How is differential rotation observed on Jupiter?

Answer 1

Evidence of differential rotation appears as bands on the planet. Look at pictures of Jupiter and you can easily see a variety of horizontal bands (like lines of latitude) resulting from differential rotation.

Answer 2

By observing the different colored 'bands' around the planet, it's pretty easy to see that different lattitudes actually do rotate at different speeds. But Jupiter is mostly a gaseous planet (if it had a bit more mass, it might have been a star and we'd live in a binary system ☺) and so there's nothing 'rigid' to make it all rotate at the same speed. The Sun is the same way.

Doug

Answer 3

Objects at different Jovian latitudes change position relative to each other. For example the Little Red Spot (or Red Jr.) is further south than the Great Red Spot and so moves slightly slower, so over a period of weeks you can see them slide past each other.