Steve’s Virtual Planet

Jupiter’s Back

This past couple of months have granted some great views of Jupiter. We’ve had better seeing than normal the preceding two months in the Atlanta area. I had two exceptional views of the GRS through the Fernbank 36 inch on December 1st and 8th.

When I drew a bead on Jupiter early that first night, I couldn’t believe the seeing had improved that much from the week before. I kept looking, looking, and sure enough, it was crisp, more detailed than most nights. In the suburbs already! Early on, the GRS was coming around the east and it was already looking distinct, if not fully visible. By 9:00, it was going to be right on the meridian. And boy was it ever there! Not very bold in color but a very distinct football shaped outline. The boundary of the oval was very crisp.

We had a fairly big crowd at the observatory that night, well over 120 people. I felt like a kid at Christmas announcing to the visitors, many of them students, that this was a treat! And the seeing just kept up. I couldn’t believe we had such a sustained steady sky that evening. That kind of view registers almost permanently and you just don’t forget it for a while. What a nice memory!

In any case, there are still plenty of days left to catch Jupiter this apparition. And you get some extra dark hours when daylight savings time kicks in on March 11. Jupiter will rise back up 15 degrees at the same time the next evening and give you a double bonus with Venus right next to it! Our largest planetary neighbor will hang around through most of March.

Have fun with Jupiter and good luck hunting the GRS!!