Steve’s Virtual Planet

Jupiter’s Great Red Spot - Dec 6

Jupiter is really showing it’s beauty now that it has climbed higher in the sky in the last few weeks. As always when the king of planets comes around, I am always eager to get a look at the Great Red Spot (GRS). The view from Fernbank Observatory on December 6th, 2012 was really special and I was able to share it with quit a few people.

The GRS was not very bold or even a distinct color that evening. In fact, the color was quite pale but the outline was very distinct. For some reason, the seeing that evening was better than normal and the view was certainly better than expected. We had a chance to show off the GRS to a number of people that night that had probably not seen it before. I explained where to look and the shape and color, and people were able to see it right away. I had known for two days it would be there so it was great to see it shine through!

Since Jupiter’s rotation is on the order of 10 hours, the GRS isn’t always out front so if you plan ahead you can determine when the GRS is visible. I use the online tool Sky View Cafe, and with SVC it’s easy to get a chart of Jupiter’s moons and the GRS in advance. Check out some of the other posts on Sky View Cafe and give it a try yourself. Jupiter is around in the evening sky until April, so there are still plenty of chances to got Spot Hunting!!

Clear skies!!