Jupiter
With its numerous moons and several rings, Jupiter looks like a "mini-solar system." Jupiter is the most massive planet in our solar system.
On January 7, 1610, while skygazing from his garden in Padua, Italy, astronomer Galileo Galilei was surprised to see four small "stars" near Jupiter. He had discovered Jupiter's four largest moons, now called Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. Collectively, these four moons are known today as the Galilean satellites. Io is the most volcanically active body in our solar system. Ganymede is the largest planetary moon and has its own magnetic field. A liquid ocean may lie beneath the frozen crust of Europa. An icy ocean may also lie beneath the crust of Callisto. In 2003 alone, astronomers discovered 23 new moons orbiting the giant planet. Jupiter now officially has 63 moons - by far the most in the solar system. Many of the outer moons are probably asteroids captured by the giant planet's gravity.
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The most important atmospherical features.
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The meaning of the used abbreviations is as follows
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| N=North, S=South, E=Equatorial, Tr=Tropical, Te=Temperate, B=Belt and Z=Zone |
NPR=North Pole Region and SPR=South Pole Region.
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| Measuring longitude values on Jupiter is complicated by the fact that the planet spins more rapidly near the equator than it does at the poles. Three systems are used. Jupiter System I is used for features within about 10° of the equator, where a full rotation takes about 9h 50m 30s. Jupiter System II is used for features north and south of this zone (such as the Great Red Spot), where a rotation takes about 9h 55m 41s. Finally, Jupiter System III, which is based on the rotation of Jupiter's interior, is used for radio observations and isn't particularly useful for visual observers. This rotation time of 9h 55m 30s probably reflects the rate at which the solid core of Jupiter rotates, far below the cloud layers.
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September 3, 2010 @ 00:44 UT |
| 12" F/5 Newton telescope + 4x Barlow + Philips ToUcam + IRB filter |
| Effective focal length was 6300mm (N=21.0) |
| Magnitude | : | -2.9 |
AVI made with wxAstro Capture |
| Distance | : | 4.0014 AU |
Exposure 1/25 sec. (stack=500) |
| Diameter | : | 49.2" |
Gain : 49%, Brightness : 50% |
| Altitude | : | +37°15' |
Gamma : 0%, Saturation : 50% |
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CM I | : | 67.41° |
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CM II | : | 185.62° |
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CM III | : | 23.87° |
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September 1, 2010 @ 00:45 UT |
| 12" F/5 Newton telescope + 4x Barlow + Philips ToUcam + IRB filter |
| Effective focal length : 6300mm (N=21.0) |
| Magnitude | : | -2.9 |
AVI made with wxAstro Capture |
| Distance | : | 4.0125 AU |
Exposure 1/25 sec. (stack=500) |
| Diameter | : | 49.1" |
Gain : 49%, Brightness : 50% |
| Altitude | : | +37°16' |
Gamma : 0%, Saturation : 50% |
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CM I | : | 112.18° |
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CM II | : | 245.64° |
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CM III | : | 83.37° |
| You can find older Jupiter images here. |
© Copyright Rob Kantelberg
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