Jupiter’s North Equatorial Belt and Jet: III. The ‘great northern upheaval’ in 2012

This paper is in press in the Journal of the BAA (2018).

The complete paper including figures (small copies) is in this PDF:    NEB_paperIII_Complete_Final.pdf

Summary:

In Paper II we described the extreme changes in Jupiter’s North Equatorial Belt (NEB) which took place in 2011-12: quiescence, narrowing, and fading of the belt, along with acceleration of the prograde NEBs jet to super-fast speed.  Here we describe how this anomalous state was terminated in 2012, in a rapid and vigorous disturbance known as a NEB Revival – the first in living memory.  At the same time, the North Temperate Belt (NTB) had entered a similar preparatory state, which was terminated by a NTB Revival initiated by a typical outbreak on the super-fast NTBs jet.  The two concurrent Revivals appeared to constitute a ‘great northern upheaval’ that extended from the equator to ~38ºN, which may have been the first such event ever recorded.  We compare this dual event with the more typical ‘Global Upheavals’, which consist of near-simultaneous Revivals of the NTB and the South Equatorial Belt (SEB), along with equatorial coloration, and we discuss the current understanding of Global Upheavals.

The British Astronomical Association supports amateur astronomers around the UK and the rest of the world. Find out more about the BAA or join us.