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:
Orbital Motion
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 just past western elongation and in quad 4 moving east. Europa starts the day in quad 4 moving east also. Io and Europa will be moving together all day today, including behind Jupiter. Ganymede starts the day in quad 1 moving east. Callisto is passing through western elongation and will be in quad 4 headed east.
At 6h UTC, Io is in quad 4 moving behind Jupiter soon. Callisto is now firmly in quad 4 moving east the rest of the day.
By 12h UTC, Io has moved behind Jupiter and is now in quad 1 moving east. Europa is moving behind Jupiter. Ganymede is near eastern elongation and will be moving into quad 2 headed west.
At 18h UTC, Io is near eastern elongation and will be headed into quad 2 moving west.
By 0h UTC tomorrow, Io is firmly in quad 2 moving west. Europa is in quad 1 headed east. Ganymede is now firmly in quad 2 moving west. Callisto continues in quad 4 headed east.
Apojove and Perijoves
At 06:31 UTC, Io goes through a perijove at a distance of 420,046.9 km. At 06:47 UTC, Europa goes through an apojove at a distance of 677,654.5 km.
Relative Positions and Motions
At 0h UTC, Jupiter is at an RA of 10h 27m 26,1s, DEC +10d 36m 53.1s. The phase angle is 1.005 degrees, which is 0.138 degrees greater than yesterday. The angular separation between Jupiter and the Sun as seen from Earth is 5.376 degrees, which is 0.739 degrees greater than yesterday. The distance between Jupiter and the Sun is 806,308,899 km, which is 35,976 km further away than yesterday. Jupiter is moving away from the Sun at a velocity of 1,499.0 km/h, which is 1.167 km/h slower than yesterday. Jupiter and Earth are 956,447,099 km apart, which is 200,488 km further apart than yesterday. Jupiter and Earth are moving towards one another at a velocity of 8,353.667 km/h, which is 1,287.709 km/h faster than yesterday. Do you feel the acceleration??????
Jupiter-Satellite Events
From 07:33 to 09:58 UTC, Io moves behind Jupiter. From 09:37 to 12:47 UTC, Europa moves behind Jupiter.
Glorious Orbital Ribbons
These are the spacial and temporal connections between the four Galilean moons. This is, once again, looking down upon the Jupiter system.
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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