Jupiter is well known for its Great Red Spot, a feature that was discovered by Galileo over 400 years ago! Astronomers have been tracking the size and shape of it for over a century but the most accurate measurements have come from the Hubble Space Telescope. Every time Earth and Jupiter are at their closest, Hubble takes a series of images and it’s these images that have detected that the spot jiggles from day to day. Not only does it change size but length and width too leaving astronomers baffled. Jupiter is the largest planet in the Solar System and, like the other outer planets is a giant ball of gas. It’s so large all the other planets in the Solar System can be fitted inside with plenty of room to spare. Composed mostly of hydrogen and helium it can be seen as a colourful disk through amateur telescopes with belts, storms and of course the Great Red Spot. The spot was first discovered by Galileo in around 1610 when he became the first person to turn a telescope on the distant planet.  Side-by-side images show the opposite faces of Jupiter. The largest storm, the Great Red Spot, is the most prominent feature in the left bottom third of this view. Credit: NASA, ESA, Amy Simon (NASA-GSFC). The Great Red Spot is a storm which has been raging for over 400 years. It’s large enough that Earth could easily fit inside more than once and is an anticyclone system similar to those seen here on Earth. It rotates in a counterclockwise direction with speeds reaching in excess of 640 km per hour. Over the years, it seems to have been generally decreasing in size albeit not as quickly as expected.  “Great Red Spot from P7 Flyover”. Credit: NASA / SwRI / MSSS / Jason Major © public domain Images taken by Hubble of the storm were collected over a 90 day period between December 2023 and March 2024 when the Jupiter was at its closest to Earth. Its high resolution cameras showed that it is jiggling like a bowl of jelly and certainly not as stable as we once thought. Previous studies showed that there is an amount of movement along the longitudinal axis but no suggestion it’s changing in size.  The team of astronomers led by Amy Simon of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centre in Maryland published their findings in the Planetary Science Journal. Simon’s said “This is really the first time we’ve had the proper imaging cadence of the GRS. With Hubble’s high resolution we can say that the GRS is definitively squeezing in an out at the same time as it moves faster and slower. That was very unexpected, and at present there are no hydrodynamic explanations.” The study was a part of NASA’s Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy program (OPAL) whose aim is to obtain a long time series of observations of the outer planets to understand their evolution and atmosphere. These recent observations though were purely to explore and analyse the GRS. Extrapolating forward in time the team think that the GRS will keep shrinking before it stabilises in a less elongated shape than we see today. Currently it’s particularly ‘wide’ in latitude but once it shrinks it will likely stabilise with the winds holding it in place.  The team hope that to understand the GRS was to understand the mechanisms of the largest storms in the Solar System which would ultimately help us to learn more about hurricane systems on Earth. Source : NASA’s Hubble Watches Jupiter’s Great Red Spot Behave Like a Stress Ball The post Jupiter’s Great Red Spot Jiggles appeared first on Universe Today.

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There’s a natural explanation for the very un-catlike sounds your pet starts emitting when it sees a bird or squirrel. 

What Happened Immediately After the American Revolution Ended. 1,201,965 views - 1,201,965 Sept. 2, 2020 Weird History - What happened right after the Revolutionary War ended? It's easy to think the United States of America was born immediately after the British surrendered at Yorktown, but in truth it was a long, arduous process to transform the idealistic embryonic state to a fully formed nation. Only after many years of challenging diplomatic talks was a peace treaty with Great Britain established. Not even the most insanely cool Revolutionary War hero could help speed up the process. It also took a long time for the British soldiers to actually leave American soil, taking loyalists and slaves with them back to England. The real work began after the British left, however. History rarely plays out easily for anyone. THE BRITISH EVACUATED SAVANNAH, GEORGIA 2:45 THE TREATY OF PARIS WAS SIGNED (A Treasonous Betrayal) 4:29 BRITISH TROOPS LEFT NEW YORK 5:04 GEORGE WASHINGTON RESIGNED AS COMMANDER 5:46 THE STATES RATIFIED THE CONSTITUTION 8:43 THE FIRST PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION TOOK PLACE 10:13 - FAIR USE FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES Mirrored From: https://www.youtube.com/@WeirdHistory

Documentary - The Sons of Liberty: A Revolutionary Secret Organization. Vivid History - 1,415 views • Dec 2, 2023 Vivid History - Welcome to Vivid History! Bring you vivid and fascinating historical stories through colorized photos. Discover the untold story of the Sons of Liberty, a covert organization that played a crucial role in expanding the rights of European colonists during the American Revolution. Led by prominent figures like John Hancock and Samuel Adams, this secret society operated in all 13 colonies. Delve into their clandestine activities and learn about their impact on shaping the course of American history. - FAIR USE FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES Mirrored From: https://www.youtube.com/@VividHistory

