Space field note
Older than memory
Jupiter's Giant Storm
Jupiter's Great Red Spot is a swirling storm so big it could swallow the entire Earth, and it has been raging for centuries.
Let's look closer
How can one storm last for so long without ever stopping?
n Jupiter there's no solid ground to slow a storm down, only thick, swirling gases, so the Great Red Spot just keeps spinning with nothing in its way. It rotates once every few days, with winds far stronger than any hurricane on Earth. Astronomers have watched it shrink slowly over the last century, though no one is sure exactly when it first began.
Look for this
Explorer clue
Look at photos or a video from a telescope or space probe showing Jupiter's swirling, striped clouds and the reddish storm within them.
Your turn to wonder
Curiosity question
What's something in your life that has lasted longer than you can remember?
Keep wandering
