Planetary Observation by Amateur Astronomers
In the 24 January 2008 issue of Nature, Sánchez-Lavega et al. published a paper titled “Depth of a strong jovian jet from a planetary-scale disturbance driven by storms.” The paper reports the results of investigations into the circulation jets in the atmosphere of Jupiter. The paper is accompanied by a News & Views article by Kunio M. Sayanagi. (A subscription or payment of a fee is required to view these.)
Both the paper and the article make special note of the role of amateur astronomers in making regular planetary observations. Amateur astronomers around the world can coordinate to make series of continuous observations of a planet over many weeks. The advancement of optical and image processing technologies has led to astonishing improvements in the quality of the images that can be obtained with relatively modest equipment. Dr. Sayanagi writes:
This coverage from around the world nicely complements the more powerful, but less flexible capabilities of the large ground- and space-based telescopes.
For example, see the website of Chrisopher Go, who is one of the contributing authors to the paper. Mr. Go has a second website devoted to Jupiter’s Red Spot Junior.
February 27 2008 09:40 pm | Astronomy
