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.
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, Callisto starts the day in quad 1 moving east. Ganymede spends all day in quad 2 moving west. Europa begins the day in quad 1 heading east. Io starts the day in quad 2 moving west.
By 6h UTC, Io is about to begin its transit of Jupiter.
At 12h UTC, Europa is just past its eastern elongation and is now in quad 2 moving west. Callisto is also at its eastern elongation and is joining Europa and Ganymede in quad 2 headed west.
By 18h UTC, Io is at western elongation and is moving into quad 4 heading east.
By 0h UTC tomorrow, Io is firmly in quad 4 moving east. Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto are all in quad 2 moving west.
Apojoves and Perijoves
At 04:49 UTC, Io goes through an apojove at a distance of 423,499.1 km from Jupiter.
Relative Positions and Motions
At 0h UTC, the position of Jupiter is RA 10h 33m 59.5s, DEC +09d 59m 13.9s. The phase angle is 2.110 degrees, which is 0.138 degrees greater than yesterday. The angle between Jupiter and the Sun is 11.368 degrees, which is 0.754 degrees greater than yesterday. The distance between Jupiter and the Sun is 806,595,126.1 km, which is 35,663.8 km further away than yesterday. Jupiter is moving away from the Sun at a velocity of 1,485.99 km/h, which is 0.6 km/h faster than yesterday. Earth is 953,725,530.6 km from Jupiter, which is 449,006.2 km closer than yesterday. Earth is moving towards Jupiter at a velocity of 18,700.59 km/h, which is 1,293.26 km/h faster than yesterday. We continue to accelerate towards Jupiter. What force are we feeling from F=ma???????
Jupiter-Satellite Events
From 06:44 to 09:02 UTC, the shadow of Io transits Jupiter. From 06:59 to 09:17 UTC, Io transits 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.
When is the first image of Jupiter after Superior Conjunction going to be taken? If you have one, send it to me!
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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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