THE GALAXY — Scientists have long known about Jupiter’s great red spot, but now it looks like the gassy planet’s famous atmospheric phenomenon has got company. <br /> <br />The curtain of light at Jupiter’s north pole is called an aurora. It forms when electrons move along the planet’s magnetic field and excite atmospheric gases, making them glow.” <br /> <br />Scientists at the University of Leicester in the UK believe the aurora is directly related to a cold spot they have observed on Jupiter. <br /> <br />Writing in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, the scientists said the region is more than 160 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than the gas around it. It also appears to be a vortex, meaning it rotates around an axis line. <br /> <br />The cold spot is similar in size to Jupiter’s great red spot and around twice the size of the Earth. <br /> <br />Over the past 15 years, the cold spot has changed in size and shape. It may be a weather system that waxes and wanes in relation to the intensity of the aurora. <br /> <br />Experts told Science News it was unexpected to see a weather system like the cold spot in the upper layers of Jupiter’s atmosphere. <br /> <br />It was previously thought that the temperature contrasts caused by the aurora would smoothen out quickly, but it looks like the cold spot may have been there for quite some time.
