By Dr.Sandeep from Panjab University:Jupiter is the fastest rotating planet in the solar system. It rotates about its axis in ~10 hours. The image of Jupiter taken by the PU telescope presents two snapshots of the Jupiter separated by ~70 minutes.These high resolution images demonstrate the rotation of Jupiter. The giant red spot (an anticyclone storm) in on the right hand side of the image taken at 22:43. It gradually moves toward the center of the image taken at 23:53. In addition to the giant red spot there are other features in the dark and light bands of the image that demonstrate the rotation, e.g., there is a white spot in the lowest dark band. The white spot is a cyclonic storm in the white band.
Jupiter and Saturn are the most windiest places in our solar system. Due to the ongoing slow gravitational contraction these two planets emit more radiation than they receive from the sun. The internal energy generated due to the slow contraction is considered to be the source of energy for the strong wind activities. In the enclosed high resolution image, the turbulent structures generated along the band boundaries can be recognized as knots. The white bands are the high atmospheric clouds of condensed ammonia, whereas the colors of the dark bands are probably produced by complex hydrocarbons.
Dr. Sandeep Sahijpal,
Department of Physics,
Panjab University, Chandigarh