Changes in Jupiter's Equatorial Zone 2015-2022 (LacailleOz)

Changes in Jupiter's Equatorial Zone 2015-2022

Acquisition type: Lucky imaging

Periodically, the normally bright white (in visible light) of Jupiter's Equatorial Zone (EZ) becomes yellowish brown. In IR, it shifts from dark to bright. As explained in Sky and Telescope ("Astronomers identify Jupiter weather cycle" by Sean Walker, S&T May 2019; and "Old wine in new bottles" by Thomas A. Dobbins, S&T June 2019), the EZ is normally clouded over with cold ammonia clouds, which appear white in visible light, and dark in IR.Occasionally, however, the white ammonia clouds dissipate, revealing darker, lower layers of atmnosphere, which conversely causes a bright glow in the IR, as the warmth of Jupiter's inner atmosphere is revealed. These disturbances have been observed in archival images from 1973, 1979, 1992, 1999 and 2006, but not in 1985 or 2013.Another such event began in March 2018 (at least, that is what the ALPO images and my own seem to suggest, though the S&T article by Walker suggests late 2018. (This is probably a matter of interpretation, combined with variable colour tuning between imagers, in the absence of quantitative measures of the whiteness of the EZ - I can find no definitive study).Normally, according to S&T, these browning events last 12-18 months, but we seem to have been seeing a yellow-brown EZ right up to last year - over four years.Here is a selection of my images showing the process. I was hampered by very poor seeing throughout much of 2022, but it did seem that, as of December 2022, the EZ was returning to bright white again. I have not yet been able to image Jupiter this year, but I note from images on ALPO, that the EZ may have returned to normal. It will be interesting to see the evidnece as Jupiter rises this year; it will be important to get colour and IR images. (I have only belatedly realised the value of the latter!).

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Own remote observatory
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Professional, scientific grade data
Mix of multiple sources
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