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 progress:
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.
By 6h UTC, Io is firmly in quad 4 moving east.
At 12h UTC, Io is moving behind Jupiter. Europa is transiting Jupiter, Ganymede is about to start moving behind Jupiter.
By 18h UTC, Io is firmly in quad 1 moving east. Europa is now past transit and moving west in quad 3. Ganymede has now moved behind Jupiter and is now moving east in quad 1. Callisto is at eastern elongation and will spend the next few days in quad 2 heading west.
At 0h UTC tomorrow, Io is at eastern elongation. Europa is firmly in quad 3 moving west. Ganymede is now firmly in quad 1 moving east. Callisto is now in quad 2 heading west.
Today, the position of Jupiter is RA 10h 19m 59.7s, DEC +11d 19m 00.8s. The phase angle is 0.315 degrees, which is 0.125 degrees less than yesterday. The angular separation between Jupiter and the Sun as seen from Earth is 1.677 degrees, which is 0.669 degrees less than yesterday. The distance between the Sun and Jupiter is 805,982,792 km, which is 36,526 km greater than yesterday. Jupiter is moving away from the Sun at a velocity of 1,521.917 km/h, which is 1.792 km/h faster than yesterday. Jupiter is 957,139,609 km away from Earth, which is 77,462 km greater than yesterday. We are moving away from Jupiter at a velocity of 3,227.583 km/h, which is 1,285.5 km/h slower than yesterday.
At 11:10 UTC, Io moves behind Jupiter. From 12:14 to 15:06 UTC, Europa transits Jupiter. From 12:17 to 15:08 UTC, Europa's shadow transits Jupiter. At 13:28 UTC, Io reappears from behind Jupiter. At 14:46, Ganymede moves behind Jupiter. At 18:27 UTC, Ganymede reappears from behind Jupiter.
Orbital Ribbons for today. Notice the symmetry between Io, Europa, and Ganymede:
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.
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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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