Hubble has documented the birth and development of a colossal storm on Neptune for the very 1st time
that you sometimes see hanging out atop mountains back home on terra firma.
Hubble, with its bespoke imaging tech, is uniquely able to see such storms in relatively high resolution. Once again, it is responsible for clocking the evolution of Neptune’s youngest Great Dark Spot, from 2016 to 2018, one that is much the same size and shape as the original Great Dark Spot seen by Voyager 2., a high-pressure version of the low-pressure hurricanes and typhoons we get on Earth. It was also preceded by those familiar companion clouds like its predecessors.
Thanks to both OPAL and Voyager 2’s data, we now know that Neptune’s tempests seem to last several years or so, unlike the decades-to-centuries-long storms on Jupiter and the days-to-week-long storms on Earth. Only a few Neptunian spots have been seen so far, but using this small sample size it seems that they last for around two years apiece, on average, and appear every four to six years.
Despite this revised understanding of Neptune's anticyclones, plenty remains unknown at this stage, including how these storms manage to take shape in the first place. Saying that, the authors of the study write that, at this stage, “Neptune may be unique among the giant planets,” in that its storms have visible precursors in the shape of those icy methane patches. On Jupiter, the storms simply burst through the dense clouds, just as they do through the thick hazes on Saturn and Neptune.
For example, the small amount of methane in its atmosphere should give Neptune a similar blue-green tint as Uranus. Instead, it’s a far richer blue colour, suggesting there’s some atmospheric chemistry happening there, or perhaps another chemical compound, that remains undiscovered., scientists reckon that the hydrogen-helium-methane atmosphere goes fair deep into the planet, whereupon it likely meets and interacts with a sea of various melted water, methane and ammonia ices.
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