In 1665, astronomer Giovanni Domenico Cassini observed a massive storm raging on Jupiter.
For more than a century after, the storm hadnt been seen.
It wasnt until 1831 when astronomers observed a similar oval shape at the same latitude.
The Great Red Spot captured by the Juno mission.Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Gerald Eichstädt/Seán Doran
Since then, scientists have debated whether it was the same storm or a different one.
Jupiters Great Red Spot, on the other hand, may date back by at least 190 years.
Today, the storm stretches to 8,700 miles (14,000 kilometers) and has become more rounded in shape.
Cassini’s drawings of the red spot in the 1600’sImage: G. D. Cassini / Eric Sussenbach / AGU
Unlike hurricanes on Earth, the Great Red Spot rotates counterclockwise, which suggests that its a high-pressure system.
Others before us had explored these observations, and now we have quantified the results.
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