Artists Concept of the Mechanism of Heating from the Great Red Spot (IMAGE)

Boston University

Artists Concept of the Mechanism of Heating from the Great Red Spot

Caption

Turbulent atmospheric flows above the storm produce both gravity waves and acoustic waves. Gravity waves are much like how a guitar string moves when plucked, while acoustic waves are compressions of the air (sound waves!). Heating in the upper atmosphere 500 miles above the storm is thought to be caused by a combination of these two wave types ‘crashing’ like ocean waves on a beach.

Credit

<i>Art by Karen Teramura, UH IfA with James O’Donoghue and Luke Moore</i>

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