Ah, prom. A quintessential teen experience that somehow manages to take every single one of those high octane, conflicting emotions felt during the entire school year and condense them into one solitary evening. All while everyone is dressed in elegant evening wear. Though prom began as early as the 1800s as a simple cotillion, it has evolved over the years to become more extravagant—what with “promposals” and limousines and celebrity appearances. But, it has also evolved to become more LGBTQ inclusive and challenging of old gender rules. Prom is (and continues to be) such an integral part of teen culture that it’s the central plot of many well loved rites-of-passage movies like “Pretty in Pink,” “She’s All That,” and “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.” Hopefully, your own prom was more like these movies, and less like “Carrie.” Giphy But the truth is: for many of us, prom really was somewhere between a romantic comedy and a horror movie. For every romantic slow dance and first kiss there were also plenty of fashion disasters, alcohol experiments gone wrong and relationship drama. Lots and lots of relationship drama. Successes and failures, if you will. In honor of prom season, Jimmy Fallon asked his “Tonight Show” audience to share some of their most memorable prom fails on Twitter. Here are 20 that were just too hilarious and/or relatable not to share. Hopefully it will help you love your own #PromFail. Fallon went first.1.“My friend ripped his tuxedo and spent the night crying because he thought Men’s Wearhouse was going to sue him.” – @jimmyfallon2.“A guy I knew rented a tuxedo and died on his way to prom. It wasn't damaged, so his family decided to bury him while wearing it, but forgot it was just a rental and they didn't buy it, so they ended up with a huge debt and the other partygoers had to help them pay.” – @jon_jonz3.“A friend of mine was planning on going with a girl he had liked for many years. He was so nervous, he got Very drunk, then ended up throwing up all over his rented suit AND spending the night in jail for underaged drinking as he was entering, so she had to go alone…" – @Sallyjo254.“Our limo driver was pulled over at the venue and turns out he was driving with an expired license and we had no way to get home so we had to scramble during prom to find another limo." – @allieng075.“My date’s ex-boyfriend showed up to the prom and won her back. He didn’t even go to our school. I still paid for their room.” – @chrisfreas6."I was walking up to a girl in the cafeteria to ask her to prom and someone threw a big piece of cake and hit me in the head right as I got there. Long story short, she went with someone else and I became known as 'cake boy.'" – @gumgumerson7."I was dumped on prom. That’s it." – @beastmodemom2478."End of the night, stepped outside the perimeter to see my date off. A total distance of about 10 feet. Well within eye shot. Was denied re-entry because 1. I went on the grass (a real excuse they used) and 2. They genuinely thought I was a stranger crashing the party." – @L_Drumer9."We didn't have a prom in 90's UK but did have a disco. I don't imagine U.S. proms had a quality beige buffet of sausage rolls, chicken legs, vol-a-vents & chips; & a DJ who waited till each record ended before lifting it off the player and putting the next one on!" – @Optimist_Eeyore10."One year they played "Cruise" by Florida Georgia Line - the grind pit immediately vacated the floor and the only ones left were like 8 of us that decided to square dance while everyone left to quench their thirst off the dance floor." – @TotallyVannah11."The Prom King and Queen were twins. Their slow dance song was "Truly Madly Deeply". They pleaded with the DJ to find another song, and when asked why, they yelled "We're twins!" The DJ quickly picked another song: "Always be my baby." The king walked away, grumbling.” – @overbaughs12."Walked in dressed to impress including fake fur. Walked beautiful self to bathroom sat down and realized the feet next stall facing towards toilet. I had been so self absorbed I walked into mens room.” – msyvonnne2u13."My date's friend was trying to impress me by breakdancing. He ended up slipping on his own sweat and broke his wrist in the process. I guess he put the break in breakdancing.” – overbaughs14.“My girlfriend and I broke up right before my senior Prom! She ended up not going at all, so when we won queen and king, my friend just yelled out 'that’s one lonely castle”'! – @claydoughrocks15. “A bunch of the girls in my class all got their super puffy, super expensive dresses from the same place. By the end of the night, they were stuck sitting because their dresses were falling apart. Meanwhile, 18 years later. I still have my maybe $200 dress.” – SaiyanaBrief16."My husband and I are teachers. We were chaperones and he was doing the Russian bottle dance and tore his meniscus. Life’s little reminder he was 40.” – MrsMieschigan17.“Our prom was booked at a hotel resort. When prom committee went to decorate and setup the space. There was a huge wedding party already in progress. Wedding party offered more money so resort Mgr took it. Took 3+ yrs in court to get the $21k fee they refused to refund.” – @DingleBob18.“I wore the wrong spanx under my dress, does this really need more explaining?” – @itstherealmeboo19.“After leaving prom my date and I were involved in a 9 car accident on the freeway. Just bruises luckily, and hey we got to ride in the same ambulance together.” – @WayrenFor the last one, let’s just say a picture’s worth a thousand words:20.My daughter and her friends thought it would be fun to take pictures in the rainforest at our zoo. This was the moment a bird decided to fly right at them. #PromFail pic.twitter.com/wMMVdyrVJZ— Lisa Hebert (@lmhksu) May 10, 2022 This article originally appeared on 5.11.22

