Characteristic zonal winds and long-lived vortices in the atmospheres of the outer planets.
The cameras on board the NASA Voyager spacecraft provided a survey of cloud systems within the atmospheres of the giant planets and allowed determination of zonal wind patterns, which constrain long-lived cloud systems. The basic atmospheric circulations are compared and long-lived cloud features are reviewed. The basic structure of the Great Red Spot is reviewed and the tendency of the spot to drift at -4 m s(-1) or -2 m s(-1) is presented.
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Department of Astronomy, New Mexico State University, P.O. Box 30001/Department 4500, Las Cruces, New Mexico 88003.