Jupiter

Photograph information

Telescope Meade Lx10 eyepiece projection 9mm SP Meade

Film: Kodak CPY400

Exposure : 8 sec no guided 

Date : 7/25/98

Location : Greece Island Kreta

Photograph Information:

  Jupiter is, fifth planet from the Sun, and the largest planet in the solar system and got its name by  Jupiter (Greek Zeus) the the King of the Gods, the ruler of Olympus and the patron of the Roman state. Zeus was the son of Cronus (Saturn).

  Jupiter has 1,400 times the volume of Earth, but is only 318 times as massive. The mean density of Jupiter is therefore about one quarter that of Earth, indicating that the giant planet must consist of gas rather than the metals and rocks of which Earth and the other inner planets are composed.

Orbiting the Sun at a mean distance 5.2 times as great as that of Earth, Jupiter makes a complete revolution in 11.9 years. It takes only 9.9 hours to rotate once on its axis. This rapid rotation causes an equatorial bulge that is apparent in telescopic views of the planet. The rotation is not uniform. The banded appearance of Jupiter is due to the presence of strong atmospheric currents, reflecting the different rotation periods at different latitudes. These bands are made more apparent by the pastel colours of the clouds. These colours are also apparent in the famous brownish-red oval called the Great Red Spot. 

Sixteen satellites of Jupiter have so far been discovered. The four largest were discovered in 1610 by Galileo. They were subsequently named after mythological lovers of the god Jupiter (or Zeus in the Greek pantheon): Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. This tradition has been followed in the naming of the other moons. 

In one clear night you will able to see with binoculars the Jupiter as an small bright disk and the four large Galilean moons as bright star around the planet. If you have any scope you will able to see at least two belts in its surface and if the scope is so big to be able for using eyepiece magnification bigger than 250 , several  colored belts with the impressive festoons and yet the characteristic red spot will keep you eyes on this amazing giant planet.

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