The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-09-02
Peculiar Markings on the
Surface Of the
Big Planet.
NO ONE UNDERSTANDS THEM.
Some Observers Say Il Shifts Its Position
-Others Think Il Due to .
Rift in the Clouds.

nNY far the largest and most per-
Xxx picking marking on Jupiter Is the
lid great red spot" 1t Is roughly
estimated to be thirty thousand
miles long and several thousand miles
wide is pointed at both ends. ana lies
parallel with and just south OF the south
ern equatorial dark belt. As II by some
mysterious power of repuision, II has ere
ated deep indentation in the margin OF
the belt. so that wide boundary OF
brightness rs interposed between the edge
of the cavity and the spot.
When the great red spot was discovered.
in 1878. it had fairly well defined out
line and salmon pink hue. During the
next two years Il gained In distfnctness,
and its color deepened TO brick REQ
Then II began to fade. From that time to
the present its visibility and tint have
undergone many fluctuations. Al times
the spot has almost entirely disappeared,
and then 1t grows in distnctness. When
near the minimum of visibility II appears
only as a very faint ring of pink. the CEN
trail portion being white or gray. There
are perceptible differences, too, In the
ease with which the two ends can be dis
tinguished. In 1887 the spot almost
completely disappeared. Stanley Will
Jams. a well-known English amateur. re-
ports in 1.-THE Observatory for July that
within the last few months there has been
a distinct revival. Its color Is now a sal
mon pink, and is almost uniformly dis
tributed, although the front end seems
to be a little paier than the rear Mr..
williams adds that. whereas In 1898 the
spot appeared TO have gained on the adj
jacent cavity in the southern belt, and to
have fallen behind In 1899 II is now in
about the normal position Two or three
years ago observers called attention to
the fact that the equatorial bright zone
possessed rich orange yellow color. Mr..
1899 the southern dark belt had a deeper
reddish hue than the northern but now
the conditions are said to be reversed. The
color OF both Is that of iron rust. Similar
differences between the two dark belts
in the plenitude OF small dark or white
spots proturbances from the edges dag
onal riffs and other minutiae are observed
from year to year, and 1t has been sus-
pected that there are variations in the ro-
rational velocity OF certain regions, but on
this point there IL no agreement among
the authorities 1t has also been Asserted
that in these manifestations of activity
there Is periodicity like that in tho
abundance and size of sun spots
The nature II the great red spot. which
IL tust now increas sing In visibility. IN vet
a mystery. Jupiter Ia believed 10 be In
a state half way between that OF the
earth and the sun. Since Il was detached
from the latter in the formative period
OF its history II has cooled down a great
deal. of course. yet It is probably a mol
ten mass. Partly because Il Is At only .
red heat and partly because IL appears
to be pretty well clothed in clouds IL IL
thought that II has ceased to shine by its
own light Mr.. Maunder expressed tho
opinion few years ago that II the va
pors that envelop the planet could be
swept away Jupiter would exhibit a sur
face of uniform redness like that OF the
big spot. And Mr.. Barnard remarked in
1892 Just after a temporary revival in
distinctness. that the phenomenon seemed
TO him TO be shifting OF an everything
but very thin veil There was dispose
ton fifteen or twenty years ago to sup
pose that the spot was a newborn con-
tinent, lifted above the level OF sthe ada
cent territory by some internal force.
But H. as Mr.. Williams thinks. the spot
shifts its position, that theory would he
untenablc. On the other hand. IL one
imagines that he Is merely looking down
through a hole In the clouds. II will be
necessary. as Mr.. Maunder has pointed
out. to explain why that framework re-
mains so nearly stationary and so un-
fchangeable In form. For the present the
problem In fnsoluhle.
The markings on the surface OF Jupi-
ter. which undergo more or less change
from time to time. are unique in many
respects. When we look at Mars we
probably see the solid material compo~-
ing that ruddy little orb. whereas Venus
and Jupiter are supposed TO be clothed
in cloud shells which cannot easily be
penetrated by the human gaze. but the
markings on Venus are Irregular In their
distribution and exceedingly faint Those
on Jupiter are more systematic and strik-