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 sungrazing comet from yesterday appears to have evaporated while approaching the Sun. Thanks for the show you beautiful thing! See you later!
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:
At 0h UTC, Io begins the day finishing up its transit of Jupiter and is in quad 3 headed west. Europa is at its western elongation and is moving into quad 4 heading east. Ganymede spends all day in quad 3 moving west. Callisto is also in quad 3 all day.
By 6h UTC, Io is in quad 3 moving west. Europa is now firmly in quad 4 moving east.
By 12h UTC, Io has passed its western elongation and is now firmly in quad 4 moving east.
At 18h UTC, Io and Europa are about to move behind Jupiter.
By 0h UTC tomorrow, Io and Europa have moved behind Jupiter and are now in quad 1 headed east. Ganymede is very near its western elongation and will be moving into quad 4 headed east. Callisto will be in quad 3 moving west for the next few days.
At 0h UTC, the position of Jupiter on Earth's celestial sphere is RA 10h 24m 08.0s, DEC +10d 55m 39.5s. The phase angle is 0.462 degrees, which is 0.127 degrees greater than yesterday. The angle between Jupiter and the Sun as seen from Earth is 2.465 degrees, which is 0.68 degrees greater than yesterday. The distance between Jupiter and the Sun is 806,164,787 km, which is 36,247 km further away than yesterday. Jupiter is moving away from the Sun at a velocity of 1,5,10.292 km/h, which is 3.916 km/h faster than yesterday. Wobble. The distance between Jupiter and Earth is now 957,063,737 km, which is 76,920 km closer than yesterday. Jupiter and Earth are moving towards one another at a velocity of 3,205 km/h, which is 1,286.375 km faster than yesterday. We are accelerating away from Jupiter, and this acceleration is increasing every day!
At 18:37 UTC, Io moves behind Jupiter. At 20:19 UTC, Europa moves behind Jupiter. At 20:58 UTC, Io reappears from behind Jupiter. At 23:22 UTC, Europa 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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