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Jupiter at 02:30 PST 10:30 UT 02/10/03

Sketched at the eyepiece. North is up. Preceeding limb is to the left and following limb is to the right. 180mm f/9 refractor, 10 mm orthoscopic eyepieces through binoviewer, and 3x (total) barlow. Magnification 580x.

Note the three "dashes" along the southern edge of the North Polar Region have nearly rotated off. At 2:30 a.m., I saw a huge dark feature on the northern edge of the NEB trailing the GRS - it was as long or longer than the GRS, with a knot or barge in the middle sticking up into the North Tropical Zone. Think of a rope with a knot in the middle. A split in the SEB, South Equatorial Belt preceeds the red spot hollow. The Great Red Spot is amazingly showy, a true pink-red color, with swirls of darker coloration within the spot itself. The contrast between the brownish red of the SEB and the pinkish red of the GRS was striking. South of the red spot hollow more of the South Tropical Belt is visible now. It doesn't look so much like an underscore anymore, perhaps it was a knot feature in this belt. Another split in the southern edge of the SEB is visible following the GRS and below the group of white ovals following the GRS. Simply amazing!

Jupiter sketched with freezing hands
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