Jupiter – Page 11 – Astronomy Sketch of the Day

Moon over Armagh

Moon over Armagh on Christmas Eve
Sketch and Details by Miruna Popescu

This painting depicts how the southern sky looks on 24 December 2009 at 5.30 pm, when the Moon’s phase reaches first quarter. The next brightest celestial object at this time is the planet Jupiter, which this year is the “Christmas Star” for the Royal School, Armagh. Jupiter is seen here just before it disappears behind the school. The painting shows stars in Pisces, Pegasus, Aquarius and other constellations, and the location of the planet Uranus (visible through a telescope) about a third of the way from the Moon to Jupiter. Uranus was found in 1781 (seven years after the old building of the Royal School was completed) by the astronomer and musician William Herschel, the discovery constituting the first identification of a planet since ancient times and earning Herschel the post of King’s astronomer from George III.

In 1609, the year after the founding of the Royal School, Galileo Galilei used an early telescope to map the Moon and discover satellites of Jupiter. To mark the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s first use of the telescope to observe the sky, 2009 is being celebrated worldwide as the International Year of Astronomy.

Dr Miruna Popescu from Armagh Observatory is the coordinator for the International Year of Astronomy 2009 in Ireland.

Moon and Jupiter in the Haze

A foggy conjunction of the Moon and Jupiter
Sketch and details by Carlos E. Hernandez

Our weather in has been very overcast and wet lately but I was able to view the Waxing Crescent Moon (6.6 days old) and Jupiter (-2.29m) over my southwestern sky among haze on November 23, 2009 at 06:30 PM EST (23:30 U.T.). The scene was eerie in my Oberwerk 11 x 56 mm binoculars. The Moon appeared to glow in a nest of light clouds and haze with Jupiter a pastel orange beacon to the south. I am convinced that I spotted a Galilean satellite, most probably Ganymede (4.97m) west of Jupiter at the edge of it’s glare. The inset shows what I observed (the satellite is a little brighter than visible to show it better). I hope that others were able to view this event.

A digital image produced using Pixelmator.

Carlos E. Hernandez

Dancing in the Royal Court

Jupiter moon Europa has just transited Ganymede, November 17, 2009
Sketch and Details by Michael Rosolina

Because of the geometry of Earth’s orbit in relation to Jupiter’s orbit, this has been a very good year for seeing transits across the Jovian disk. Not only have there been numerous transits of the Galilean moons and their shadows, the moons themselves have been transiting and occulting one another as seen from our vantage point here on Earth.

In this sketch, Europa has just completed an annular transit of Ganymede, passing in front of the larger moon but not blocking it completely. Because of Jupiter’s low altitude, I was unable to use high enough magnification to see any detail of the transit beyond watching the two bright dots move towards each other, merge, and then move apart.

At the same time, Callisto (the largest Galilean moon) was transiting in front of Jupiter. Unlike the two smaller moons, Io and Europa, which tend to disappear from view after they cross the Jovian limb, Callisto (and Ganymede) usually can be seen against the cloudtops due to their darker albedo. [All of the moons’ shadows can be seen in transit given adequate seeing conditions.]

This sketch of Jupiter was done at the eyepiece using 2B and 4B graphite pencils on white copy paper. After scanning, I set Jupiter against a black digital background, placed the positions of the satellites from field notes, and added the text.

I hope you enjoy this view of the King and his consorts and get a chance to see one of these transits yourself before the giant planet disappears for the year.

Jupiter and Galilean Moons
Planet
Friars Hill, WV USA
17 November 2009

Clear skies,

Michael Rosolina

The Moon and Jupiter at Dusk

Moon and Jupiter at End of September 2009
Sketch and Details by Carlos E. Hernandez

I was able to view a conjunction (or appulse) of the Waxing Gibbous Moon (10.8 days old) and Jupiter on September 30, 2009 (00:00 U.T., 8 PM EDT) over my southern sky. The Moon (-12.45mag.) and Jupiter (-2.67mag.) were very striking but the presence of clouds containing ice crystals, which produced a pastel reddish-pink and orange colors semi-halo, made it spectacular! I hope that others were able to view the event as well.  A digital image produced in Gimp 2.6.7  Carlos E. Hernandez

Shadow of Ganymede

Jupiter with Ganymedes’ shadow and moons Europa, Ganymede, Io, Callisto
Sketch and Details by Peter Mayhew

* Object Name: Jupiter with Ganymede’s shadow: moons left to right
are Europa, Ganymede, Io, Callisto
* Object Type: Planet, moons
* Location: York, UK
* Date: 24th September 2009, 20:00 UT

I made a graphite pencil sketch on a white paper template at the
eyepiece, and also noted colours then. Later I scanned this and used
editing software to make the image a negative and then added colour.
The view was as seen through my Skywatcher Skyliner-150mm Dobsonian (f8)
with a 10mm eyepiece, giving x120 magnification and 26′ field of view.

The seeing was pretty wobbly at first but settled. Over about an hour
the shadow of Ganymede traversed from right of centre to left of centre.
I felt very lucky to see this as there was 100% cloud at 19:00 UT and
cloud obscured the view again at 22:00 UT, meaning that clear skies were
only present during the shadow transit. I was surprised at how visible
the shadow was, even at low power with a 25mm eyepiece.

Peter Mayhew

Two August Views of the King

Jupiter and Moon on August, 20th 2009
Sketch and Details by Carlos Hernandez

I made an observation of Jupiter on August 20, 2009 (02:15 U.T.) using my 9-inch F/13.5 Maksutov-Cassegrain. I noted much detail over the jovian disk as indicated. I was also able to make out albedo markings over Ganymede when the seeing steadied.

