A massive red splotch on Jupiter disappeared centuries ago. However, a new one was born years later.

This prominent feature is now recognized as the “Great Red Spot,” a whirling storm that is broader than Earth. It’s interesting to note that earlier observers, such as Giovanni Domenico Cassini in 1665, also saw a massive red storm on Jupiter at the same latitude, suggesting that the two storms may be the same.

But according to recently released research, astronomers dug through old artwork and early telescopic observations of Jupiter to determine that the area we see today is, in fact, a different storm from the one that preceded it and was erroneously dubbed the “Permanent Spot.” Most likely, it vanished in the middle of the 18th and 19th centuries.

“What is certain is that no astronomer of the time reported any spot at that latitude for 118 years,” stated Agustín Sánchez-Lavega, a planetary scientist from the University of the Basque Country in Spain.

Then, in 1831, astronomers once more began to see a noticeable red spot. According to the recently published research in Geophysical Research Letters, this most recent location is at least 190 years old.

That storm is really spectacular. It has been rotating counterclockwise for about 200 years, and its winds can exceed 400 mph. NASA and other planetary scientists are attempting to determine what gives the space tempest its vivid red color.

The Permanent Spot was significantly smaller than the Great Red Spot in the 19th century (and later), according to centuries-old record, which implies the magnitude of the earlier storm would have had to triple. However, Sánchez-Lavega clarified, that’s not something that astronomers have ever seen during a storm on Jupiter.

You may be wondering how the Great Red Spot got to be, given how different it is in size and color. You’re not by yourself. The research team also used computer simulations, which are based on how storms or vortices behave in the Jovian atmosphere, to find out. The most convincing outcome was unstable wind and atmospheric disturbance in this area of Jupiter’s atmosphere, which led to the formation of a larger “proto-Great Red Spot” that would have contracted into a more compact storm. The prospect of multiple storms merging was another strong contender, but it failed to generate anything like the Great Red Spot.

For more than 150 years, the Great Red Spot has been getting smaller. When it looked more sausage-like in 1879, its diameter was around 24,200 miles (39,000 kilometers). Its current width of 8,700 miles (14,000 kilometers) is comparable to that of its predecessor. The next steps for the location are unknown.

“We do not know what the future of the [Great Red Spot] is,” Sánchez-Lavega stated. If it continues to contract, it could fragment apart. Or, he added, “It may reach a stable size and last for a long time.”

We will be observing from our vantage point hundreds of millions of miles distant.

Award-winning journalist Mark works as Mashable’s science editor. Having served as a park ranger for the National Park Service and saw the immense benefits of informing the public about scientific developments in the fields of earth sciences, space exploration, biodiversity, health, and other related fields, he decided to pursue a career in reporting.