Sunday, November 21, 2010

Rapid progress in SEB's revival: Jupiter has a new face almost every day

Instead of a bright spot we now have several dark streaks close to each other where the South Equatorial Belt on Jupiter is forming again: a flurry of often hi-res amateur pictures collected here and also here is documenting the first SEB revival since 1993 as fortunately the planet is far from the Sun (in the sky) right now. What has happened so far can be seen at one glance either in an animation spanning Nov. 9 to 20 or a series of Nov. 10 to 19. Image collections and selected images of Nov. 20 (more, more), Nov. 19, Nov. 17, Nov. 16, Nov. 15, Nov. 14 (more, more), Nov. 13 (more), Nov. 12 and Nov. 11. As John Rogers reports, the initial bright plume has appeared Nov. 9 inside the cyclonic circulation barge B2,which had been very dark a year ago, but turned white this May/June: "The rapidly brightening plume is so energetic that we can confidently expect it to develop into the SEB Revival. The SEB Revival is usually spectacular, so we can expect impressive and rapidly changing disturbances over the next 3 months, until the end of the apparition. As the SEB is so thoroughly whitened, and the outbreak has appeared in an isolated location, we can hope to see the phenomena displayed in their most complete form." • For something completely different - but Jovian - a report on a partial eclipse of Callisto on Nov. 12.

From the world of comets two bright sungrazing comets in rapid succession, on Nov. 13/14 and Nov. 17 (video, still, earlier), a picture showing C/2010 U3, the new very distant comet, some suggestion that 236P has split (similar). • From comet C/2010 V1 a Nov. 8 ... 18 panorama and pics of Nov. 15, Nov. 14 (more, more), an animation til Nov. 13, a series of Nov. 9 ... 12 and a pic of Nov. 6 (comment). • And of comet 103P pics of Nov. 16, Nov. 14 (more, more), Nov. 13 and Nov. 12 (more) - plus new cool EPOXI pictures released. • Tiny asteroid 2010 WA came close: discover, spin, earlier, other stories. • And more thoughts on Eris & the dwarf planets (more, interview, comment, yet another story).

The Leonids reached a max. ZHR of about 30 late on Nov. 17, according to the data as they stand now: another and another summary (earlier, other story). • Some ideas re. possible meteor storms decades ahead. • A Croation bolide and a Serbian one (more [translation], more, more and more). • An interview with the Meteorite Men, a story on 2008 TC3, and a possible crater on Ararat. • planets in the morning of Nov. 12. • A magnetic feature on the Sun and more Solar hype. • NASA on the mistaken contrail (picked up here and here; more) - and J. Moos and J. Steward on the whole affair! • Someone made a 1-hr documentary on Epsilon Aurigae. • And a glorious startrail picture was taken in India with two cameras simultaneously.

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