbar (10
2 Pa)) haze layers reside above the main cloud layers. The stratospheric haze layers are made from condensed heavy polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or hydrazine, which are generated in the upper stratosphere (1–100 μbar (10
-1 Pa)) from methane under the influence of the solar ultraviolet radiation (UV). The methane abundance relative to molecular hydrogen in the stratosphere is about 10
−4, while the abundance ratio of other light hydrocarbons, like ethane and acetylene, to molecular hydrogen is about 10
−6.
Storms are a result of moist convection in the atmosphere connected to the evaporation and condensation of water. They are sites of strong upward motion of the air, which leads to the formation of bright and dense clouds. The storms form mainly in belt regions. The lightning strikes on Jupiter are hundreds of times more powerful than those seen on Earth, and are assumed to be associated with the water clouds. Recent Juno observations suggest Jovian lightning strikes occur above the altitude of water clouds (3-7 bars). A charge separation between falling liquid ammonia-water droplets and water ice particles may generate the higher-altitude lightning. Upper-atmospheric lightning has also been observed 260 km above the 1 bar level.>>
Art Neuendorffer
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SpaceCadet
- Ensign
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- Joined: Mon Nov 11, 2019 4:43 pm
Post
by SpaceCadet » Wed Dec 29, 2021 7:37 pm
From what distance is this photo taken?
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neufer
- Vacationer at Tralfamadore
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- Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2008 1:57 pm
- Location: Alexandria, Virginia
Post
by neufer » Wed Dec 29, 2021 9:14 pm
SpaceCadet wrote: ↑Wed Dec 29, 2021 7:37 pm
From what distance is this photo taken?
https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25031
<<Original Caption Released with Image:
This image shows two of Jupiter's large rotating storms, captured by Juno's visible-light imager, JunoCam, on Juno's 38th perijove pass, on Nov. 29, 2021. This image was acquired at 50 degrees 5 minutes north latitude,
at an altitude of 6,140 kilometers. Atmospheric details as small as 4 kilometers can be discerned in the image. Bright "pop-up" clouds are visible above the lower storm, casting shadows on the cloud bank below. Although the pop-up clouds appear small in comparison to the large storm below, such clouds are typically 31 miles (50 kilometers) across.
Citizen scientist Kevin M. Gill processed the image to enhance the color and contrast, using raw JunoCam data.>>
Art Neuendorffer
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johnnydeep
- Commodore
- Posts: 3142
- Joined: Sun Feb 20, 2011 8:57 pm
Post
by johnnydeep » Wed Dec 29, 2021 10:03 pm
neufer wrote: ↑Wed Dec 29, 2021 3:56 pm
RocketRon wrote: ↑Wed Dec 29, 2021 5:20 am
Have we figured out the composition of these 'clouds' yet ?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Jupiter wrote:
<<The lowest Jupiter atmospheric layer, the troposphere, has a complicated system of clouds and hazes, comprising layers of ammonia, ammonium hydrosulfide and water. The upper clouds, located in the pressure range 0.6–0.9 bar (10
5 Pa), are made of ammonia ice. Below these ammonia ice clouds, denser clouds made of ammonium hydrosulfide ((NH
4)SH) or ammonium sulfide ((NH
4)
2S, between 1–2 bar) and water (3–7 bar) are thought to exist. There are no methane clouds as the temperatures are too high for it to condense. The water clouds form the densest layer of clouds and have the strongest influence on the dynamics of the atmosphere. This is a result of the higher condensation heat of water and higher water abundance as compared to the ammonia and hydrogen sulfide (oxygen is a more abundant chemical element than either nitrogen or sulfur). Various tropospheric (at 0.2–0.5 bar) and stratospheric (at 10–100 mbar (10
2 Pa)) haze layers reside above the main cloud layers. The stratospheric haze layers are made from condensed heavy polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or hydrazine, which are generated in the upper stratosphere (1–100 μbar (10
-1 Pa)) from methane under the influence of the solar ultraviolet radiation (UV). The methane abundance relative to molecular hydrogen in the stratosphere is about 10
−4, while the abundance ratio of other light hydrocarbons, like ethane and acetylene, to molecular hydrogen is about 10
−6.
Storms are a result of moist convection in the atmosphere connected to the evaporation and condensation of water. They are sites of strong upward motion of the air, which leads to the formation of bright and dense clouds. The storms form mainly in belt regions. The lightning strikes on Jupiter are hundreds of times more powerful than those seen on Earth, and are assumed to be associated with the water clouds. Recent Juno observations suggest Jovian lightning strikes occur above the altitude of water clouds (3-7 bars). A charge separation between falling liquid ammonia-water droplets and water ice particles may generate the higher-altitude lightning. Upper-atmospheric lightning has also been observed 260 km above the 1 bar level.>>
Ah, water - is there nothing it can't do?
--
"To B̬̻̋̚o̞̮̚̚l̘̲̀᷾d̫͓᷅ͩḷ̯᷁ͮȳ͙᷊͠ Go......Beyond The F͇̤i̙̖e̤̟l̡͓d͈̹s̙͚ We Know."{ʲₒʰₙNYᵈₑᵉₚ}
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johnnydeep
- Commodore
- Posts: 3142
- Joined: Sun Feb 20, 2011 8:57 pm
Post
by johnnydeep » Wed Dec 29, 2021 10:04 pm
alter-ego wrote: ↑Wed Dec 29, 2021 5:20 am
Wow! The resolution and looks 3D. I've not seen a Jovian image like this before. I like the enhancements.
You beat me to it. Yes, the 3D effect is striking. I really like it!
PS - only 7 more posts to go until I hit 1000. Can I do it by year's end? Hopefully there'll be some difficult questions I have about the remaining two APODs.
--
"To B̬̻̋̚o̞̮̚̚l̘̲̀᷾d̫͓᷅ͩḷ̯᷁ͮȳ͙᷊͠ Go......Beyond The F͇̤i̙̖e̤̟l̡͓d͈̹s̙͚ We Know."{ʲₒʰₙNYᵈₑᵉₚ}
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MarkBour
- Subtle Signal
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- Joined: Mon Aug 26, 2013 2:44 pm
- Location: Illinois, USA
Post
by MarkBour » Thu Dec 30, 2021 6:08 am
What a beautiful image! I am trying to understand what I'm seeing and can learn about Jupiter from this image. Let me know if I got any of the following incorrect:
Those comparatively small white clouds above the larger oval are condensed water clouds, much like on Earth. And they're floating in a transparent upper atmosphere above the main cloud deck visible on Jupiter. The main visible cloud tops are the top of the troposphere, while the stratosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere are all mainly transparent. The upper transparent atmosphere of Jupiter, is mostly molecular Hydrogen and Helium.
Mark Goldfain