34. Jupiter's Great Red Spot is a Giant Storm

34. Jupiter's Great Red Spot is a Giant Storm

If you've seen pictures of Jupiter in the past, you've probably seen one of its most distinctive features - a lively red spot in the lower hemisphere of the gas giant. But that isn't a blemish or a geographical feature - it's a terrifyingly powerful storm.

It would be impossible to stand on Jupiter - there is no surface, and the planet is comprised mostly of gas, with some liquid elements. The gases - a non-breathable blend of ammonia, ammonia hydro-sulfide, helium and hydrogen - are whipped across the surface at speeds of up to 400mph, giving the planet its striped appearance. The storm that comprises the red spot is self-contained, though, and nobody knows why. What we can tell you is that it spins, like a cyclone, and is enormous; at its widest it is more than three times the diameter of Earth. First noticed by astronomers in the 1600s, the storm has been raging for well over 400 years and possibly more, but in recent years does seem to have shrunk. It may one day finally end and disappear.

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Did You Know...

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Chefs made their way into celebrity land a while ago. But how many celebrities that weren’t trained as professional cooks are actually whizzes in the kitchen? Here are several that come to mind.

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Actress Julia Roberts is confident about her cooking skills. “I’m quite a good cook,” she told E! News. “I’m like a closet home ec teacher…I can really cook anything.” Roberts has said she often cooks fish for herself and her kids. And speaking of her three children, “They think that I’m a good cook,” Roberts told People. “They actually told me that I should open a restaurant.” She also relishes cooking for the holidays, particularly shredded Brussel sprouts. Roberts hasn’t published a cookbook, but we did find recipes attributed to her for peach crisp and banana hemp muffins. Or you can make the same summer salad the actress supposedly eats.

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Chrissy Teigen started off as a supermodel. Then her love of cooking filtered into her professional life too. At this point, she’s created recipes for a limited Blue Apron release and also just launched her own home and cooking line at Target named “Cravings,” after the two cookbooks she’s released. Teigen describes cooking as “a time of peace” for herself. So maybe peace out to her tuna melt sandwich or the fried chicken wings that are a favorite of her husband, John Legend.

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Lady Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, comes from a cooking Italian family. Her father started his own restaurant in New York and also published a cookbook. And apparently, Lady Gaga has inherited the family’s cooking genes. Her Instagram account occasionally features photos of her culinary activities. Sure, sometimes it’s topless cooking. But other times it’s more poignant like in the post she shared about her bringing food to the family of her dear friend who passed away. Want to try a Gaga/Germanotta family favorite? Check out her recipe for whole wheat pasta with a sweet fennel sauce.

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