Jupiter has lost one of its iconic red stripes and scientists are baffled as to why. The gas giant is usually dominated by two dark bands in its atmosphere, with one in the northern hemisphere and one in the southern hemisphere. However, the most recent images taken by amateur astronomers have revealed the lower stripe has disappeared leaving the southern half of the planet looking unusually naked. The band was present at the end of 2009 before Jupiter ducked behind the Sun. However, when it emerged from our star's glare in early April, the belt had disappeared.Journalist and amateur astronomer Bob King, also known as Astro_Bob, was one of the first to note the strange phenomenon. He said: 'Jupiter with only one belt is almost like seeing Saturn when its rings are edge-on and invisible for a time - it just doesn't look right.'The exciting phenomenon is not actually new. Jupiter loses or regains one of its belts every 10 of 15 years, although exactly why this happens is a mystery. (Daily Mail)Wednesday, 12 May 2010
Jupiter loses one of its stripes and scientists are stumped as to why
Jupiter has lost one of its iconic red stripes and scientists are baffled as to why. The gas giant is usually dominated by two dark bands in its atmosphere, with one in the northern hemisphere and one in the southern hemisphere. However, the most recent images taken by amateur astronomers have revealed the lower stripe has disappeared leaving the southern half of the planet looking unusually naked. The band was present at the end of 2009 before Jupiter ducked behind the Sun. However, when it emerged from our star's glare in early April, the belt had disappeared.Journalist and amateur astronomer Bob King, also known as Astro_Bob, was one of the first to note the strange phenomenon. He said: 'Jupiter with only one belt is almost like seeing Saturn when its rings are edge-on and invisible for a time - it just doesn't look right.'The exciting phenomenon is not actually new. Jupiter loses or regains one of its belts every 10 of 15 years, although exactly why this happens is a mystery. (Daily Mail)