Russ,
The prominent blue festoon located at the southern border of the North Equatorial Belt (NEB-S) represents a "hot spot" (or dry region) within the jovian atmosphere. These attractive features can take on various forms along the NEB-S. They can appear "trunk-like" (or stubby), long arcs projecting from a broad base, looping into the Equatorial Zone (EZ) apparently connecting to another festoon, etc. I always like to observe them in detail whenever possible.
The Galileo Probe entered such a jovian hot spot in 1995 (December 7). It recorded the region to be very dry relative to the rest of the jovian atmosphere. The probe returned data for 58 minutes before being destroyed by the tremendous pressure and temperature. The following link shows images obtained by the Galileo Orbiter of these jovian hot spots http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov/images/jupiter/hotspots.html
I hope that this helps to better understand these enigmatic features.
Regards,
Carlos
The prominent blue festoon located at the southern border of the North Equatorial Belt (NEB-S) represents a "hot spot" (or dry region) within the jovian atmosphere. These attractive features can take on various forms along the NEB-S. They can appear "trunk-like" (or stubby), long arcs projecting from a broad base, looping into the Equatorial Zone (EZ) apparently connecting to another festoon, etc. I always like to observe them in detail whenever possible.
The Galileo Probe entered such a jovian hot spot in 1995 (December 7). It recorded the region to be very dry relative to the rest of the jovian atmosphere. The probe returned data for 58 minutes before being destroyed by the tremendous pressure and temperature. The following link shows images obtained by the Galileo Orbiter of these jovian hot spots http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov/images/jupiter/hotspots.html
I hope that this helps to better understand these enigmatic features.
Regards,
Carlos
