Red Spot

American

noun

Astronomy.

a large, usually reddish gaseous vortex on the surface of Jupiter, about 14,000 by 30,000 km, that drifts about slowly as the planet rotates and has been observed for several hundred years.

Red Spot British

noun

See Great Red Spot

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of Red Spot

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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Red Spot

With this approach, scientists can begin charting atmospheric differences across many exoplanets observable by JWST, much as ground-based telescopes once documented Jupiter's Great Red Spot and its banded clouds.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 2, 2025

The Great Red Spot and many details of the turbulent atmosphere, primarily composed of hydrogen and helium gas, are clearly visible, including several smaller storms.

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2023

You also most certainly think of the iconic Great Red Spot south of its equator.

From Salon ● Dec. 26, 2022

Whiter areas on the planet represent regions with more cloud cover, which reflects sunlight, especially Jupiter's famous Great Red Spot; darker spots have fewer clouds.

From Scientific American ● Dec. 20, 2022

False color image of the Great Red Spot, in which the computer has exaggerated reds and blues at the expense of greens.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023