Thanks to images of Jupiter obtained by the Juno probe, a team of oceanographers has studied the forces that drive the giant planet’s polar cyclones.
Since then their arrival in the system jovien Inquiry in July 2016 juno makes us happy her pictures From gas monster, They photos provided raw material for a new study, published 10 January nature physics, which describes unrest at the poles of Jupiter and strength Body who lead the great cyclone,
juno is first space probe To capture images of Jupiter’s poles. was in the last satellite Orbit around the planet’s equatorial region, including views of the famous great red spot, Juno is equipped with two camera systems, one for live images Light Visible and another that captures using a heat signature Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM).
Eight cyclone at the north pole of Jupiter and five at its south pole, They stormWith a radius of about 1,000 km, Juno has existed since its first observations. Researchers don’t know where they came from or how long they’ve been around, but now they know Convection Moist is what keeps them. Researchers first hypothesized this transferenergy after watching Lightning During’thunderstorm on jupiter,
From ocean whirlpools to Jupiter’s cyclones
The study’s lead author, Lia Siegelman, a post-doctoral physical oceanographer at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography (University of California, San Diego, USA), conducted the research after observing that Jupiter’s poles share similarities with hurricanes. in a storm He studied the oceans during his doctorate. by using Photos of Juno and the principles used in geophysical fluid dynamics, Siegelman and his colleagues provided evidence for a long-standing hypothesis that moist convection—whenWind Rise warmer and less dense – driving these cyclones.
Siegelman and his colleagues analyzed a set of images infrared capturing Jupiter’s north polar region and in particular the group of polar vortex, The researchers were able to calculate Speed and management let out Following Speed From clouds between pictures. The team then interpreted the infrared images to account for the thickness of clouds, Warm regions correspond to thin clouds, where it is possible to see in depthAtmosphere of Jupiter, while the cold regions represent a dense cloud cover, which covers Jupiter’s atmosphere.
From Jovian Cyclones to Terrestrial Climate
These results gave the researchers clues about the energy of the system. As the Jovian clouds rise over warmer, less dense air, the researchers found that the rapidly rising air in the clouds serves as an energy source that largely fuels large circumpolar and polar cyclones.
According to Siegelman, understanding Jupiter Energy System, on a much larger scale than on Earth, can also help us To understand the physical mechanisms operating on our planet by uncovering some of the energy pathways that may also exist on Earth.
Juno will continueorbiter around Jupiter until at least 2025, providing researchers and the public with new images of the planet and its giant satellite system,
what you should remember
- Large cyclones occur at the poles of Jupiter.
- A new study inspired by ocean ridges on Earth suggests that moist convection is what keeps these cyclones going.
- Understanding these events on Jupiter can help us understand the physical mechanisms operating on our planet Earth.
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