UPDATED: May 19, 2021 11:42 IST
The feature is a plume of cloud material erupting above the upper cloud layers of the Jovian atmosphere. (Photo: Nasa)
The Juno Spacecraft, which is hovering over Jupiter, captured the intriguing evolution of a feature in the giant planet’s atmosphere known as “Clyde’s Spot.” The low pass over conducted on April 15, 2021 over the cloud tops of Jupiter found that the region is twice as big in latitude and three times as big in longitude as the original spot, and has the potential to persist for an extended period of time.
The spot is named after astronomer Clyde Foster of Centurion, South Africa, who discovered it in 2020 using his own 14-inch telescope following which Juno provided detailed information about the natural phenomenon. The feature is a plume of cloud material erupting above the upper cloud layers of the Jovian atmosphere. These powerful convective outbreaks occasionally erupt in this latitude band, known as the South Temperate