Mystery of Jupiter's Great Red Spot, storm that survives for centuries, may be solved

SCIENTISTS believe they have solved the puzzle of how Jupiter's massive Great Red Spot storm has managed to run for centuries.

Jupiter Juno Red Spot

SCIENTISTS believe they have solved the mystery of why Jupiter's massive storm known as the Great Red Spot has not disappeared.

Planetary experts agree the Great Red Spot - which is actually a giant vortex can be clearly seen in photos of the planet - should have vanished hundreds of years ago. The storm faces strong winds, loses heat and energy and sits between two jet stream that should stop its spinning.

"Based on current theories, the Great Red Spot should have disappeared after several decades. Instead it’s been there for hundreds of years,” said Harvard researcher Padram Hassanzade

Mr Hassanzadeh and his colleague Philip Marcus at the University of California, Berkeley believe they have solved the puzzle - and say vertical air flow is the key to the storm’s long life, Nature World News reports. In the past, scientists have focused only on horizontal airflow or believed that the storm powers itself absorbing smaller vortexed.

"Some computer models show that large vortices would live longer if they merge with smaller vortices, but this does not happen enough to explain the Red Spot’s longevity," said Mr Marcus.

Mr Hassanzadeh and Mr Marcus developed a new model, showing that vertical air flow brings hot gas from above and cold gas from below the storm into the centre of the vortex, which recharges its energy and keeps it going for centuries.

The pair say the vertical air flows help keep the Great Red Spot spinning, but say there are other factors at work they will continue to research.

Jupiter Juno Red Spot