Jupiter and moons on August, 20th 2009 close up
Sketch and Details by Carlos Hernandez

Date (U.T.): August 20, 2009
Time (U.T.) 02:15
L1 077.6, L2 207.2, L3 304.7
Instrument: 9-inch (23-cm) F/13.5 Maksutov-Cassegrain
Magnification: 287x
Filters: None (IL)
Seeing (1-10): 7, Antoniadi (I-V): II
Transparency (1-6): 4

Notes:
South Polar Region (SPR): The Wesley Impact Scar (WCIS) was not clearly visible over the northern border of the SPR. This agrees with the images of the WCIS obtained recently which indicate the dissipation of the impact debris. The region appeared dark to dusky (3-4/10) and mottled.(STZ): Appears shaded to bright (6-7/10), but no other detail is visible within.South Temperate Belt (STB): Appears dark to dusky (3-4/10) with a dark (3/10) elongation projecting into the South Tropical Zone (STrZ) towards the preceding limb. South Tropical Zone (STrZ): Appears bright (7/10) with the dark (3/10) elongation over it’s preceding half extending from the STB. South Equatorial Belt (SEB): Appears dark to dull (3-5/10) with it’s southern component dark to dusky (3-4/10) and northern component dusky to dull (4-5/10).Equatorial Zone (EZ): Appears bright (7/10) with an irregular, dull (5/10) band over the equator. Very bright (8/10) and large ovals are noted over it’s northern half. Blue festoons (3/10) are noted to project into it from the southern border of the NEB.North Equatorial Belt (): Appears dark to dusky (3-4/10) with dark (3/10) extended barges (or coalesced groups of barges) noted along the northern border and blue festoons along the southern border. Bright to very bright (7-8/10) rifts are noted within it. North Tropical Zone (NTrZ): Appears bright (7/10) without any other detail visible within it.North Temperate Belt (NTB): Appears bisected and dusky (4/10) with an elongated, dark (3/10) condensation extending between the two components (center transit timed at L2 216.2/L3 313.8). Another dark (3/10) condensation was visible over the northern component preceding the larger condensation. (NTZ): Appears bright (7/10) without any other detail visible within it. (NPR): Appears dark to dusky (3-4/10) and mottled.

A digital image produced in Photoshop CS3.

Carlos E Hernandez

Jupiter and Moons Do a Double Take

Jupiter and transiting moons, Ganymede and Europa
Sketch and Details by Serge Vieillard

Serge made these remarkable Jupiter sketches on the evening of August 19, 2009 while attending an Astronomical meeting in Valdrôme, France. He was using a 600mm scope and was sketching Jupiter and its moons and shadows as they crossed in front of the planet. The larger moon and shadow is Ganymède and the smaller one is Europa.

Jupiter and transiting moons, Ganymede and Europa
Sketch and Details by Serge Vieillard

Serge’s remarks roughly translated are, “Then, Ganymède leaves the planet, Europe having about the same luminosity that the planet has, disappears between the two shadows which are oval in appearance due to perspective. The effect of relief is seizing, one feels the 3D, and the height of the satellites compared to Jupiter which are accentuated by the presence of shadows. Then Europe appears and cuts out in the darkest zones of the limb. It bites the shadow of Ganymède for it is its turn to leave the disc of Jupiter. At this time, the relief is total”.

Jupiter Strip

Jupiter, the Great Red Spot and Io’s Shadow
Sketch and Details by Michael Rosolina

Hello,

This is a strip sketch of Jupiter. Instead of drawing the Jovian disk as a ‘snapshot” in time, I watched the central meridian and recorded features as they rotated past it, giving me an “unrolled” version of a section of the sphere. Since Jupiter makes one complete turn about every 10 hours, this can be a very useful way to keep up with its rapid rotation.

As you can see, much was happening including a transit of the Great Red Spot (GRS), lots of activity associated with the North Equatorial Belt (NEB), and a transit of Io. The Galilean moon itself was not visible to me but the shadow it cast was quite prominent against the bright cloudtops of the Equatorial Zone (EZ).

The drawing was done at the eyepiece on Strathmore recycled sketch paper using 2B, HB, and 6B pencils. Other notes are with the sketch.

Object: Jupiter
Type: Planet
Location: Friars Hill, WV USA
Date: August 26th, 2009

Thanks,

Michael Rosolina

Jupiter in Motion

3D Sketch of Jupiter
Sketch and Description by Fred Burgeot

From several of my sketches of Jupiter, I made a planisphere of this planet and a rotating globe that I would like to submit….The sketches were made between july 20 and august 17 from France with good seeing conditions (4 to 8/10). The scope is a 16″dobsonian (Mirro Sphere) with an equatorial plateform, magnification is 350X with a binoviewer, no filter. 1H15 for each individual sketch, 8H to make the planisphere (handmade), and 1H to map it on a rotating sphere with the computer. My friend Pascal Chauvet helped me in this last task.

Best regards,
Fred Burgeot.

Flat Version of Jupiter Sketch
By Fred Burgeot

Sunday Sun

Solar Prominences on September 13th, 2009
Sketch and Details by Erika Rix

2009 Sept 13, 1531UT – 1631UT
Solar prominences in h-alpha
PCW Memorial Observatory, Zanesville, Ohio USA
Erika Rix

DS 60mm Maxscope, LXD75, 21-7mm Zhumell
Sketch created scopeside with black Canford paper, white Conte’ crayon
and pencil, white Prang watercolor pencil.

Temp: 24.4° -25.8°C, Humidity 74%-61%
S: Wilson 4 dropping to 1.5, T: below average
Clear to lightly scattered, breeze <7mph SE Alt: 45.8-51.8, Az: 138.3-159.2 Plenty of smaller prominences, concentrated on recordings of the four most prominent areas. Very minimal surface details with respect to filaments, ARs and plage. Chromospheric network was stunning.