"There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken." [Luke 21:25-26]
Could this be another sign from the heavens? We're all familiar with the images of the planet Jupiter with it's tell-tale Great Red Spot. Well, as it turns out, there is another red spot developing in the planet's turbulent atmosphere. Officially designated as Oval BA - and nicknamed by NASA as "Red Jr." - this new spot was discovered in 2000 when three smaller spots merged into one. As of last November it was still white, but has been changing color; it turned red a few weeks ago.
In the photo above, the Great Red Spot is at the left edge of Jupiter (you can see about half of it). Red Jr. is just right of the center.
Nobody knows what caused the Great Red Spot, or even what makes it red. We know it's been there for centuries, first discovered in 1664 when Robert Hooke trained his telescope on Jupiter. It is believed to be a storm of some sort, perhaps churning up the red material from the lower atmosphere. The same goes for this new spot which was perhaps born as a result of the collision by the Shoemaker-Levy comet in 1994 (another spectacular cosmic event).
I love astronomy - God's wonder displayed in the Universe is beautiful beyond compare. And to think this new event could be one of those signs from heaven that Jesus spoke about! Pretty awesome. Keep watch, my brethren. Be vigilant.
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