Jupiter, the largest planet in the Solar System, has a fairly famous 'red spots'. The spots are in fact a storm.
The storm is much larger than the size of Earth. In fact, a storm known as the Great Red Spot (GRS) can swallow 3 Earth at once.
This storm is thought to have spun south of the equator Jupiter since 400 years ago. By comparison, Hurricane John - the largest storm ever to occur on Earth - lasts only 31 days.
Despite some doubts, in the historical record, this storm in Jupiter has been observed by an astronomer named Robert Hooke in 1664. Glenn Orton, the leader of the Juno Space Shuttle mission - who observed Jupiter in 2017 - said that the existence of two opposite gas streams direction becomes the main reason why Hurricane Jupiter can be long and stable.
In accurate measurements, this storm has a speed of about 650 kilometers per hour. Much bigger than Category 4 storms that only reach 250 kilometers per hour. For category 4 hurricanes alone, it is enough to devastate a city.
In the 1800s, astronomers have also measured the size of the storm. At that time, the results were much more astonishing than expected. Imagine, a width of about 40,000 kilometers and a height of 14,000 kilometers. Almost twice the height of Mount Everest!
Not Eternal
However, this storm is seen to shrink every year. This aborted the assumption that the storm might be eternal.
When Voyager crossed over Jupiter in the 1970s, it was discovered that the storm was already drastically shrinking. At that time, the width was only about 23,000 kilometers.
The same thing happened in 1995, when the Hubble Space Telescope observed Jupiter and found that the storm shrank to 21,000 kilometers. In 2009, it again shrank to 18,000 kilometers. About 3 years ago, this storm is known to have only 16,500 kilometers wide.
Though 'just' much of the size of the initial storm, with a diameter of 12,742 kilometers of Earth, the storm was still enough to swallow the Earth round.
Entering the "Dying"
Yes, the Great Red Spot is now entering the "dying" phase before it eventually "dies" and is just a memory.
With an estimated depreciation of 930 kilometers per year, within a decade or two more red spots in Jupiter are no longer a giant spots. And in the end, it turns into 'spots of memories'.
Based on external observations, the shrinkage of the storm has become increasingly clear. The storm that was originally oval shaped is now a circle. While the color is initially red, now began to turn brownish white.