Space

Jupiter's Great Red Spot Is So Loud It Heats Up The Planet

Jupiter's biggest storm is so energetic, its noise alone helps raise the temperature of the atmosphere to an extreme.

Jupiter's Great Red Spot Is So Loud It Heats Up The Planet
NASA
SMS

Jupiter's Great Red Spot is so violent, the noise it makes can heat the atmosphere above it by 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

The storm causes a lot of turbulence, some of which makes it all the way to Jupiter's upper atmosphere as acoustic waves — you know, sound.

Imagine the roar of a tornado, except the tornado is twice as wide as Earth.

That acoustic energy turns into heat. The Great Red Spot and storms like it make the entire atmosphere around Jupiter's equator hundreds of degrees hotter.

SEE MORE: What the Hell Is This Noise Jupiter's Making?

We do see the same heating phenomenon here on Earth, but lucky for us it's not as severe.

Parts of the atmosphere high above the Andes Mountains are thought to briefly heat up by hundreds of degrees, thanks to acoustic waves from gusts of wind at the surface.

This video includes clips and images from NASA.