Page 28 - ARUBA TODAY

A28 SCIENCE
Tuesday 13 March 2018
Geometric clusters of cyclones churn over Jupiter’s poles

By MARCIA DUNN ter since 2016 and peering urn, where the atmosphere
AP Aerospace Writer beneath the thick ammonia could be even deeper than
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) clouds. It’s only the second Jupiter’s, he said.
— Jupiter’s poles are blanket- spacecraft to circle the plan- Jonathan Fortney of the Uni-
ed by geometric clusters of et; Galileo did it from 1995 to versity of California, Santa
cyclones and its atmosphere 2003. Another of the studies Cruz, who was not involved in
is deeper than scientists sus- in this week’s journal Nature the research, called the find-
pected. finds that Jupiter’s crisscross- ings “extremely robust” and
These are just some of the ing east-west jet streams ac- said they show “high-preci-
discoveries reported by four tually penetrate thousands sion measurements of a plan-
international research teams of miles (kilometers) beneath et’s gravitational field can be
Wednesday, based on obser- the visible cloud tops. used to answer questions of
vations by NASA’s Juno space- Refined measurements of deep planetary dynamics.”
craft circling Jupiter. Jupiter’s uneven gravity field Using similar techniques,
One group uncovered a con- enabled the Weizmann Insti- Juno could help scientists
stellation of nine cyclones tute of Science’s Yohai Kaspi determine the depth of Ju-
over Jupiter’s north pole and in Rehovot, Israel, and his piter’s Great Red Spot, a co-
six over the south pole. The colleagues to calculate the lossal swirling storm, Fortney
wind speeds exceed Category depth of the jet streams at said in a companion article in
5 hurricane strength in places, about 3,000 kilometers, or the journal.
reaching 220 mph (350 kph). 1,865 miles. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Labo-
The massive storms haven’t This composite image provided by NASA, derived from data “The result is a surprise be- ratory researchers Glenn Or-
changed position much — or collected by the Jupiter-orbiting Juno spacecraft, shows the cause this indicates that the ton and Fachreddin Tabata-
merged — since observations central cyclone at the planet’s north pole and the eight cyclones atmosphere of Jupiter is mas- ba-Vakili, who both took part
began. that encircle it. sive and extends much deep- in the cyclone study, said all
Team leader Alberto Adriani Associated Press er than we previously expect- these new discoveries “show
of Italy’s National Institute for “We were wrong about it,” he pole. Each cyclone measures ed,” Kaspi said in an email. Jupiter from a new perspec-
Astrophysics in Rome was sur- said via email. several thousand miles (kilo- By better understanding tive” unseen before Juno.
prised to find such complex Instead, they found an octa- meters) across. these strong jet streams and “We cannot say how many
structures. Scientists thought gon-shaped grouping over The fifth planet from our sun, the gravity field, Kaspi said mysteries are left to uncov-
they’d find something similar the north pole, with eight gas giant Jupiter is by far the scientists can better decipher er,” they wrote in an email.
to the six-sided cloud system cyclones surrounding one in largest planet in our solar the core of Jupiter. A similar “We are already finding way
spinning over Saturn’s north the middle, and a pentagon- system. Launched in 2011, situation may be occurring at more fascinating results than
pole. shaped batch over the south Juno has been orbiting Jupi- other big gas planets like Sat- we ever expected!”q

Bones found in 1940 seem to

be Amelia Earhart’s, study says

By MALCOLM RITTER around the world in 1937, ments led a scientist in 1941
AP Science Writer and the search for an an- to conclude the bones be-
NEW YORK (AP) — Bones swer to what happened to long to a man. In 1998, how-
found in 1940 on a western her and her navigator has ever, Jantz and another
Pacific Ocean island were captivated the public for scientist reinterpreted them
quite likely to be remains decades. as coming from a woman
from famed aviator Ame- Jantz’s analysis is the lat- of European ancestry, and
lia Earhart, a new analysis est chapter in a back-and- about Earhart’s height. But
concludes. forth that has played out in 2015, still other research-
The study and other evi- about the remains, which ers concluded the original
dence “point toward her were found in 1940 on Niku- assessment as a man was
rather strongly,” Univer- maroro Island but are now correct.
sity of Tennessee anthro- lost. Now Jantz weighs in with
pologist Richard Jantz said All that survive are seven another analysis of the
Thursday. measurements, from the measurements, published In a June 26, 1928 file photo, American aviatrix Amelia Earhart
poses with flowers as she arrives in Southampton, England, after
Earhart disappeared dur- skull and bones of the arm in January in the journal Fo- her transatlantic flight on the “Friendship” from Burry Point, Wales.
ing an attempted flight and leg. Those measure- rensic Anthropology.q Associated Press