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 continues to move towards Superior Conjunction on 26 August. These images blow me away they are so incredibly beautiful. Here's the current SOHO image showing the steady
I'm going to show you a different graphic for the moon location as a function of time, which is produced by the same site that produces the images. I am so grateful for that site! The graphic shows the motion of the four Galilean moons 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.
At 0h UTC, Io starts the day in quad 1 moving east. Europa is also in quad 1 moving east. Ganymede is just past western elongation and will be in quad 4 moving east all day. Callisto spends another day in quad 1 heading east.
By 6h UTC, Io is past its eastern elongation and is now in quad 2 moving west.
At 12h UTC, Io is about to transit Jupiter.
At 18h UTC, Io has successfully tranisted Jupiter and is now firmly in quad 3 moving west. Europa is just past its eastern elongation and is now in quad 2 moving west.
By 0h UTC tomorrow, Io is near its western elongation. Europa is now firmly in quad 2 moving west. Ganymede continues in quad 4 moving east. Callisto will be in quad 1 one more day.
At 13:44 UTC, Io goes through it's apojove at a distance of 423,489.6 km.
At 0h UTC, the position of Jupiter is RA 10h 19m 09.9s, DEC +11d 23m 39.9s. The phase angle is 0.440 degrees, which is 0.133 degrees less than yesterday. The angular separation between Jupiter and the Sun is 2.346 degrees, which is 0.705 degrees less than yesterday. The distance between Jupiter and the Sun is 805,946,266 km, which is 36,483 km further away than yesterday. Jupiter is moving away from the Sun at a velocity of 1,520.125 km/h, which is 5.958 km/h slower than yesterday. The distance between Jupiter and Earth is 957,062,147 km, which is 108,314 km greater than yesterday. Jupiter and Earth are moving away from each other at a velocity of 4,513.083 km/h, which is 1,294.042 km/h slower than yesterday. Feel those bumps????
From 13:56 to 16:14, Io transits Jupiter. From 13:58 to 16:16 UTC, Io's shadow transits Jupiter.
The Glorious Orbital Ribbons:
Jupiter is so near Superior Conjunction (taking place at 22:00 UTC on 26 August 2015) 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.
Spread the word about this daily blog! This blog is subject to evolution. What can I do to make this blog more interesting and more informative?
Subscribe at the right column of this blog and get these posts sent to you automatically!
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment