Further Hubble observations and analyses could help unlock these and other mysteries, study team members said. There's still a lot to learn about Great Dark Spots, however, such as their wind speeds. And each Great Dark Spot probably lives for just two years or so, though some may reach the ripe old age of six. Such storms likely crop up every four to six years, the scientists found. In a second study - also published today, in the Astronomical Journal - the researchers used Hubble observations to estimate the frequency of Great Dark Spot formation on Neptune. Simon conducted the new study with Michael Wong and Andrew Hsu, both of whom are at the University of California, Berkeley. The methane clouds likely float above Great Dark Spots the way "lenticular" clouds hover over tall mountains here on Earth, study team members said. For example, the association between the newborn storm and those bright white clouds, which are composed of frozen methane, suggests that the spots take shape deeper in Neptune's atmosphere than previously thought. Witnessing the birth of a Great Dark Spot sheds additional light on these mysterious features. But Neptune's Great Dark Spots wander around the planet much more freely before they're finally ripped apart by high-altitude winds, the researchers said. The Great Red Spot, which has been observed continuously since at least 1830, is confined to a narrow latitude range by Jupiter's jet streams.
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