Scientists measured winds on Jupiter three times stronger than cyclones on Earth

Winds three times faster than the strongest cyclones on Earth were measured in For for the first time.

An international team of astronomers has discovered in the middle atmosphere of Jupiter, near its poles, winds of up to 1,450 kilometers per hour, a speed that is more than twice the maximum speed of the winds observed in the Great Red Spot of the planet and at least three times the maximum speeds measured in the strongest cyclones on Earth.

The scientists, led by the French Dr. Thibaut Cavalier of the Laboratory of Astrophysics in Bordeaux, who published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics, as reported by AMPE, made the discovery with the help of AL Southern European Observatory (ESO) in Chile.

Jupiter is famous for its colorful swirling clouds moving gases, through which astronomers record winds in its lowest atmosphere. They have also noticed the presence of winds in its upper atmosphere, but this is the first time they have done something similar to the middle atmospheric layers of the stratosphere, where there are no clouds.

Researchers estimate that strong gas currents form in Jupiter’s stratosphere, behaving like a giant vortex up to four times the diameter of Earth and at an altitude of about 900 km. In addition to the stratospheric polar winds, the existence of strong stratospheric winds around the equator of Jupiter, with an average speed of about 600 kilometers per hour, was also confirmed.

More detailed observations of Jupiter’s atmosphere will be made by ESO’s Under-Large Telescope (ELT) under construction, which will operate within the current decade.

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