The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1902-11-18
THE GREAT RED
SPOT OF JUPITER
NO SATISFACTORY EXPLANATION
OF ITS PRESENCE HAS EVER
BEEN GIVEN.

The characteristic features of the
planet Jupiter, now the chief ornament
of the Southern evening sky is, as is
well known, a system of belts that Cir
die it in greater or less number, par
ticularly in the equator region, and
which are of various breadths and Of
different hues ana intensity of color,
the prevailing hue of the dark belts
ebbing light salmon or tan, while the
darkest streaks are of a decided
brown. The monotony of this belted
surface is broken by the frequent APP
pearance of spots dark or bright,
which sometimes remain visible with
but little change for several months,
and occasionally persist for more than
an entire year.
In 1919 a large spot made it's appear
ance in the planets southern hemis-
phere, which soon became so remark
able as to attract the general attention
of astronomers and to be the subject of
not a little speculation. OF a pale vio-
let hue when first seen, it had in the
following year assumed a deep brick
red color, and was by far the most con-
spicuous feature of the planets sun
face. 1t was situated just below the
dark equatorial belt-or above, as the
planet appears in an inverting teles-
cope. In form it was an elongated oval
haying length of about equal to one
third of the planets diameter and a
breadth about one-fourth as great Its
actual length was therefore about 3d.
900 miles.
For two or three years the great red
spot" as it came to be called, remain
ed with but very little change either In
form or color. But in 1884 it had fad
ed considerably, and in the following
year it had become a pinkish oval ring,
it's center being occupied by a whitish
spot, and such has ben it's general dis
cription ever since. In some years, how
ever, it has been so very faint that sew
eral observers have announced it's en-
tire disappearance. In succeeding years
it has become more noticeable, and this
year. the twenty-fourth of it's existence,
it is an object easily perceived with a
small telescope.
The spot is still a ring surrounding a
light area. The color of this ring, how
ever, instead of being pinkish, is the
same as that of the dark equatorial
belt in which the spit is now fairly inn
bedded, though it's distance from the
planets equator is the same as for
merly. The central area is of a pearl
white color, different from that of the
bright central belt, which is yellowish-
white.
No satisfactory explanation of this
very remarkable object as ever been
given. The belts are doubtless caused
! by clouds which floats in the planet S
atmosphere, effectually concealing its
surface, which may be hundreds of
miles below, and these belts, while they
never lose their striking parallel ar
rangement, are continually, though
slowly changing in their details. But
this spot, unchanging in form, has no
appearance of being a cloud. 1t is the
general opinion of astronomers now
that Jupiter is a molten and red-hot
body, in a condition intermediate be-
! tween an earth and a sun. Is this re-
! markable spot an enormous piece OF
Stag, floating on the molten planet, or
/ is it region on the planet that is for
some reasons hotter than the rest and
dissipates with it's heat the clouds
above it? Each of these suggestions
has been made, as affording a possible
explanation of this unique phenomenon
/ One circumstance which complicates
the case is that the spit is not a fixture
| but drifts slowly and al variable rate
its rotation period being a trifie longer
than mat of the planet itself.-Phila-
/ dalDbia Record