What did NASA's Juno find about its depth?

It extends hundreds of kilometers down

What other features appear on Jupiter?

Smaller storms, sometimes red too

Great Red Spot Quiz: Jupiter's Giant Shrinking Storm

This Great Red Spot quiz flies over the stormiest planet in the Solar System. Play 10 interactive questions on a high-pressure storm wider than Earth, centuries of observation, its steady shrinking, winds of hundreds of kilometers per hour, its counterclockwise spin, Juno's measurement of its depth, uncertain reasons for its color and smaller red spots that come and go.

Start Great Red Spot Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Planet
On which planet is the Great Red Spot?
Type
What kind of feature is it?
Size
How does its size compare to Earth?
Age
How long has it been observed?
Shrink
What is happening to the Great Red Spot?
Winds
How fast are its winds?
Spin
Which way does it rotate?
Deep
What did NASA's Juno find about its depth?
Color
Why is it red?
Others
What other features appear on Jupiter?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: On which planet is the Great Red Spot?
Answer: Jupiter
It is in the southern hemisphere.
Q2: What kind of feature is it?
Answer: A giant storm
It is an anticyclone.
Q3: How does its size compare to Earth?
Answer: It is wider than Earth
It once held about three Earths.
Q4: How long has it been observed?
Answer: Since at least the 1800s
Possibly since the 1600s.
Q5: What is happening to the Great Red Spot?
Answer: It is shrinking
It has become rounder.
Q6: How fast are its winds?
Answer: Hundreds of kilometers per hour
Its edges spin fastest.
Q7: Which way does it rotate?
Answer: Counterclockwise
It is a high-pressure system.
Q8: What did NASA's Juno find about its depth?
Answer: It extends hundreds of kilometers down
Gravity data helped.
Q9: Why is it red?
Answer: Scientists are still unsure
Sunlight may alter chemicals.
Q10: What other features appear on Jupiter?
Answer: Smaller storms, sometimes red too
Oval BA is called Red Spot Junior.

A Storm Larger Than Earth

The Great Red Spot is a giant storm in Jupiter's southern hemisphere. It is an anticyclone, a high-pressure system spinning counterclockwise, and it is wider than Earth. It has been observed since at least the 1800s and possibly since the 1600s.

The storm once held about three Earths across but has been shrinking and becoming rounder. Winds along its edges reach hundreds of kilometers per hour. NASA's Juno spacecraft used gravity measurements to show the storm extends hundreds of kilometers below the visible clouds.

Scientists are still unsure why it is red, though sunlight may alter chemicals lifted from below. Jupiter has many smaller storms, including Oval BA, nicknamed Red Spot Junior. Amateur astronomers with backyard telescopes help track the spot's changes.

What This Quiz Teaches

Space fans will enjoy these questions.

What the storm is
How big it is
How long it has lasted
How deep it goes
Why it is red

Did You Know?

Jupiter's day is under 10 hours.
Clouds form colorful belts and zones.
Voyager photographed it up close.
Its color changes over years.
Hubble tracks it regularly.