What is Great White Spot?
[[<!-- File:Saturn great white spot.gif -->File:Saturn Storm.jpg|thumb|alt=Planet with a large white spot in center|Saturn's Great White Spot.]] The '''Great White Spot''', also known as '''Great White Oval''', on [[Saturn (planet)|Saturn]], is a name given to storms that are large enough to be seen by [[telescope]] from [[Earth]]. The spots appear to be white, and the name was based on [[Jupiter]]'s [[Great Red Spot]]. The spots can be several thousands of [[kilometer]]s wide. Currently, a large band of white [[cloud]]s called the Northern Electrostatic Disturbance (because of an increase in radio and [[Plasma (physics)|plasma]] interference) has covered Saturn since 2010, and the [[Cassini-Huygens|Cassini orbiter]] is tracking the storm. Cassini information shows a loss of [[acetylene]] in the white clouds, an increase of [[phosphine]], and an unusual temperature drop in the center of the storm. In April 2011, the storm had a second eruption.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/122329429.html |title=Dissecting Saturn's Big Storm |first=Shweta |last=Krishnan |work=Sky and Telescope |date=2011-05-20 |accessdate=22 June 2011 |archive-date=2012-09-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120910203710/http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/122329429.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Scientists believe the white spots are made from [[ammonia]] ice pushed up by warmer [[gas]] through the tops of the planet's clouds.<ref name=hubble/><ref name=moore/>{{rp|211-12}} ==Occurrence== The spots happen every 28.5 Earth years. This is the [[solstice]] when Saturn's [[northern hemisphere]] tilts most toward the [[Sun]]. The following is a list of recorded sightings; years with spots that are part of the cycle are 1876, 1903, 1933, 1960, and 1990. * 1876 – Seen by [[Asaph Hall]]. He used the white spots to calculate the planet's period of [[rotation]]. * 1903 – Seen by [[Edward Emerson Barnard|Edward Barnard]]. * 1933 – Seen by [[Will Hay]], comic actor and amateur [[astronomer]]. * 1960 – Seen by J.H. Bot