Space & Astronomy
Massive hurricanes plague other worlds
By
T.K. RandallAugust 29, 2011 ·
6 comments
Image Credit: NASA/JHU/APL
Earth is not the only planet to experience hurricanes - storms on Jupiter and Saturn put Irene to shame.
For years astronomers have observed gigantic storms larger than our whole planet in the churning atmospheres of the gas giants. Jupiter's Great Red Spot is a storm that has lasted over 180 years and on Saturn a 10,000km wide thunderstorm erupted last December with no signs of stopping.
Warm, moist air over tropical or subtropical seas rises, causing a zone of lower air pressure beneath it. Higher-pressure air zips in to fill the void. But that air soon warms, becomes moist and rises, too. As this pattern repeats, a huge, swirling storm is born. Jupiter and Saturn don't have oceans, so their spinning storms aren't "hurricanes" in the strict, terrestrial sense. But similar processes spawn them, according to Ingersoll.
Source:
Space.com |
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