Watch the king of the planets turn on its throne

An independent review board has recommended that NASA extend the Juno and InSight missions now studying Jupiter and Mars.

Astronomers from Boston University have discovered that Jupiter’s Great Red Spot (GRS) may provide the mysterious source of energy required to heat the planet’s upper atmosphere to the unusually high values observed. Heating in Jupiter’s atmosphere 500 miles above the GRS is thought to be caused by gravity waves and acoustic waves creating turbulent atmospheric flows.

A new analysis of data from NASA’s Cassini mission in combination with lab experiments contradicts the leading theory that the striking colour of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is due to reddish chemicals upwelling from below.