Posts Made By: Carlos E. Hernandez

I made an observation of Jupiter on April 4, 2006 at 01:20 U.T. under average seeing conditions (5-6/10. moments of 6-7/10). The North Equatorial Belt (NEB) and the South Equatorial Belt (SEB) displayed a wealth of structure as depicted. Time constraints did not allow me to make a color observation. I welcome any comments that you may have on my observation.

Date (U.T.): April 4, 2006
Time (U.T.): 01:20
L1 046.9, L2 232.1, L3 001.3
Instrument: 9-inch (23-cm) F/13.5 Maksutov-Cassegrain
Magnification: 248x and 271x
Filter: Klee OPS Barlow
Seeing (1-10): 5-6 (moments of 6-7), Antoniadi (I-V): III
Transparency (1-6): 5

Notes:
South Polar Region (SPR): Appears dark to dusky (3-4/10) and mottled.
South South Temperate Belt (SSTB): Appears dusky (4/10) and diffuse.
South Temperate Zone (STZ): Appears bright (7/10) and thin.
South Temperate Belt (STB): Appears dark to dusky (3-4/10) with three very bright (8/10) ovals within it (central oval timed at 230.3 (L2)/ 359.5 (L3)).
South Tropical Zone (STrZ): Appears bright (7/10) without any other detail visible within.
South Equatorial Belt (SEB): Appears dark to bright (3-7/10) and complex. A bright (7/10) scalloped preceding half is noted whereas the following half contains a dark (3/10) central bar.
Equatorial Zone (EZ): Appears dull to bright (5-7/10) with a central, dull (5/10) band (EZB) connecting to dusky (4/10) projections from NEB-S festoons.
North Equatorial Belt (NEB): Appears dark to dull (3-5/10) with dark to very dark (2-3/10) blue festoons over it's southern border (NEB-S; central festoon timed at 033.4 (L1)/ 348.0 (L3)). The northern border (NEB-N) appears irregular. A central thin, bright (7/10) zone is noted as well.
North Tropical Zone (NTrZ): Appears bright (7/10) without any other detail visible within.
North Temperate Belt (NTB): Appears dark (3/10) and thin.
North Temperate Zone (NTZ): Appears shaded (6/10) and thin.
North Polar Region (NPR): Appears dark to dull (3-5/10) and mottled.

Satellite: Callisto (IV) appears north and following the planet.

The best of luck imaging and observing Jupiter.

Regards,
Carlos

I made an observation of Jupiter on May 21, 2006 at 04:40 U.T. under steady seeing conditions (7-8/10). The North Equatorial Belt (NEB) and South Equatorial Belt (SEB) exhibited interesting and complex detail. I welcome any comments that you may have on my observation.

Date (U.T.): May 21, 2006
Time (U.T.): 04:40
L1 032.6, L2 221.8, L3 004.0
Diameter (arc-seconds): 44.3
Instrument: 9-inch (23-cm) F/13.5 Maksutov-Cassegrain
Magnification: 272x
Filters: None (IL)
Seeing (1-10): 7-8, Antoniadi (I-V): II
Transparency (1-6): 4-5

Notes:
South Polar Region (SPR): Appears dark to dull (3-5/10) and mottled. It's northern border appears to deviate southwards preceding the CM and a South Tropical Zone (STrZ) band.
South Tropical Zone (STrZ): Appears bright (7/10) and contains a dark (3/10) wedge-shaped band over it's preceding-southern portion.
South Equatorial Belt (SEB): Appears bisected by a confluent group of bright (7/10) ovals with dark to dusky (3-4/10) northern and southern halves.
Equatorial Zone (EZ): Appears dull to bright (5-7/10). It's preceding half (especially southern portion) appears dull to shaded (5-6/10). Dusky to dull (4-5/10) projections from NEB-S festoons are noted over it's mid-portion.
North Equatorial Belt (NEB): Appears dark to dull (3-5/10) with bright (7/10) ovals and dark to dusky (3-4/10) condensations within it. A very bright (8/10) oval is noted along the northern border following the CM. Dark (3/10) blue festoons are noted along the southern border (NEB-S).
North Tropical Zone (NTrZ): Appears bright (7/10) without any other detail visible.
North Temperate Belt (NTB): Appears dark to dusky (3-4/10) and broad.
North Temperate Zone (NTZ): Appears shaded to bright (6-7/10).
North Polar Region (NPR): Appears dark to dull (3-5/10) and mottled.

