observers log

A Jupiter Observing Guide

Viewing the solar systems largest planet can be more than fun even with a modest telescope, you can make

observations of lasting scientific value. By John W. McAnally

J
upiter has often been referred
to as the amateurs planet and, as
Glenn Ortons comments on the
opposite page suggest, it offers a
wealth of opportunities for amateur ob-
servers to make substantial contributions
to the science of astronomy. All it takes
are determination and the effective use
of equipment you might already have.

Equipment Matters
When the topic of making scientific-
quality Jupiter observations is discussed,
one of the first questions to arise is, what
telescope is best? The answer is simple:
one capable of producing high-contrast
views. This generally narrows the field
down to color-corrected (achromatic and
apochromatic) refractors and long-focal-
length Newtonian reflectors. Telescopes
with contrast-robbing large secondary
mirrors, such as Schmidt-Cassegrains or
Maksutov-Cassegrains, are less desirable. An accomplished artist, Greg Mort made this painting of Jupiter and its moon Europa based
Having said that, no observer should on observations from October 1999 with his 1212-inch tri-schiefspiegler telescope. Morts goal
put off observing Jupiter for lack of the was to accurately capture the planets subtle colors.
perfect telescope. Many valuable obser-
vations have been made by amateurs tracking mount is the minimum for seri- Consequently, you will rarely use more
using ordinary Schmidt-Cassegrains. The ous Jupiter observing. Larger instruments than 40 per inch of aperture. I find that
truth is, the best telescope is one the are even better, since they will allow scru- my 8-inch is limited to about 200 on
observer uses well. Regardless of tele- tiny of fine detail and subtle low-contrast nights of steady seeing. As with the tele-
scope type, its optics should be of high markings. scopes optics, those of the eyepieces
quality and perfectly collimated. Size is Although Jupiter is large and bright, it must deliver sharp, high-contrast views.
also important a well-made 5-inch re- doesnt tolerate high magnification well Many serious planetary observers prefer
fractor or 6-inch reflector on a sturdy the image tends to go soft quickly. high-quality Plssl or orthoscopic eye-

124 October 2000 Sky & Telescope 2000 Sky Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.
Jupiter, a planet replete with observable phenomena, is a target for both casual and serious amateur
astronomers. During the course of the Galileo mission to Jupiter, it was necessary to plan well in advance the
timing and pointing of instruments at atmospheric features of interest. This requirement forged alliances
between amateur astronomers and Galileo atmospheric investigators. Glenn Orton, Galileo Mission Scientist
filters such as Wratten 82A (light blue),
80A (medium blue), or 38A (blue). Red
filters such as Wratten 21 (orange-red),
23 (light red), and 25 (red) can be used
to enhance bluish features, such as the
projections and festoons found on the
southern edge of the North Equatorial
Belt. I like to use yellow filters such as
Wratten 12 (medium yellow) and 8 (light
yellow) to enhance the contrast of the
polar regions. The Wratten 8 filter is es-
pecially effective as a general-purpose
contrast enhancer. Experimentation is
the best way to discover which filter
works best with a given Jovian feature.
For example, Ive found yellow filters es-
pecially effective for viewing the low-
contrast south temperate ovals. Depend-
The author is seen here with his 8-inch ing on the viewing conditions, observing
Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, the instrument without a filter sometimes proves to be
he uses for most of his Jupiter observing. the best strategy.
Says McAnally, I pay very close attention to
the telescopes collimation, which really makes The Observations
a difference in being able to see subtle detail Of course, even the best telescope fitted
on Jupiter. with the proper filter is still at the mercy
of the churning atmosphere above us
pieces to complex models designed for (January issue, page 125). The Associa-
ultrawide-field views. tion of Lunar and Planetary Observers
Color filters that screw into eyepiece (ALPO) uses a scale of 0 to 10 to de-
barrels can improve the contrast of cer- scribe seeing conditions, with 0 being the
tain Jovian features and assist in identify- worst and 10 the best. Unless the seeing
ing them. As a general rule, choose a fil- is better than 5, you will most likely have
ter with a color opposite that of the to wait for another time to do high-
feature you want to observe. For exam- power observing.
ple, the Great Red Spot (GRS) and red- Jupiter is thrilling to view in just
dish brown belts are best seen with blue about any telescope. Even a small depart-
One complete rotation of Jupiter can be seen in this CCD sequence (continued on page 126)
obtained by Donald Parker of Coral Gables, Florida, from December 1999 through February
2000. The series advances in rotation by approximately 25 of Jovian longitude per image.
2000 Sky Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.
ment-store refractor will reveal several
cloud belts and its four brightest moons.
Jupiter is also one of the most dynamic
telescopic sights you never get the
same view twice. This is partly the result
of its rapid rotation gas-giant planets
like Jupiter exhibit differential rotation;
that is, they rotate more rapidly at the
equator than they do at the poles.
Jupiters observable surface has two
general systems of rotation that differ by
approximately 5 minutes: System I (9
hours 50.5 minutes) and System II (9
hours 55.7 minutes). Most of the planet
falls under the System II rotation rate,
while System I rotation applies to the
Equatorial Zone.
If you want to seriously study Jupiter,
you should observe it as often as possi-
ble; the more time you spend at the eye-
piece, the more adept you will become at
seeing the planets most subtle features.
One way to get to know Jupiter is to
make full-disk drawings of its ever-
changing cloudtops. Usually this involves
sketching the entire planet in a single
session on a preprinted form. Be sure to
note the date and time (in Universal
Time) you began and ended your draw-
ing, as well as the seeing conditions and
the type of telescope, magnification, and
filters used, if any.
A variation on the disk drawing is the
strip sketch. To make a strip sketch you
normally concentrate on only one or two
belts or zones at a time. By focusing at-
tention on a smaller portion of the plan-
et, more detail can be recorded. Because
of this, a strip sketch is often more valu-
able than a full-disk drawing.
Sky & Telescope October 2000 125
observers log
SOUTH
South Polar Region (SPR)

