(a) Jupiter\'s Great Red Spot rotates completely every six days. If the spot is

Question

(a) Jupiter's Great Red Spot rotates completely every six days. If the spot is circular (not quite true, but a reasonable approximation for this matter) and 26,000km in diameter, what are the wind speeds (i.e. how fast the gas is moving) at the outer edges of the storm (in km/hr)? (Hints: Recall the definition of speed. Think about how far a cloud on the edge of the storm must travel.)

(b) Convert your answer to miles per hour (1mile=1.6km). How do these speeds compare with winds in terrestrial category-5 hurricanes where wind speeds can be around 155mph? How do they compare with the speed of a commercial airliner (about 550 mph)? (Show your work).

Explanation / Answer

a) Jupiter Diameter = 139822 Km

One complete rotation given 6 days = 6 x24 hours = 144 hours

The speed of wind at outer edges of storm = 139822/144 =971 Km/Hr

b) 971 km/hr = 607 Miles/Hr

1.    The Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale (SSHWS), formerly the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale (SSHS), classifieshurricanes – Western Hemisphere tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of tropical depressions, and tropical storms – into five categories distinguished by the intensities of their sustained winds. To be classified as a hurricane, a tropical cyclone must have maximum sustained winds of at least 74 mph (33 m/s; 64 kn; 119 km/h) (Category 1). The highest classification in the scale, Category 5, is reserved for storms with winds exceeding 156 mph (70 m/s; 136 kn; 251 km/h).

So these winds are far above than category 5 winds

2.    The classifications can provide some indication of the potential damage and flooding a hurricane will cause upon landfall.

Officially, the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale is used only to describe hurricanes forming in the Atlantic Ocean andnorthern Pacific Ocean east of the International Date Line. Other areas use different scales to label these storms, which are called "cyclones" or "typhoons", depending on the area

3) How do they compare with the speed of a commercial airliner (about 550 mph)?

Yah, there are almost as similar with this wind speed

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