Jupiter loses one of its stripes and scientists are stumped as to why

[whopis01]

Jupiter has lost one of its iconic red stripes and scientists are baffled as to why.

The largest planet in our solar system 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 known as the Southern Equatorial Belt has disappeared leaving the southern half of the planet looking unusually bare.

The band was present in at the end of last year before Jupiter ducked behind the Sun on its orbit. However, when it emerged three months later the belt had disappeared.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1277734/Jupiter-loses-stripes-scientists-idea-why.html

[jpak]

1. Next - the Singing Slabs

:scared:

[Are_grits_groceries]

2. He was Sargeant Jupiter.

They busted him down to corporal.

[dems_rightnow]

3. Where was Rove?

Just askin'.

[donco6]

4. It's the aliens on the far side of the Sun.

They replace hangers with pens and steal your socks, too.

[Better Today]

5. They may not know why, but it is a regular occurence.

http://planetary.org/blog/article/00002477
The Planetary Society Blog
By Emily Lakdawalla

Jupiter has lost a belt!
May. 10, 2010 | 15:22 PDT | 22:22 UTC

Astro Bob explains in more detail, remarking: "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." But, apparently, this is an event that happens rather more frequently than the Saturnian equinox, once every 3 to 15 years.

[RedCloud]

24. Quit calming us. We need to stampede with panic and take over!

[Better Today]

33. Roger that!

[Angry Dragon]

6. Climate change

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

7. Dumbass scientists don't know about magnets.

I see miracles all around me
Stop and look around
How do they work?

[midnight armadillo]

26. Let me help you

Here is how magnets work:

[The Backlash Cometh]

8. The 2012 shift is beginning!

[MicaelS]

9. On noes!! The monoliths are EATING Jupiter!!!!

It's shrinking! It's shrinking! :bounce:

[Beaverhausen]

10. GRAB SOMETHING...NOW!!!

[WillyT]

32. Yep...

:yoiks:

[Seneca]

11. It got demoted!

Probably court-martialed too.

[WolverineDG]

12. Busted down to private nt

[Seneca]

13. Ha!

I see that at least 3 of us were thinking along the same lines. :rofl:

[WolverineDG]

15. GMTA

:rofl:

dg

[liberaltrucker]

14. CO's don't take kindly to being dissed

That'll learn that uppity planet.

:P

[TCJ70]

16. Global warming...n/t

[FSogol]

17. Spring cleaning, right?

:shrug:

[scarletwoman]

18. Finally realized that horizontal stripes made it look fat.

[Bluebear]

31. --

:spray:

[KonaKane]

19. Sad to see a whole planet busted to rank corporal.

I wonder what officer he pissed off.

[Recovered Repug]

20. Lost it in the laundry.

The same thing happens to me with socks.

[CommonSensePLZ]

34. The Solar wind obviously blew it away

Never leave out stacks of paper or bands of hydrogen on windy days, can't be careless about these things.

[troubledamerican]

21. Portent and omen

[unblock]

22. someone posted an explanation of this cyclical phenomenon a day or two ago.

i'm sure some scientists are baffled, but if the earlier post was correct, some other scientists do know why.

[RedCloud]

23. Jupiter losing its red. In your face republicans. In your face!

[IDemo]

25. Has anyone checked Uranus lately?

:evilgrin:

[RedCloud]

27. It says the southern hemisphere is bare!!!

[IDemo]

29. I've never seen a major planetary moon

This could be it.

[DearAbby]

28. Uranus told Jupiter, "stripes makes you look like a barrel wearing hoops"...n/t

[hatrack]

30. "All these worlds . . . . "

nt