The Case of the Missing Ring and the New Bright Spot

Well no, this is not a whodunnit story (although it might easily be one!), it is a real science mystery.

The case of Jupiter's missing South Equatorial Belt is one that even professional astronomers are finding hard to explain. Although it has happened before on this planet with its turbulent weather, it is relatively rare for us to see the gas giant without that belt. Generally it is a rather baffling event.


I wonder how many of those people with  access to small telescopes have had a good look yet at the rather denuded big brother of Earth yet through a telescope?

Click on the links to see the stories that appeared in Space.com and on the Planetary Society's website.

(Picture credit: Credit: Anthony Wesley via The Planetary Society)

... And that is not all...

A brand new impact site on Jupiter was coincidentally also first photographed by Australian Anthony Wesley who "saw it live on his screen"! Here is the story that Sky & Telescope published and there is also a video clip to show what he managed to capture as well as another photograph of that other remarkable amateur observer Christopher Go from the Phillipines.

Do read the story and watch the video - quite remarkable. Note that both of them are amateurs - but both of them are veterans at doing this kind of observation and capturing it as still images or video.  Their observations are surely resulting in larger telescopes of the professional fraternity now being turned in the direction of Jupiter to have theor own closer look. 

What I find most encouraging is that this is an illustration how people all over the world - amateurs and professionals alike - collaborate, each in his/her own way, to contribute to the body of knowledge of astronomy.

Isn't it grand?