Hollywood
May 12th, 2010, 09:20 PM
By KSEE News
Story Published: May 12, 2010 at 4:26 PM EDT
Article (http://www.ksee24.com/news/local/93611629.html)
The largest planet in our solar system, Jupiter, has lost one of its prominent stripes, leaving its southern half looking unusually empty. This has scientists guessing as to what triggered the disappearance of the band.
As any armchair astronomer can attest, Jupiter's appearance is usually dominated by two dark bands – one in each of the northern and southern hemispheres. But recent images taken by amateur astronomers show that the southern band, known as the south equatorial belt – has simply disappeared.
The band was spotted as recently as the end of 2009, right before Jupiter moved too close to the sun in the sky to be observed from Earth. When the planet returned to view again in early April, its south equatorial belt was nowhere to be seen.
This is not the first time the south equatorial belt has disappeared. It was absent in 1973 when the Pioneer 10 spacecraft took the first closeup images of the planet. It also temporarily vanished in the early 1990s.
The prevailing theory as to a cause? Clouds. The south equatorial belt disappears when whitish clouds form on top of it, blocking our view of the darker clouds. What's not clear is what causes these whitish clouds to form at some times and not others.
The disappearance of the belt comes at a time of some mysterious changes on Jupiter, which has seen shifts in the color of other bands and spots in its atmosphere.
Story Published: May 12, 2010 at 4:26 PM EDT
Article (http://www.ksee24.com/news/local/93611629.html)
The largest planet in our solar system, Jupiter, has lost one of its prominent stripes, leaving its southern half looking unusually empty. This has scientists guessing as to what triggered the disappearance of the band.
As any armchair astronomer can attest, Jupiter's appearance is usually dominated by two dark bands – one in each of the northern and southern hemispheres. But recent images taken by amateur astronomers show that the southern band, known as the south equatorial belt – has simply disappeared.
The band was spotted as recently as the end of 2009, right before Jupiter moved too close to the sun in the sky to be observed from Earth. When the planet returned to view again in early April, its south equatorial belt was nowhere to be seen.
This is not the first time the south equatorial belt has disappeared. It was absent in 1973 when the Pioneer 10 spacecraft took the first closeup images of the planet. It also temporarily vanished in the early 1990s.
The prevailing theory as to a cause? Clouds. The south equatorial belt disappears when whitish clouds form on top of it, blocking our view of the darker clouds. What's not clear is what causes these whitish clouds to form at some times and not others.
The disappearance of the belt comes at a time of some mysterious changes on Jupiter, which has seen shifts in the color of other bands and spots in its atmosphere.