S.S. Temperate Zone (SSTeZ) S.S. Temperate Belt (SSTeB)

S. Temperate Zone (STeZ) S. Temperate Belt (STeB)

S. Tropical Zone (STrZ) Great Red Spot (GRS)

south component

Central Meridian (CM)

S. Equatorial Belt (SEB)

FOLLOWING
north component
PRECEDING

Direction of
Equatorial Zone (EZ) rotation Equatorial Band (EB)

N. Tropical Zone (NTrZ) N. Equatorial Belt (NEB)

N. Temperate Zone (NTeZ) N. Temperate Belt (NTeB)

N.N. Temperate Zone (NNTeZ) N.N. Temperate Belt (NNTeB)

North Polar Region (NPR)

NORTH
Above: Almost any kind of Jupiter observation requires familiarity with the correct names for the various belts and zones. This diagram repli-
cates the view in an inverting telescope such as a Newtonian reflector, or a refractor, Schmidt-Cassegrain, or Maksutov used without a star di-
agonal. Telescopes used with a star diagonal will have north up but east and west reversed. The planets rotation causes features to move from
east (following) to west (preceding). Below: A long-time ALPO observer, Ohio amateur Claus Benninghoven used a 12-inch f/15 Clark refractor
running at 220 and Wratten 82A (light blue) and 58 (green) color filters to record Jupiters appearance on November 15, 1999, in this strip
sketch. Note the series of festoons stretching out into the Equatorial Zone from the southern edge of the North Equatorial Belt.

ALPOs Jupiter Section, Visual CM tran-

Because of the planets rapid rotation,
full-disk drawings should be completed
in 20 minutes or less to ensure that fea-
tures are accurately plotted with respect
to one another. A strip sketch, by con-
trast, may be continuous, recording fea-
tures as they cross the planets central
meridian (CM), the imaginary north-
south line that crosses the center of the
planets disk. Observing forms for both
types of drawing can be found at ALPOs
Web site, www.lpl.arizona.edu/alpo/.
While drawings are useful, timings of
the central-meridian transits of Jovian
features are the most scientifically valu-
able data an amateur can produce. Ac-
cording to Phillip Budine, the former as-
sistant coordinator for transit timings of
sit observations have provided almost all
that is known about the rotational char-
acteristics of Jupiter.
Patient observers can produce a wealth
of data. The procedure couldnt be sim-
pler: using a watch accurate to within 30
seconds, note the time (in UT) a feature
appears on the central meridian. For
large features, such as the GRS, note the
CM transit times for the preceding edge,
middle, and following edge, and take the
average. Later, you can find the Jovian
longitude of the feature by simply check-
ing the time noted against a published
ephemeris or one of the many computer-
ized charting programs that calculate
Jovian longitude. If you observe a partic-
ular feature long enough, you may notice