Tony Hawk might just be the least-recognized well-known person on the planet. The iconic skateboarder is now in his 50s, but his legendary status in the skating world—and video game world—has made him a household name. His face, on the other hand, is a different story. For years, Hawk has shared hilarious stories of people telling him he looks like Tony Hawk. These mistaken-but-not-mistaken identity incidents happen so often that Hawk has made a running joke out of it, often playing along with people's "Hey, does anyone ever tell you you look like Tony Hawk?" inquiries. Sometimes he tells people he actually is Tony Hawk and they don't believe him. Sometimes he just says he gets that all the time. Tony Hawk fans know the joke well, so sometimes they purposefully tell him he looks like himself just for giggles. But an elevator interaction in 2022 combined the ongoing saga's greatest hits, and may just be, as Hawk says, "where it all ends."Hawk shared the story on Twitter. "This just happened, and maybe this is where it all ends," he wrote. "Got on an elevator with 3 people. One guy (with his wife), sarcastically: 'anyone ever tell you…' and stops. Me (amused): yes, but you're the first today. His wife: 'I'm sorry, I tried to stop him from doing the joke."Cute, but then it got extra funny. This just happened, and maybe this is where it all ends:\nGot an elevator with 3 people.\nOne guy (with his wife), sarcastically: \u201canyone ever tell you you\u2026\u201d and stops.\nMe (amused): yes, but you\u2019re the first today.\nHis wife: \u201cI\u2019m sorry, I tried to stop him from doing the joke\u201d — Tony Hawk (@Tony Hawk) 1649306465 The elevator stopped and the couple got off on their floor. Then the third person on the elevator asked what the joke was. When Hawk explained that he gets "mistaken" for Tony Hawk, the guy said, "Haha you do look like him!" and then exited the elevator, leaving Hawk standing there alone and perplexed by what just happened.It's like the guy unintendedly came up with a perfect punchline to a joke he didn't even know existed. You can't even write this stuff. (elevator stops, couple exits to their floor)\nOther guy: \u201cwhat\u2019s the joke?\u201d\nMe: I get mistaken identity a lot\nHim: \u201cmistaken for who?\u201d\nMe: Tony Hawk\nHim: \u201chaha you do look like him!\u201d\nElevator stops again, he exits on his floor. I am left alone, heading upwards & feeling perplexed — Tony Hawk (@Tony Hawk) 1649306466 People loved the perfect storm that occurred on the elevator, and shared other fun Tony Hawk mistaken identity jokes. You should enter a Tony Hawk look alike contest and see what you place — Henny Stabler (@Henny Stabler) 1649323039 time to bring back this hit tweet https://t.co/4X1c5G1jdO— ?????????? (@Samwell_0) April 7, 2022 And apparently, Tony Hawk isn't the only famous-but-not-like-Brad-Pitt-famous person to deal with this kind of thing. So\u2026 like \u2026pic.twitter.com/xa1ScJf8XH — Alf (@Alf) 1649352996 Good times. Keep on being your cool, awesome self, Tony Hawk—whether people recognize you for real or not.BTW, there's a new documentary about Tony Hawk called "Until the Wheels Fall Off" that just premiered on HBO. Check it out: This article originally appeared on 4.8.22

