JUPITER TODAY is a daily blog about the dynamic Jupiter system for the purpose of monitoring activity.
We start with the overall view of activity with the Jupiter system, showing the orbits of the four Galilean moons:
This is a view of the Jupiter system looking down on it. Following the blue line to the left is the line of sight to Earth, while following the gray line to the left is the line of sight to the Sun. The orbits of the four Galilean moons are shown. The large dots indicate the position of each moon at 0h, 6h, 12h, 18h, and 24h (0h the next day) UTC for this date. From this point of view, the moons revolve around Jupiter in a counter-clockwise motion. For more information about this graphic, see the post from 30 July 2015.
Jupiter has just now passed Superior Conjunction. These images blow me away they are so incredibly beautiful. Here's the current SOHO image showing the steady progress of Jupiter across its field of view:
The graph below shows the positions of the four Galilean moons over the next 24 hours as seen from Earth. The curved lines show the path of each moon through time. The dark band in the center is Jupiter. The x-axis is the distance, in arc seconds, from the center of Jupiter:
By 6h UTC, Io is now firmly in quad 4 moving east.
By 12h UTC, Io is about to move behind Jupiter and Europa will be transiting Jupiter soon.
At 18h UTC, Io is now firmly in quad 1 moving east. Europa has successfully transited Jupiter and is now in quad 3 headed west. Ganymede will be moving behind Jupiter soon.
By 0h UTC tomorrow, Io is very near eastern elongation and is moving into quad 2 headed west. Europa is now firmly in quad 3 headed west. Ganymede has just reappeared from behind Jupiter and is in quad 1 moving east. Callisto continues in quad 3 moving west.
At 09:49 UTC, Ganymede goes through an apojove at a distance of 1,071,889.2 km. At 12:14 UTC, Io goes through a perijove at a distance of 420,039.6 km. On the other side of the planet, Europa goes through a perijove at 12:26 UTC at a distance of 664,518.9km.
At 0h UTC, the position of Jupiter is RA 10h 25m 47.2s, DEC +10d 46m 16.8s. The phase angle is 0.730 degrees, which is 0.135 degrees greater than yesterday. The angular separation between Jupiter and the Sun as seen from Earth is 3.903 degrees, which is 0.726 degrees greater than yesterday. Jupiter is 806,236,919 km from the Sun, which is 36,080 km greater than yesterday. Jupiter and the Sun are moving away from each other at a velocity of 1,503.333 km/h, which is 1.166 km/h greater than yesterday. Jupiter is 956,817,170 km from Earth, which is 138,670 km closer than yesterday. Jupiter and Earth are moving toward one another at a velocity of 5,777.917 km/h, which is 1,282.209 km/h faster than yesterday.
At 13:05, Io moves behind Jupiter. From 14:51 to 17:42 UTC, the shadow of Europa transits Jupiter. From 15:02 to 17:54 UTC, Europa transits Jupiter. At 15:28 UTC, Io reappears from behind Jupiter. At 18:50 UTC, Ganymede moves behind Jupiter. At 22:51, Ganymede reappears from behind Jupiter.
And now the Glorious Orbital Ribbons:
Jupiter is so near Superior Conjunction that photography and other data collection isn't practical. We'll have to wait about a months after SC to start viewing the Jupiter system again.
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Please send me your feedback, comments, and questions to jupitertoday AT gmail DOT com or the comments section of this blog.
With my gratitude, the data used to create the orbit plots and ribbons was supplied by the JPL Horizons website. The graphics showing the location of the four moons as seen from Earth are via 'Jupiter Viewer 2.8'. Jupiter-Satellite and Satellite mutual events data is supplied from IMCEE.
Until tomorrow, I bid you Peace.
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