Jupiter: 300-Year-Old 'Hypercane'

Jupiter's Great Red Spot is the granddaddy of all storms. Hands-down huge. Roll out the behemoth word. Even "hypercane," used to describe hurricanes on Earth that might occur if the planet warms appreciably, do not do the Red Spot justice.

Proof: If you could filet Earth and lay it out flat like a life-size National Geographic map, you'd barely cover the Great Red Spot. It's a whopping 15,400 miles (24,800 kilometers) across at its widest point. And it won't die.

"People have been following Jupiter's Great Red Spot ever since the telescope was invented 300 years ago. It is nothing but a storm, but storms on Earth rarely last longer than two weeks," Ingersoll said.

"What makes storms last so much longer on Jupiter than they do on Earth?"

That's the scientist asking the question. We'll let you know when someone comes up with an answer.

Meanwhile, some have speculated that the storm's longevity may be tied to the lack of storm victims. A hurricane on Earth begins to die when it slams into a Florida or a North Carolina, because it loses its energy source -- the warm water of the ocean.

Jupiter, with no coastal hamlets (and, in fact, no solid surface) might just be the perfect place in which to be a storm. Because of this, researchers think the Great Red Spot might teach us a thing or two about how storms behave over the open ocean on Earth, where things are also less solid.

There is one significant difference, however: The Great Red Spot is a high-pressure system, and rotates the opposite direction from cyclones on Earth, which are low-pressure systems.

Other news about weather in our solar system
Venus: No Lightning, But a Strange Green Glow
Jupiter: Cassini Snaps Earth-like Weather
Jupiter: Cassini Makes First Color Movie of Clouds
Titan: Earth-Like Weather and Methane Rain
The Sun: Space Weather