2015/16, Report no.3: Interim report

Jupiter in 2015-16: Interim report no.3

–John Rogers (BAA), using information from the JUPOS team. (2016 Feb.24)

Summary

This report covers 2015 Nov. to 2016 Feb.  The planet’s appearance is largely normal, but with a large dark North Temperate Disturbance, and ongoing broadening of the NEB to the north.   This NEB expansion event is proceeding slowly, as in 2000, but already covers >140 deg. longitude.  Methane-band images reveal a pattern of waves overlying the expanded sector and for some distance on either side, with wavelength 18 deg.  The NEB has substantial rifts; the NEBs dark formations are large and have unusually slow drift rate.  The GRS is still exceptionally small and red, but still interacts with retrograding vortices from the SEBs jet as it did in the Voyager years.  There is no dark STB, but three structured sectors are still discernible:  Oval BA, which has now decelerated as the spot f. it has become quiescent; the STB Ghost; and spot DS5, which is now red and fading, and looks likely to persist as  a duplicate of the STB Ghost.  We also document the long-lived ovals and interesting smaller features in many latitudes from the N2 to the S4 domain.

 The full report is in the following files:

Report text (PDF):   Report-no-3_text(2016Feb24).pdf

Miniature figures (PDF):   Report-no-3_Minifigures.pdf

JUPOS charts & maps with south up: Miniatures (PDF):  Report-no-3_JUPOS-charts&Maps-S-up.pdf

    and full size (ZIP):   Report-no-3_JUPOS-charts&Maps-S-up.zip

Full-size figures (north up) (12 x JPEG files): 

Fig01_Map_L3_2016jan29-31_v2.jpg

Fig02_Aku_Mspec-aligned.jpg

Fig03_NN-LRS-1&BA_2016jan.jpg

Fig04_NN-WS-6 &GRS_2016jan.jpg

Fig05_Maps-set_N-Hemis_2015nov-2016jan_L3_N-up.jpg

Fig06_Methane-images_CGo_mid-Jan-2016.jpg

Fig07_Methane-images_Phil-Miles_NewYear2016.jpg

Fig08_methane_2016feb_PM&CGo.jpg

Fig09_Maps-subset_L1_2015nov-2016jan.jpg

Fig10_Jet-s-enters-RSH_2016feb_v3.jpg

Fig11_Merging_barges-mid-SEB_2015nov_v4.jpg

Fig12_STB-DS5_2016jan_v4.jpg

All images are copyright to the named observers, and compilations posted here are copyright to John Rogers and the British Astronomical Association.   Please contact us if you wish to use any of them elsewhere.

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