Advertisement

I have a spot named after me!

Explore the Great Red Spot, Jupiter's ancient storm, and its intriguing companion, Oval BA, often playfully dubbed Red Jr.!

Google NewsGoogle News Preferred Source

Newsletter

Sign up for our email newsletter for the latest science news

Sign Up

'On Jupiter, a storm has raged for at least 400 years. We see it as a vast red ellipse in Jupiter's southern hemisphere, and it's always been called The Great Red Spot. It was already there when the first telescopes were aimed at Jupiter in the 1600s, so no one knows how old it truly is.

Advertisement

But now it has a companion. In 2000, three storms merged to form a new, much bigger one. It's smaller than the Red Spot but still big enough to easily swallow the Earth. New features like this are given designations by astronomers to make it easier to refer to them. Everyone is naturally calling this storm "Red Jr.", of course, but the official name is... ... Oval BA. Someone who observes Jupiter must be a fan of my blog. There's really no other obvious explanation.'

Stay Curious

JoinOur List

Sign up for our weekly science updates

View our Privacy Policy

SubscribeTo The Magazine

Save up to 40% off the cover price when you subscribe to Discover magazine.

Subscribe
Advertisement

1 Free Article