More Tantalizing Data -- An Update On The Heat Generated, INSIDE The Largest Cyclone In The Solar System: Juno's Jupiter Views

We have been posting updates about Jupiter, since July of 2013, minimum (and July 2015 -- from Jupiter, via Juno). But the evolving data from the grandest old cyclone in our local system. . . may be among the most intriguing story, of all: the idea that this is literally a boiling cauldron, near the cloud tops. . . was completely unexpected -- at least by me (based on my now sadly outdated college astronomy understandings of that 700 year old storm).

But based on new data just released today, at NASA. . . it seems the storm is also much deeper, and warmer, at those deeper depths. . . than imagined. And that fires my imagination -- of slipping down, into the center opening -- created by that massive eyewall, and seeing everything. . . positively steam up as one fell inward, for over 150 miles. Quite a stiff craft would be needed, of course, to survive the gravity, the atmospheric pressure, and that heat generated -- just by friction. But what a ride that would be. Here's the NASA / JPL Juno news, of tonight:

. . .The new results show that the cyclones are warmer on top, with lower atmospheric densities, while they are colder at the bottom, with higher densities. Anticyclones, which rotate in the opposite direction, are colder at the top but warmer at the bottom.

The findings also indicate these storms are far taller than expected, with some extending 60 miles (100 kilometers) below the cloud tops and others, including the Great Red Spot, extending over 200 miles (350 kilometers). This surprise discovery demonstrates that the vortices cover regions beyond those where water condenses and clouds form, below the depth where sunlight warms the atmosphere.

The height and size of the Great Red Spot means the concentration of atmospheric mass within the storm potentially could be detectable by instruments studying Jupiter’s gravity field. Two close Juno flybys over Jupiter’s most famous spot provided the opportunity to search for the storm’s gravity signature and complement the MWR results on its depth.

With Juno traveling low over Jupiter’s cloud deck at about 130,000 mph (209,000 kph) Juno scientists were able to measure velocity changes as small 0.01 millimeter per second using a NASA’s Deep Space Network tracking antenna, from a distance of more than 400 million miles (650 million kilometers). This enabled the team to constrain the depth of the Great Red Spot to about 300 miles (500 kilometers) below the cloud tops. . . .

So it goes -- there is a not entirely fanciful case for some form of microbial life there, as a stable heat source and sunlight prevail, on the eyewall. Tiny, fragile life -- held aloft forever, by these super-sonic winds.

Onward, smiling at the jack-o-lanterns. . . appearing literally everywhere, now even inside. . . southland storm cells.

नमस्ते