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You are here: Home / Space / Who Discovered the Great Dark Spot On the Planet Neptune and How Big Is the Great Dark Spot On Neptune?

Who Discovered the Great Dark Spot On the Planet Neptune and How Big Is the Great Dark Spot On Neptune?

May 25, 2020 by Karen Hill

Neptune’s Great Dark Spot, like Jupiter’s Great Red Spot and Saturn’s Great White Spot, indicates an atmospheric storm.

It is an anticyclone, a cyclone rotating in a counterclockwise direction, about the size of Earth that travels eastward about 8° south of the equator at a pace of 100 feet (30 m) per second.

The Great Dark Spot is an anti-cyclonic storm system spanning 13,000×6,600 km, and was discovered by NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1989.

About 42° south, Scooter, a spot with a bright center, rotates much more quickly.

Still farther south, at 55°, is another dark spot.

Over these spots rise high, white wisps of methane ice crystals similar to Earth’s cirrus clouds.

Dark spots may dissipate and disappear when they migrate too close to the equator or possibly through some other unknown mechanism.

Related Facts

  • How Big Is the the Great Red Spot On Jupiter and Is the Great Red Spot On the Planet Jupiter Permanent?
  • What Is the Great Red Spot On the Planet Jupiter and When Was the Great Red Spot On Jupiter First Discovered?
  • Is Jupiter's Great Red Spot Always In the Same Place and Is the Great Red Spot On Jupiter Visible From Earth?
  • What Is Saturn's Great White Spot and How Often Does the Great White Spot On Saturn Appear?
  • How Was Neptune Discovered and How Did Astronomers Determine That the Planet Neptune Existed Beyond Uranus?
  • What Color Is the Planet Neptune and Why Is Neptune's Atmosphere Bright Blue?

Filed Under: Space

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « What Is the Planet Neptune’s Interior Made of and What Is the Composition of Neptune’s Atmosphere?
Next Post: What Is the Ninth Planet From the Sun, How Far Away Is Pluto, and Is Pluto a Planet, a Moon, or an Asteroid? »

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