Jupiter: Great Red Spot gobbling Baby Red Spot

BEIJING, July 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Jupiter's Great Red
Spot appears to have gotten the best of one of its smaller, younger rival as
captured in a recent series of images by the Hubble Space Telescope.

The smaller storm first appeared earlier this year, but had the misfortune to get caught up in the reverse cyclone
spin of the Great Red Spot. That left the baby red spot deformed and sapped of
color as it spun off to the east of the greater storm. Astronomers predict that
the Great Red Spot will eventually pull in and absorb the baby red spot ¡ª a
possible reason why the super-storm has sustained its power for so long.

Another super-storm, a third one known as the Little
Red Spot, safely skirted its larger cousin, and may challenge the Great Red Spot
for size. The Little Red Spot's top winds already equal those of the Great Red
Spot at nearly 384 mph (172 meters per second), and a scientist told SPACE.com
in May that the newer contender may be part of a larger storm system beneath
Jupiter's upper atmosphere.

The Little Red Spot first appeared in 2005, after a
three-way storm merger turned it from white to an angry red. That means the
battle of Jupiter's titans may eventually depend on which storm can consume the
most fallen rivals.

(Agencies)