What is that Jovian Spot?
The mailbag is stuffed with letters about the recent story on Jupiter’s strange spot. Thanks for all the spirited questions and comments! But before you write, let me tell you what the spot is not: It is not thought to have anything to do with the Galileo probe that recently crashed into Jupiter. It’s not related to the monoliths of science fiction. It is probably an atmospheric disturbance, though a comet or asteroid impact can’t be ruled out. Some seasoned observers do not think the spot is all that unusual. The latest version of our story was posted at 9:40 a.m. ET on Friday and is here. October 20 What Makes Stars Shine? Anthony writes: Why do the stars shine at night? RRB: Each star makes its own heat and light, through thermonuclear fusion, just as the Sun does. In the process, the nuclei of atoms are forced together in the Sun’s core, under intense pressure and temperatures that can reach 28 million degrees Fahrenheit (16 million degrees Kelvin). Not all thermonuclear fusion is
