Missing the implied comedy and danger evident in its very name, scientists are studying the Giant Red Spot of Jupiter to see just what secrets it can share about its home planet, according to the Discovery Channel. The most recent interest in the eye comes following the discovery that, contrary to popular belief, it's actually one of the more calm parts of the atmosphere of the planet. Although, as Philip Marcus of the University of California explains, that's not to say that it's entirely benign.

"One of the interesting things we've discovered about this is that when you try to recreate this in the lab, it's highly, highly unstable," Marcus told Discovery News. "It just literally rips itself to shreds." Yet the real Giant Red Spot is one of the most stable features visible on Jupiter. So what gives? "It's telling us something about Jupiter," said Marcus. "There must be something special about Jupiter's atmosphere that makes it different."




That thing, of course, is the giant red spot in the middle of it.

Red Spot Offers Window Into Jupiter [Discovery News]