One of the most wonderful things about having a dog is how attached they become to their owners. I work from home and my Jack Russel terrier, Scout, lies next to me on his bed for most of the day. The only time he leaves my office is for a sip of water or to go outside and sun his belly on the porch.That's why whenever I leave the house and can't take Scout with me, I wonder, "Does he miss me? Is he sad that he's alone?"Studies show that our dogs miss us the moment we leave the house and that feeling slowly intensifies until we are gone for about four hours and they have a "plateau of melancholy." That's why the longer you're away, the more excited your dog is when you return home.The moment I pull up in my car Scout begins to howl like a wolf trying to contact someone who's miles away. It's like, "Dude, I'm 30 feet away. Give me a second to grab the groceries out of the trunk."Researchers from the Universities of Pisa and Perugia, Italy have found that if you give your dog some affection before you leave the house they'll have less anxiety while you're away.They conducted experiments with 10 dogs between the ages of one and 11 without attachment issues. The group was composed of seven mixed-breed dogs, one Labrador retriever, one Hovawart, and one Chihuahua.Participants in the study walked their leashed dogs into a fenced area where they were greeted by a researcher who took their dog's heart rate. In the first test, after the owners walked their dogs into the area, they talked with a researcher for one minute then left without giving the dog any special attention.In the second test, the dog owners petted the dog during their interaction with the researcher.In both tests, the owners left the fenced area and hid far enough away so that the dog couldn't smell them.After the owners left, the dogs looked for them for about three minutes on average. After the owners returned, the researchers measured the dogs' levels of the stress hormone cortisol as well as their heart rates.The researchers found that whether the dogs were petted or not, their cortisol levels were unchanged. But their heart rate showed a marked decrease if the owners petted them before leaving. Researchers later watched videos of the dogs and found that the ones that were petted showed " behaviors indicative of calmness for a longer period while waiting for the owner's return."Next time I'm ready to leave the house and Scout follows me to the front door after saying, "Sorry bud, you can't go with me on this trip," I'll kneel down and give him a little extra love and attention.Maybe that way he won't howl like the house is on fire when I pull up in my car after a trip to the grocery store.

No neighborhood would be complete without that one neighbor who complains about the pettiest things. The big problem comes when you live in a shared building or have a homeowner's association where that nosey neighbor has the power to make your life miserable.Ashley Woodfolk, a young adult fiction writer in Brooklyn, couldn't believe that someone in her co-op complained about her toddler writing in sidewalk chalk in the courtyard of her building.For those who live outside of New York City, a co-op is a type of housing where each resident is a shareholder in a corporation and pays for their living area based on its size. Co-ops usually have a committee or board that meets to handle issues that arise in the building.It's incredible to believe that someone would be so shallow that they'd complain about a toddler drawing in sidewalk chalk. All it takes is a hose or a light rain and the chalk will disappear forever.Furthermore, who would complain about a child drawing with sidewalk chalk during a pandemic when parents are rightfully afraid of their kids being exposed to the coronavirus?Woodfolk was incensed that someone would make such a complaint. So she decided to apologize to the woman by writing a massive letter in the courtyard using sidewalk chalk. GOOD EVENING TO EVERYONE EXCEPT the woman at my co-op who complained to the board about me and my toddler using sidewalk chalk in the courtyard.\n\nSo I wrote her a little letter. \nIn sidewalk chalk. In the courtyard.pic.twitter.com/Tbw52ZtVV1 — Ashley Woodfolk (@Ashley Woodfolk) 1635212538 "This will be my last time using sidewalk chalk in the courtyard since it seems to be such a problem for you (and only for you). I'm sorry harmless fun that brought my toddler joy (and has actually helped him learned all of his letters and most of his numbers –– his favorites are E and 8) causes you so much distress that you had to complain to the board and waste everyone's time when our building has much bigger real problems."I think you're aware that we're in a pandemic and while I'd love to take my kid to museums and the movies I don't feel safe doing that, and sometimes even local parks are more crowded than I'm comfortable with. The courtyard was a safe space but now there are limits on that too. There only a few weeks of nice weather left, and I sincerely hope you enjoy the use of the sidewalk-chalk free courtyard for the remainder of the fall. And I hope that every time it rains, rain that would have washed away any colorful ABCs I wrote on the ground, you think of me."All my love, Ashley."To make sure she got her message across, she also left a letter for the woman in the lobby of the building. Also left the letter in the lobby, just in case. — Ashley Woodfolk (@Ashley Woodfolk) 1635219507 The woman got the message. Don't worry. Her nosy ass already saw it. — Ashley Woodfolk (@Ashley Woodfolk) 1635219487 Woodfolk doesn't blame the board for having to hear about the complaint. She assumes they heard about it multiple times and had to give her the news because they didn't want to be harassed. I don't blame the board. They were super apologetic and on my side but I don't want to make their lives harder, you know? I wish my pettiness could only affect her but the trickle effect isn't worth it. — Ashley Woodfolk (@Ashley Woodfolk) 1635219686 The board ignored it for as long as possible and even when they called me they were super apologetic. Thats how I knew she'd been pestering them for a while. I don't blame them. I blame her for being a squeaky wheel about something so harmless. — Ashley Woodfolk (@Ashley Woodfolk) 1635216150 Let's hope that Woodfolk's dramatic reaction teaches the woman, and anyone else who wants to make petty complaints, that they should think twice before reporting someone to the board. They just might get a taste of their own pettiness in a glorious way. This article originally appeared on 10.30.21