Great Red Spot

Image Thumbnail	Title	Orbit
Time set 1: Near-Infrared
	Near-Infared Filter (B/W frame)	1
	Violet Filter (B/W frame)	1
Time sets 1 and 2	Time Series of the Great Red Spot (near-infrared filter, time sets 1 and 2)	1
Time set 2	The Great Red Spot at Four Different Wavelengths	1
Time set 3: False Color	True Color	1
	False Color
	Near-Infared Filter (B/W frame)
	Violet Filter (B/W frame)
	Methane 1 Filter (B/W frame)
	Methane 2 Filter (B/W frame)
	NIMS image of GRS	1
	NIMS Spectral Maps of Jupiter's Great Red Spot	1
	PPR Temperature Map of GRS	1
	Jovian Temperatures--Highest Resolution	7
	Jupiter's Great Red Spot	1
	Dynamics of Jupiter's Great Red Spot in Near Infrared	1
	New Territory West of the Great Red Spot	1
	6-frame Montage of Jupiter's Great Red Spot	1
	Thunderheads on Jupiter	1
	Mesoscale Waves in Jupiter's Atmosphere	1
	Time changes in Storm Clouds in Jupiter's Atmosphere	1
	Height of Storm Clouds in Jupiter's Atmosphere	1
	Storm Clouds in Jupiter's Atmosphere	1
	Changes in Jupiter's Great Red Spot After Four Months	3
	Jupiter Stratospheric Haze Comparison	3
	Turbulent Region near Jupiter's Great Red Spot	9
	'Family Portrait' of Jupiter's Great Red Spot and the Galilean Satellites	1

Description of the Area:

The Great Red Spot has been observed on Jupiter since the 17th century, when it was discovered by the first telescopic observations of the planet. It is about three Earth diameters in the East-West direction and two Earth diameters in the North-South direction. It contains a circulating anti-cyclonic flow that takes about six days to complete one rotation. The spot greatly perturbs the neighboring turbulent cloud structures.

The Great Red Spot observations will be a 2x3 rectangular array of images, two frames wide in the North-South direction and three frames wide in the East-West direction. Images will be shuttered at four different times, and in four different colors. There will be 70 frames altogether.

Questions we hope to answer:

• Why has the Great Red Spot remained in existence for over 300 years given the large amount of turbulent activity within the Jovian atmosphere?
• What is the cloud structure, composition, and temperature within the Great Red Spot?
• How deep into Jupiter's atmosphere does the red spot extend?
• What are the speeds and directions of the winds within the Great Red Spot?
• What causes the reddish color within the Great Red Spot?

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Galileo Solid State Imaging Team Leader: Dr. Michael J. S. Belton

The SSI Education and Public Outreach webpages were originally created and managed by Matthew Fishburn and Elizabeth Alvarez with significant assistance from Kelly Bender, Ross Beyer, Detrick Branston, Stephanie Lyons, Eileen Ryan, and Nalin Samarasinha.

Last updated: September 17, 1999, by Matthew Fishburn

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