The best of luck in your own imaging and observations of Jupiter.

Regards,
Carlos E. Hernandez

The upcoming opposition of Mars will be the best one for the red planet in nearly 58,000 years as derived by astronomer Jeffrey D. Beish (A.L.P.O. Mars Section). The 2003 opposition (the apparent diameter being 25.11 seconds of arc at maximum) is the first closest approach ever since the beginning of the AD (as proved by J MEEUS), but also that the preceding similar closest apparition occurred in the year -57,537 ! (with an apparent diameter 25.14 seconds of arc). Mr. Beish's analysis also revealed that in the year -79,241 the apparent diameter of the planet was 26.16 seconds of arc!, and in the future we will have another occasion in the year 25,695 where the apparent diameter grows up to 26.04 seconds of arc! Mars reaches opposition (Sun-Earth-Mars) on August 28, 2003 at 22:38 U.T. at a distance of approximately 34.6 million miles (55.7 million km). Closest approach occurs the day before (August 27 at 10:00 U.T.) due to the eccentricity of the orbit of Mars which incidentally allowed the German astronomer Kepler to derive his infamous three Laws of Planetary Motion. The red planet will be located in the constellation of Aquarius (a disadvantage for observers living to the north).

An excellent guide for the upcoming opposition is located at the Arkansas Sky Observatory web site (http://www.arksky.org/) under the Guides menu. The article is titled "MARS 2003 The return of a lifetime..... Your ASO Guide to Observing the Red Planet by P. Clay Sherrod." This article provides all the vital information on the apparition (the period between successive conjunctions (solar) during which the planet is visible) and what instrumentation and accesories (e.g. filters) to use. The Online Tools menu also features a central meridian (CM) calculator for the observer. This web site is an excellent reference for the planetary observer at all times.

I hope that the information above proves useful to you all.

Carlos

Sol,

Congratulations on an excellent observation of Jupiter. Please note the increased activity over the North Equatorial Belt (NEB), lower thick belt. Many bright (white) ovals and festoons are visible in Sol's drawing. Observations such as this show the value of visual observations for recording features on the planets. The best of both worlds would be a visual observation and an image of the planet made at the same time. This would allow a direct comparison of interesting features on the planet. I look forward to your future observations.

Carlos

Angel,

My computer console on my Losmandy G11 is out and needs to be replaced. When I get it back I will make observations of Jupiter that hopefully will coincide with your imaging. By the way it is an excellent image. Keep up the excellent work.

Carlos

Gary,

Congratulations on what I believe to be an excellent observation (drawing) of Jupiter. You have captured many details over the planet, especially surrounding the Great Red Spot (GRS). Please keep up your observations. The only thing I would suggest is scanning at a lower resolution as the image on the forum is hard to evaluate without much scrolling.

Carlos

Gary,

An excellent observation of Jupiter showing many interesting features. You have captured the belt details very nicely. The festoons are correctly oriented (the central festoon appears to be a loop festoon). The satellite shadow of Ganymede over the northern border of the SEB is very interesting. The size of your scanned image is good. I look forward to your future observations.

Carlos

Sol,

An excellent observation of Jupiter showing much detail across the disk. The SEB looks irregular and the shadow of Ganymede across the northern border is interesting. The NEB is also interesting containing dark condensations and blue festoons. The Sirius Variable Filter appears to work well for Jupiter. I look forward to your future observations.

I have tried to find your drawing on Yahoo. What is the folder and under what heading can they be found (e.g. Amateurs, etc.)?

Carlos

Gary,

An excellent observation of Jupiter showing much detail. The satellites are very interesting. You have captured detail over the Great Red Spot (GRS). Please keep up the excellent work.

Carlos

Sol,

Thanks for posting your latest image of Jupiter. You have captured much detail across both the NEB and SEB, including surrounding the GRS. Please keep up the excellent work.

Carlos