Comments on: Red Storm Rising http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/ I am an astronomer, writer, and skeptic. I likes reality the way it is, and I aims to keep it that way. My real name is Phil Plait, and I run the Bad Astronomy blog. Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:37:42 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Max Fagin http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/comment-page-1/#comment-15595 Max Fagin Sun, 04 Jun 2006 23:12:49 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/#comment-15595 eddie, I meant relative to the northern and southern halves of the ecliptic. Thanks Kaptian K. eddie,

I meant relative to the northern and southern halves of the ecliptic.

Thanks Kaptian K.

]]> By: Kaptain K http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/comment-page-1/#comment-15594 Kaptain K Sat, 03 Jun 2006 20:35:49 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/#comment-15594 "Jupiter is upside-down in this photograph, right?" Well...South is up, if that's what you mean. “Jupiter is upside-down in this photograph, right?”

Well…South is up, if that’s what you mean.

]]> By: John http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/comment-page-1/#comment-15593 John Sat, 03 Jun 2006 18:00:07 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/#comment-15593 How do they determine that Jr. is higher than the GRS? How do they determine that Jr. is higher than the GRS?

]]> By: eddie http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/comment-page-1/#comment-15592 eddie Sat, 03 Jun 2006 07:09:03 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/#comment-15592 Harrison asked: <i>Jupiter is upside-down in this photograph, right?</i> As opposed to, umm, what? Harrison asked: Jupiter is upside-down in this photograph, right?

As opposed to, umm, what?

]]> By: Kafkaesquí http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/comment-page-1/#comment-15591 Kafkaesquí Fri, 02 Jun 2006 14:55:23 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/#comment-15591 I didn't claim anyone saw it appear, though I did word my reply above pretty badly. Hooke was the first to report it, so it's "been known of" for about 340 years. I didn’t claim anyone saw it appear, though I did word my reply above pretty badly. Hooke was the first to report it, so it’s “been known of” for about 340 years.

]]> By: idlemind http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/comment-page-1/#comment-15590 idlemind Fri, 02 Jun 2006 06:54:25 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/#comment-15590 Kafkaesquí, I don't think anyone saw the GRS appear; it could well have been there a while before it was discovered. Kafkaesquí,

I don’t think anyone saw the GRS appear; it could well have been there a while before it was discovered.

]]> By: Kafkaesquí http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/comment-page-1/#comment-15589 Kafkaesquí Fri, 02 Jun 2006 06:13:18 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/#comment-15589 Toren asked: <em>How old is the Great Red Spot?</em> About 340 years now---though there was a long period in the eighteenth century when it seemed to go AWOL. Toren asked:
How old is the Great Red Spot?

About 340 years now—though there was a long period in the eighteenth century when it seemed to go AWOL.

]]> By: Harrison http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/comment-page-1/#comment-15588 Harrison Fri, 02 Jun 2006 03:39:03 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/#comment-15588 Jupiter is upside-down in this photograph, right? Jupiter is upside-down in this photograph, right?

]]> By: Kevin from NYC http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/comment-page-1/#comment-15577 Kevin from NYC Thu, 01 Jun 2006 23:53:36 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/#comment-15577 WOW! I saw Jupiter and Saturn on Saturday. Hey Phil....does Red Oval BA stand for Red Oval BAD ASTRONOMER!!?? they named a spot after you how nice! WOW! I saw Jupiter and Saturn on Saturday.

Hey Phil….does Red Oval BA stand for Red Oval BAD ASTRONOMER!!??

they named a spot after you how nice!

]]> By: Blake Stacey http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/comment-page-1/#comment-15578 Blake Stacey Thu, 01 Jun 2006 22:40:27 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/#comment-15578 Tim G wrote: <blockquote>If used as a rocket fuel, the decomposition of metallic hydrogen would yield an exhaust speed of about three times that from the combustion of H2/O2. I don’t know of any sci-fi writers who have used MSMH.</blockquote> "Reavers!" Mal screamed as he watched the grotesquely beweaponed ships slide silently out of the small moon's shadow. His finger jabbed the intercom switch. "Kaylee, you've got about thirty seconds to get that metallic hydrogen tank hooked back into the engine." Curses in Mandarin came crackling back along the comlink. "Poor girl," said Simon Tam. "You put her under more pressure than the hydrogen." Tim G wrote:
If used as a rocket fuel, the decomposition of metallic hydrogen would yield an exhaust speed of about three times that from the combustion of H2/O2. I don’t know of any sci-fi writers who have used MSMH.

“Reavers!” Mal screamed as he watched the grotesquely beweaponed ships slide silently out of the small moon’s shadow. His finger jabbed the intercom switch. “Kaylee, you’ve got about thirty seconds to get that metallic hydrogen tank hooked back into the engine.”

Curses in Mandarin came crackling back along the comlink.

“Poor girl,” said Simon Tam. “You put her under more pressure than the hydrogen.”

]]> By: Toren http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/comment-page-1/#comment-15579 Toren Thu, 01 Jun 2006 22:29:55 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/#comment-15579 How old is the Great Red Spot? How old is the Great Red Spot?

