Tuesday, May 09, 2006

More evidence of global warming...but probably not where radical environmentalist expected it

A few weeks ago Porkopolis posted on a 60 Minutes' coverage of global warming noting that some evidence is pointing to global warming on Mars:

...And for three Mars summers in a row, deposits of frozen carbon dioxide near Mars' south pole have shrunk from the previous year's size, suggesting a climate change in progress.

Now NASA is reporting that some major changes are being seen on Jupiter as well:

Hubble Snaps Baby Pictures of Jupiter's "Red Spot Jr."

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is giving astronomers their most detailed view yet of a second red spot emerging on Jupiter. For the first time in history, astronomers have witnessed the birth of a new red spot on the giant planet, which is located half a billion miles away. The storm is roughly one-half the diameter of its bigger and legendary cousin, the Great Red Spot. Researchers suggest that the new spot may be related to a possible major climate change in Jupiter's atmosphere....

Hmmm...and just how is this "Red Spot Jr." formed? Space.com has some thoughts:

...Little is known about how storms form on the giant planet. They are often described as behaving similar to hurricanes on Earth. Some astronomers believe that the spots dredge up material deep below Jupiter's clouds and lift it to where the Sun's ultraviolet light chemically alters it to give it a red hue.

The latest images could provide evidence that Jupiter is in the midst of a global change that can modify temperatures by as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit on different parts of the globe...

Remember all the talk last summer about global warming and hurricanes on Earth?

Oh, by-the-way, Saturn is also experiencing some warming in its polar regions as well.

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