On Jupiter, the largest
planet in our solar system, the last few years there have been significant
changes, according to a new study.
Huge zone in the
atmosphere changed color, sources of radiation on the surface of the gas giant
goes out and re-lit, and the layers of the clouds became thicker then
dissolved, and all this against a background of crashing into the planet of
space objects, astronomers say.
A team of scientists
from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), led by Glenn Orton conducted
observations of Jupiter in the infrared range from 2009 to 2012 and compared
their results with images in visible light, made by amateur astronomers.
Astronomers have
previously observed that, from 2009 to 2011. large brown belt, located just
south of the equator of the planet, which is called the South Equatorial belt,
disappeared and reappeared. And along this belt team observed infrared source,
disappeared from 2010 to 2011. and newly launched in June 2012 During this
period, the researchers also observed a thickening layer of clouds in the
northern zone, while cloud layers southern belt first compacted and then clear
up.
In addition, in the
last four years there were an increasing number of collisions of space objects
with Jupiter than before. At least three space object the size of just less
than 15 meters in diameter hit the gas giant's atmosphere, creating a flash of
fire, visible to observers on Earth.
The study was presented
recently at a meeting of the Division of Planetary Sciences of the American
Astronomical Society in Reno, Nevada.
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