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MPEC 2017-L08 : S/2016 J 1

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M.P.E.C. 2017-L08 Issued 2017 June 2, 15:56 UT The Minor Planet Electronic Circulars contain information on unusual minor planets and routine data on comets. They are published on behalf of Division F of the International Astronomical Union by the Minor Planet Center, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A. Prepared using the Tamkin Foundation Computer Network MPC@CFA.HARVARD.EDU URL https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/ ISSN 1523-6714 S/2016 J 1 Observations: SK16J010 C2016 03 08.23142 11 25 28.99 +06 07 14.8 24 rcEL008304 SK16J010 C2016 03 08.24835 11 25 28.50 +06 07 18.4 24 rcEL008304 SK16J010 C2016 03 09.28322 11 24 58.61 +06 11 09.3 24 rcEL008304 SK16J010 C2016 03 09.30113 11 24 58.07 +06 11 13.3 24 rcEL008304 SK16J010 C2016 03 10.21243 11 24 31.81 +06 14 36.1 cEL008304 SK16J010 C2016 03 10.28905 11 24 29.54 +06 14 53.1 cEL008304 SK16J010 C2016 05 02.99234 11 05 21.40 +08 25 28.1 cEL008304 SK16J010 C2016 05 03.02550 11 05 21.14 +08 25 29.2 cEL008304 SK16J010 C2016 05 03.07761 11 05 20.67 +08 25 31.2 cEL008304 SK16J010 C2016 04 10.25987 11 10 52.30 +07 52 09.0 24.0 rcEL008568 SK16J010 C2016 04 10.51433 11 10 46.80 +07 52 43.9 24.0 rcEL008568 SK16J010 C2017 02 24.56974 13 19 05.50 -07 30 35.4 24.3 rcEL008568 SK16J010 C2017 02 24.64168 13 19 04.65 -07 30 31.9 24.4 rcEL008568 SK16J010 C2017 04 23.06760 12 58 22.99 -05 38 23.3 cEL008304 SK16J010 C2017 04 23.08325 12 58 22.63 -05 38 21.0 cEL008304 Observer details: 304 Las Campanas Observatory. Observer S. S. Sheppard. 6.5-m Magellan-Baade telescope + CCD. 568 Mauna Kea. Observers D. J. Tholen, S. S. Sheppard, C. Trujillo. 8.2-m Subaru Telescope + CCD. Orbital elements: S/2016 J 1 Epoch 2017 Sept. 4.0 TT = JDT 2458000.5 MPC M 25.52802 (2000.0) P Q n 0.59619561 Peri. 328.15054 +0.71132205 -0.38156323 a 0.1376723 Node 293.75814 -0.42885867 -0.90098610 e 0.1404545 Incl. 139.83916 -0.55686729 +0.20647894 P 1.65 H 16.8 P/d 603.83 From 15 observations 2016 Mar. 8-2017 Apr. 23, mean residual 0".24. Residuals in seconds of arc 160308 304 0.0 0.3- 160310 304 0.1+ 0.1+ 160503 304 0.5- 0.2+ 160308 304 0.1+ 0.4- 160410 568 0.2+ 0.3+ 170224 568 0.1+ 0.3- 160309 304 0.1- 0.2- 160410 568 0.3+ 0.3+ 170224 568 0.1+ 0.3- 160309 304 0.3- 0.1- 160502 304 0.0 0.2+ 170423 304 0.0 0.4+ 160310 304 0.1+ 0.1+ 160503 304 0.2+ 0.1+ 170423 304 0.0 0.6+ Gareth V. Williams (C) Copyright 2017 MPC M.P.E.C. 2017-L08

MPEC number: Enter an MPEC number in one of the following forms:</s>Tonight – June 3, 2017 – the waning gibbous moon passes 2o north of the planet Jupiter, the brightest starlike object in the evening sky. What a sight! The moon and Jupiter pop out first thing at dusk, and they’ll be fun to spot in the darkening sky. A bright star nearby, Spica in the constellation Virgo, will come into view to the east of the moon and Jupiter as night deepens.

There’s no way to mistake Spica for Jupiter – or vice versa. Jupiter is by far the brighter object. That’s not to say that Jupiter is the more luminous of these two celestial lights. It’s not. Jupiter, being a relatively close planet, shines because it reflects the light of the sun.

Spica is a distant star, or actually two stars in one. Spica, which shines by its own light, is vastly more intrinsically luminous than Jupiter. It’s just much, much farther away. If Spica were at the sun’s distance from Earth, it’d visually be 1,900 times brighter than our sun. Or, another way of putting it, the sun at Spica’s distance of 250 light-years would appear 1/1,900th as bright as Spica. You’d definitely need an optical aid to see our sun this far away.

By Sunday night, June 4, you’ll see the moon has moved closer to Spica on the sky’s dome.

This motion of the moon in our sky is due to the moon’s actual motion in orbit around Earth. Moving in its orbit, the moon travels in front of all the constellations of the zodiac in about four weeks. As seen from Earth, the moon moves much more quickly relative to the backdrop stars of the zodiac than does any other solar system object. That’s because it’s so close to us.

For instance, the moon will move past Jupiter, leaving the constellation Virgo to enter the constellation Libra after a few more days.

Bottom line: Watch for the moon and the planet Jupiter to light up the constellation Virgo the Maiden as soon as darkness falls on June 3, 2017.</s>The planet Jupiter is in great view tonight. It stands just a couple of degrees from the Moon. The planet looks like a brilliant star. For the hours they are in view, in fact, nothing outshines Jupiter except the Moon.</s>Three giant storms cruise beneath Jupiter's Great Red Spot (top left) in this 1979 image from the Voyager 1 spacecraft. The storms eventually merged to form a smaller red spot, sometimes known as Red Junior. Similar white oval storms continue to swirl through Jupiter's atmosphere today, forming a string of pearls south of the Great Red Spot. [NASA/JPL]

The best-known storm in the solar system is Jupiter’s Great Red Spot. It’s big enough to swallow Earth, and it may have been whirling for four centuries.

But many other big storms also spin through Jupiter’s atmosphere. There’s a “string of pearls” to the south of the red spot — eight white ovals that are thousands of miles across. And another storm inhabits the latitudes between the red spot and the white ovals. It started as a set of white ovals, but they merged to form another red spot.

The string of pearls was first observed in 1986. The number of pearls has varied over time — from as few as six to as many as nine. They’re spun up by powerful jet streams to their north and south that blow in opposite directions.

Three white ovals were born to the north of the pearls in 1939. They lasted for decades, separated by smaller storms that spun in the opposite direction. But two of the ovals merged in 1998, and the third joined them in 2000.

Just five years later, the storm turned red — as red as the Great Red Spot. It might have dredged up compounds from deep within Jupiter that are red, or that turn red when exposed to sunlight. The storm continues to blow today — keeping things stirred up in Jupiter’s turbulent atmosphere.

And Jupiter is in great view tonight. The planet is just a couple of degrees from the Moon. For the hours they’re in view, nothing outshines Jupiter except the Moon.

More about the Moon and another companion tomorrow.
Two of Jupiter's moons, S/2003 J 18 and S/2011 J 2 are recovered, and a small 1.5-kilometer outer moon (S/2016 J 1) is discovered, the first moon discovered around a major planet in 6 years.