Abstract
Thermal-IR imaging from space-borne and ground-based observatories
was used to investigate the temperature, composition and aerosol structure
of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot (GRS) and its temporal variability between
1995-2008. An elliptical warm core, extending over 8◦ of longitude and 3◦ of
latitude, was observed within the cold anticyclonic vortex at 21◦S. The warm
airmass is colocated with the deepest red coloration of the GRS interior. The
maximum contrast between the core and the coldest regions of the GRS was
3.0-3.5 K in the north-south direction at 400 mbar atmospheric pressure,