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Banksy (via barbellsandfortitude)
Though once big enough to swallow three Earths with room to spare, Jupiter’s Great Red Spot has been shrinking for a century and a half. Nobody is sure how long the storm will continue to contract or whether it will disappear altogether.
A new study suggests that it hasn’t all been downhill, though. The storm seems to have increased in area at least once along the way, and it’s growing taller as it gets smaller.
Observations of Jupiter date back centuries, but the first confirmed sighting of the Great Red Spot was in 1831. But until then, researchers aren’t certain whether earlier observers who saw a red spot on Jupiter were looking at the same storm.
Amy Simon, an expert in planetary atmospheres at our Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and her team traced the evolution of the Great Red Spot, analyzing its size, shape, color and drift rate. They also looked at the storm’s internal wind speeds, when that information was available from spacecraft.
This new study confirms that the storm has been decreasing in diameter overall since 1878 and is now big enough to accommodate just over one Earth at this point. Then again, the historical record indicates the area of the spot grew temporarily in the 1920s. Scientists aren’t sure why it grew for a bit.
Because the storm has been contracting, the researchers expected to find the already-powerful internal winds becoming even stronger, like an ice skater who spins faster as she pulls in her arms.
But that’s not what is happening. Instead of spinning faster, the storm appears to be forced to stretch up. It’s almost like clay being shaped on a potter’s wheel. As the wheel spins, an artist can transform a short, round lump into a tall, thin vase by pushing inward with his hands. The smaller he makes the base, the taller the vessel will grow.
The Great Red Spot’s color has been deepening, too, becoming is a more intense orange color since 2014. Researchers aren’t sure why that’s happening, but it’s possible that the chemicals coloring the storm are being carried higher into the atmosphere as the spot stretches up. At higher altitudes, the chemicals would be subjected to more UV radiation and would take on a deeper color.
In some ways, the mystery of the Great Red Spot only seems to deepen as the iconic storm gets smaller. Researchers don’t know whether the spot will shrink a bit more and then stabilize, or break apart completely.
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“I struggle with a lot of the books/youtube channels on this subject as they tend to relate to people that focus their entire life on sustainability, rather than people that incorporate sustainable habits into their normal life.”
^it’s about being mindful, not giving yourself grief every time you forget to bring a reusable cup with you. Love this.
Do you have any tips for someone who's interested in a more sustainable lifestyle but not sure where to start?
I would suggest spending a bit of time watching some youtube videos and reading some books about it. The book ‘Zero Waste Home’ by Bea Johnson is a good starting point, and the ebook is inexpensive. I will paste a link HERE to a list of youtube channels that talk about living low waste / sustainably.
When you are ready, you can start making small changes like carrying a water bottle or coffee cup, and buying products in less packaging.
Just remember that you don’t have to make every single change at once, and it’s also totally okay if there are certain changes that you don’t want to make at all. Use the resources for ideas/inspiration - not as an exact guide!
(I struggle with a lot of the books/youtube channels on this subject as they tend to relate to people that focus their entire life on sustainability, rather than people that incorporate sustainable habits into their normal life). Small changes can still make a huge difference, don’t underestimate them :)
Quando gli intuitivi incontrano l’Universo
INFP
ENFP
INFJ
ENFJ
INTP
ENTP
INTJ
ENTJ
Me: I have to go out for just five minutes
Me: I'll take 10 books with me, who knows what might happen