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Planetary Formation

15 March 2018 · Wayback

Jupiter’s Great Red Spot Getting Taller As It Condenses

Old Observatory clipping, Wayback 2018 · Astronomical Journal

Original wording. Not rewritten as Paper I. Withdrawn claims stay visible so the record is not erased.

The storm has been shrinking for a century and a half. It has also increased in area at least once. As it gets smaller it is growing taller. First confirmed sighting 1831; a long record from 1878. Combined with Voyager and Hubble OPAL.

Researchers expected internal winds to spin faster as the oval contracted. “Instead of spinning faster, the storm appears to be forced to stretch up.” Color deepened to intensely orange since 2014, possibly chemicals carried higher and exposed to more UV.

Paper I keeps this as a weather-layer shape change. It is not a mass measurement below ~100 bar.