Jupiter's clouds?????

Question

Why do some bands of clouds on Jupiter rotate clockwise, and others counter clockwise? The Great Red Spot has a larger diameter than the band it is in... why don't the clouds coming at it in the opposite direction get sucked in?

Answer 1

I'm not entirely sure, but there are a few things to take into account, that could have something to do with this.

Jupiter has a VERY active atmosphere.  Bands and belts of cooling and warming gasses, constantly rising and falling.  Then there's the GRS...  think of it as a gigantic atmospheric hurricane racing around the planet, with enough momentum and velocity to last for hundreds if not thousands of years.

Now, there is also one other issue.  Are we watching the clouds move, or observing the rotation of the planet?  Clearly, earths clouds do not stay above one point,  or even necessarily rotate on the same axis as it's surface does...  in fact, to me, they appear to have little or nothing to do with earth's rotation...  usually moving from the northwest to southeast, at least when I'm paying attention, but even that is inconsistent.

I can only speculate, because I do not know, and have not done the research, but if Jupiter completes one orbit in 10 hours, there's a good possibility that all that fast movement could have something to do with your cloud motion observations.  I suspect the correct answer will have a combination of planetary motions and meteorology.

Answer 2

All the cloud belts on Jupiter rotate in the same direction as the planet rotates, counterclockwise as seen from above the north pole. They rotate at different speeds because they are air currents, not solid objects, and have different relative velocities. The clouds close to the Red Spot DO get sucked in, as can be seen in any high resolution images of Jupiter.

Answer 3

None of the cloud bands rotate counter clockwise. They all go at the same direction. But some go at faster speeds than others. This means that at the boundaries between bands, there is a rotating effect.

The spot is a giant hurricane. The winds that hit the side of it get swirld around in a circle.