]]> By: Chip http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/comment-page-1/#comment-15576 Chip Thu, 01 Jun 2006 22:20:56 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/#comment-15576 Great pictures - I like that HST close-up lower on the webpage too! I realize the storms are in different bands but considering the turbulence below the cloud tops, is there a chnace that Spot Jr. would be drawn around Big Spot and they could merge? Great pictures – I like that HST close-up lower on the webpage too! I realize the storms are in different bands but considering the turbulence below the cloud tops, is there a chnace that Spot Jr. would be drawn around Big Spot and they could merge?

]]> By: Thomas Siefert http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/comment-page-1/#comment-15580 Thomas Siefert Thu, 01 Jun 2006 21:46:21 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/#comment-15580 Sharp transition my Heinie! Have you guys ever felt your way around with your front fender on a foggy day? Sharp transition my Heinie! Have you guys ever felt your way around with your front fender on a foggy day?

]]> By: Lucid http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/comment-page-1/#comment-15581 Lucid Thu, 01 Jun 2006 19:14:08 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/#comment-15581 "This transition region is not sharp like it is on Earth (think about the sharp boundary between the air and the surface of the ocean), it’s fuzzy." Wow. I'd never thought about it that way. Of course it wouldn't be a sharp boundary....now that you made me think about it! Mind boggling! :) Thanks for the mind expansion, Phil! “This transition region is not sharp like it is on Earth (think about the sharp boundary between the air and the surface of the ocean), it’s fuzzy.”

Wow. I’d never thought about it that way. Of course it wouldn’t be a sharp boundary….now that you made me think about it! Mind boggling! :)

Thanks for the mind expansion, Phil!

]]> By: Digital Apprentice http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/comment-page-1/#comment-15582 Digital Apprentice Thu, 01 Jun 2006 18:40:27 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/#comment-15582 Not very cool at all, according to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metallic_hydrogen" rel="nofollow">Wikipedia</a>. About 3000 K (~5000 degF) Not very cool at all, according to Wikipedia. About 3000 K (~5000 degF)

]]> By: Tim G http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/comment-page-1/#comment-15583 Tim G Thu, 01 Jun 2006 18:37:23 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/#comment-15583 The electrical conductivity of metallic hydrogen may be the reason why Jupiter's magnetic field is so great. Within the magnetic field is Jupiter's equivalent of the Van Allen radiation belts. The radiation on Io, Europa and maybe even Ganymede is too intense to make human exploration practical. There has been some speculation that there may be a metastable form of metallic hydrogen (MSMH) that would not immediately revert to ordinary hydrogen upon release of pressure, much like diamond does not immediately revert to the lower energy state of graphite. If used as a rocket fuel, the decomposition of metallic hydrogen would yield an exhaust speed of about three times that from the combustion of H2/O2. I don't know of any sci-fi writers who have used MSMH. The electrical conductivity of metallic hydrogen may be the reason why Jupiter’s magnetic field is so great. Within the magnetic field is Jupiter’s equivalent of the Van Allen radiation belts. The radiation on Io, Europa and maybe even Ganymede is too intense to make human exploration practical.

There has been some speculation that there may be a metastable form of metallic hydrogen (MSMH) that would not immediately revert to ordinary hydrogen upon release of pressure, much like diamond does not immediately revert to the lower energy state of graphite.
If used as a rocket fuel, the decomposition of metallic hydrogen would yield an exhaust speed of about three times that from the combustion of H2/O2. I don’t know of any sci-fi writers who have used MSMH.

]]> By: moonflake http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/comment-page-1/#comment-15584 moonflake Thu, 01 Jun 2006 16:24:56 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/#comment-15584 The awesome thing about the pressure in Jupiter's lower layers is that it's high enough to not only form liquid hydrogen, but <em>metallic</em> hydrogen - the pressure is so great the hydrogen ionizes, thereby becoming conductive, which gives Jupiter it's magnetic field. Liquid, metallic hydrogen... how cool is that? The awesome thing about the pressure in Jupiter’s lower layers is that it’s high enough to not only form liquid hydrogen, but metallic hydrogen – the pressure is so great the hydrogen ionizes, thereby becoming conductive, which gives Jupiter it’s magnetic field. Liquid, metallic hydrogen… how cool is that?

]]> By: TheBlackCat http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/comment-page-1/#comment-15585 TheBlackCat Thu, 01 Jun 2006 14:56:40 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/#comment-15585 What happens if Jr. misses and ends up in the turbulent flow behind its big uncle? That might be even more interesting. I suspect it might get torn apart, but how and if that happens might be able to tell us something about Jupiter's atmosphere (density, flow rate, viscosity, etc). What happens if Jr. misses and ends up in the turbulent flow behind its big uncle? That might be even more interesting. I suspect it might get torn apart, but how and if that happens might be able to tell us something about Jupiter’s atmosphere (density, flow rate, viscosity, etc).

]]> By: Paul http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/comment-page-1/#comment-15586 Paul Thu, 01 Jun 2006 13:32:27 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/#comment-15586 Wow. That's facinating. I can't wait to see if there is any interaction as they pass. Wow. That’s facinating. I can’t wait to see if there is any interaction as they pass.

]]> By: Omni http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/comment-page-1/#comment-15587 Omni Thu, 01 Jun 2006 07:34:01 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/05/31/red-storm-rising/#comment-15587 Hi Phil!! How's the world's most boyish astronomer today? :-) Am I crazy, or does Jupiter look really pale in this pic? Hi Phil!! How’s the world’s most boyish astronomer today? :-)

Am I crazy, or does Jupiter look really pale in this pic?

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