126 October 2000 Sky & Telescope 2000 Sky Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.
Left: This fine CCD image of Jupiter was captured by Portuguese amateur Antnio Cidado on
November 6, 1999, with a 10-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. The pastel colors and subtle
contrast displayed here closely resemble the view at the eyepiece on nights of excellent see-
ing. Note the ovals BE (left) and FA (right) in close conjunction with the Great Red Spot. Right:
How much can you see? This beautiful and highly accurate disk drawing was made on Novem-
ber 25, 1999, by Ohio amateur Phil Plante using a 6-inch f/5 Newtonian reflector at 228. In
moments of steady seeing a scope of this size is capable of showing even greater detail.

its position changing. By plotting the
features longitude against the date of the
observation, you can find the features
drift rate and therefore the planets rate
of rotation at that particular latitude.
Today many amateurs have put aside
pencil and paper in favor of CCD cam-
eras. In the hands of skilled amateurs,
CCDs can produce incredible images that
can yield the same type of data as the
methods described above. In addition,
many features with contrast too subtle
for visual observation can be captured
with CCD cameras. During the most re-
cent Jupiter apparition, CCD images pro-
vided crucial observations of features that
may otherwise have been missed.
A Tale of Two Ovals
Jupiter watching can be both exciting
and scientifically rewarding, as illustrated
by the case of the South Temperate Belt
(STeB) ovals. For 60 years, three large
bright ovals, designated BC, DE, and FA,
had been observed in the STeB. However,
when Jupiter emerged from the Suns
glare at the beginning of the 199899
apparition only two remained! Appar-
ently BC and DE had merged while Jupi-
ter was out of view. This was startling
news to many astronomers who had
thought the dynamics of these ovals
would simply cause them to bounce off
each other if they ever came into contact.
The new merged oval (renamed BE) ap-
peared larger but a little less bright than
the original unmerged pair. While their
drift rates and positions changed, the
two surviving ovals remained separate.
During the 19992000 apparition, ob-
servers continued to closely watch the
dramatic movements of BE and FA. In
April 1999 their centers were separated
by 20 of longitude. But as the appari-
tion progressed, amateur CM-transit
timings and CCD images showed the gap
between the ovals was closing. Organiza-
tions such as ALPO and the British As- Advertisement
tronomical Association kept the profes-
sional community supplied with updates
and position measurements based on
data acquired by amateur astronomers.
These data were hard won the con-
trast between the ovals and the back-
ground zone is very low.
As the apparition was nearing its end,
the gap between BE and FA continued to
close, prompting ALPOs Jupiter Section
to issue numerous alert messages over its
J-Net e-mail network. Last February,
measurements indicated that the centers
of the ovals were only 12 apart. Perhaps
more important, the following edge of
BE and the preceding edge of FA were
separated by only 5! Would the ovals
merge before solar conjunction? Antici-
pation was running high.
On March 4th Glenn Orton of NASAs
Jet Propulsion Laboratory announced
that infrared observations showed the
ovals outer rings touching. However,
CCD images by Florida amateur Mauri-
zio Di Sciullo showed them as separate
but very close. Images taken by Antnio
Cidado in Portugal on March 15th and
20th and by Tim Parker in California on
March 19th indicated BE had shifted
north and FA appeared to be overtaking it!

2000 Sky Publishing Corp. All rights reserved. Sky & Telescope October 2000 127
observers log
Photocopy this observing form and use it to
ALPO Jupiter Report Form make Jupiter full-disk drawings either for
your personal records or for submission to
ALPO. Be sure to fill in all the information
Date (UT) fields (dont trust your memory). A template
such as this is handy since Jupiters disk is
Time (UT) not a circle but an ellipse the planet
bulges slightly at the equator because of its
Telescope rapid rotation rate.

Magnification Filters 60 to 62 System II longitude in 1997

Now, as the 200001 apparition begins,
we find ourselves in the position of a
mystery-novel reader who has feverishly
reached the end of the book only to find
that the final page containing the name of
the murderer is missing! What will hap-
pen to our ovals next? Only more obser-
vations will give us the clues necessary to
solve this mystery.
Seeing Transparency
Observers
Address
City/State/Zip
CMI CMII
A Million Stories
The story of Jupiters ovals is only one of
many that play out from year to year.
Perhaps the best-known character in this
ongoing drama is the Great Red Spot.
This immense oval-shaped anticyclone
has been observed for at least 300 years.
During the last two apparitions, the posi-
tion of the GRS had been fairly constant:
and 64 to 66 in 199899. But toward
the end of 1999 all that began to change.
In early October the spots position was
reported to be 68 to 70. Finally, in late
December and early January 2000, transit
timings and CCD images indicated the
GRS had shifted to 74, where it re-
mained through the end of the appari-
tion. Changes in the features longitude
are not unusual, but what made this
episode noteworthy was that it had sud-
denly moved so far after being stationary
for so long. Here is another Jovian drama
to follow during the current apparition
one much easier to observe than the
low-contrast STeB ovals chronicled earli-
er. During the 19992000 season, most
observers described the GRSs color as
very pale salmon-orange. What will be its
condition during 20002001? Will it re-
turn to its historic dark red color?
Thanks to amateur observers, we have

