On which planet is the “Great Red Spot” located?
And the answer: Jupiter.
The Great Red Spot is a storm system and Jupiter’s most distinctive feature. It is approximately 16,350 km or 10,159 miles wide, which would make it large enough to engulf the Earth.
The Great Red Spot on Jupiter's surface might take the gas giant to first place for worst planetary weather. This massive storm is thought to have been raging on the planet for over 300 years, with observations dating back as far as 1665. The storm possesses winds up to 200 miles per hour, and the high pressure area around which it formed is kept in place by two jet streams on either side.
Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system, and is estimated to be around 4.6 billion years old. At its great distance from the Sun (around 500 million miles away), it takes 43 minutes for light to reach the giant planet, and around 4,300 Earth days to complete a full revolution around the Sun. Regardless of the time it takes to revolve, however, Jupiter has a remarkably short day at just 10 hours long. This is due to the fact that the gas giant actually spins quite quickly, yet is not entirely accurate due to the swirling masses of gas on its surface.
Jupiter is also home to quite a few moons. While the four largest — Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto — were spotted by Galileo Galilei in the 16th century, there are 67 known moons orbiting Jupiter, with the most recent discovery as recent as 2011. The moons range from around a mile, to over 3,000 miles. What's more: 51 of Jupiter's moons are considered to be irregular, meaning they were caught in Jupiter's orbit rather than formed within it.
Learn more about Jupiter, its moons, and its giant storm below.
