Jupiter's Great Red Spot is a storm that has been raging for at least 350 years
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The Great Red Spot is an anticyclonic storm — like a high-pressure weather system — so large that three Earths could fit inside it. It has been continuously observed since 1831 and possibly since 1665. The storm's sustained energy source is still not fully understood. Surprisingly, the Red Spot has been shrinking: in the 1800s it was 40,000km across; today it measures roughly 16,000km.
A single storm on Jupiter has been spinning continuously since before the American Revolution, longer than any recorded human civilization lasted.
The Science Behind It
The Great Red Spot is an anticyclonic storm — like a high-pressure weather system — so large that three Earths could fit inside it. It has been continuously observed since 1831 and possibly since 1665. The storm's sustained energy source is still not fully understood. Surprisingly, the Red Spot has been shrinking: in the 1800s it was 40,000km across; today it measures roughly 16,000km.
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