Jupiter in 200001
H
eres your Jupiter observing forecast for the upcoming
apparition, region by region:
The Equatorial Zone (EZ) and the South Equatorial Belt
(SEB) will continue to be of great interest. During the 199899 ap-
parition, an SEB outbreak occurred, with bright ovals appearing in
the middle of the belt. By the 19992000 apparition, these ovals
had faded. In August 1999, the SEB following the Great Red Spot
(GRS) became very faint, due to bright material from the EZ, or
perhaps the northern edge of the SEB being swept up into the
middle of the belt. Finally, in November 1999, this section of the
SEB was so faded that it was difficult to determine where the GRS
and Red Spot Hollow (RSH) ended and the SEB began.
Jupiter is long overdue for a fading of the SEB. When this occurs
the GRS often darkens. Will this happen during the 200001 ap-
parition? If it does, an alert amateur will likely be the first to see it.
The Equatorial Band (EB), which runs down the middle of the
EZ, will also be worth keeping an eye on. In the early months of
the previous apparition, segments of the EB appeared darker
than before. By the end of the apparition, the EB had darkened
over its entire length.
In early November 1999, many observers reported the EZ as
having taken on a dusky appearance, and by the months end re-
ports noted that it was slightly darker than the region of the SEB
following the GRS. During the 200001 apparition it will be in-
teresting to see whether the EZ returns to its former state or be-
comes even darker.
At times, the southern edge of the North Temperate Belt
(NTeBs) can provide interesting viewing. Although for the most
part absent during the 19992000 Jupiter season, the next ap-
parition may see the return of the belts so-called Rapidly Moving
Spots (RMSs). The NTeBs has one of the fastest-moving currents
on Jupiter. CM transit timings of these dark condensations help
keep tabs on the speed of the current at this latitude. Because
they are not always present, timing the RMSs is very important.
During 19992000, the southern edge of the North Equatorial
Belt (NEBs) was active as usual, displaying many projections and
festoons. Observers were able to track six of these features
throughout the apparition by taking CM transit timings and CCD
images. They generally appear bluish gray in color but vary con-
siderably in size. From time to time they even exhibit complex
forms. For example, in October 1999 two independent observers
reported seeing a braided appearance in some of the larger fes-
toons. One of the observers was using an ordinary 8-inch
Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope at 276 to make the observation.
Finally, observers should also watch for changes in the colors
and intensities of the various belts and zones.

128 October 2000 Sky & Telescope 2000 Sky Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.
This October 31, 1998, CCD image by Donald
Parker shows the South Temperate Belt dark
spot of 1998 (arrowed). The resulting ALPO
alert attracted the attention of professional
astronomers who later used an impressive
array of equipment to investigate this unusu-
al feature. (The bright spot on the northern
edge of the SEB near the following limb is
the moon Io.)

a continuous visual observational record

of Jupiter that spans more than 150
years. For planetary scientists, these data
are like gold. For example, ALPO data
were recently used to plan Jupiter obser-
vations with the Hubble Space Telescope.
In another instance, alert messages from Advertisement
the Jupiter Section of ALPO regarding
the appearance of an intensely dark spot
in the STeB prompted Orton to initiate
observations using the Infrared Telescope
Facility on Mauna Kea, while simultane-
ous observing runs were made with the
Palomar Mountain 200-inch and even
the Galileo spacecraft. So important were
amateur observations to this effort that I
was given the telephone number to the
telescope control room at Mauna Kea in
case any last-minute data became avail-
able. As Orton remarked, this is the case
of a feature that came to the attention
of the amateur community, and subse-
quently became an intriguing feature for
Galileo scientists who were interested in
Jupiters atmospheric structure and dy-
namics. The utility of a base of amateur
observations for the spacecraft was thus
demonstrated. It is, in fact, only one ex-
ample of several such cases for the Gali-
leo mission.

John W. McAnally has been the assistant

coordinator for transit timings at the Associa-
tion of Lunar and Planetary Observers since
1997. He may be contacted at 2124 Wooded
Acres, Waco, TX 76710, or by e-mail at CPA-
JohnM@aol.com.

2000 Sky Publishing Corp. All rights reserved. Sky & Telescope October 2000 129