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  • 5/24/2025
We’ve long known that Jupiter is a planet of storms, with its most iconic one having lasted for at least 350 years. Now the James Webb Space Telescope has deciphered exactly how fast one of Jupiter’s tempests is traveling.

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Transcript
00:00we've long known that jupiter is a planet of storms and its most iconic one that red spot
00:08that's a signature of its topography has been observed as far back as 1665 or for more than
00:13350 years now according to new observations from the james webb space telescope one of its storms
00:19is also far more fierce than scientists could have ever predicted there is currently a jet
00:24stream circling the planet traveling at around 320 miles per hour for reference the highest
00:29sustained wind speeds for a hurricane on planet earth is 215 miles per hour and jupiter's storm
00:35is big the constant jet stream is 3 000 miles wide meaning nearly twice the width of the united
00:40states north to south at its widest point lead author on the study ricardo hueso says these
00:45findings were a total surprise adding what we have always seen as blurred hazes in jupiter's
00:50atmosphere now appear as crisp features that we can track along with the planet's fast rotation
00:54researchers used a specific band of ultraviolet light to decipher the storm's exact speed
00:59revealing particular atmospheric alterations due to the jet stream at different altitudes which they
01:04say is also providing more data about jupiter's atmospheric situation in general

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