CarlosEH
Post Laureate
Reged: 01/19/05
Posts: 3115
Loc: Pembroke Pines, Broward County...
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I made an observation of the Great Red Spot (GRS) and surrounding region (South Equatorial Belt (SEB)) on August 10, 2008 (04:30 U.T.). The amount of detail visible within and surrounding the Great Red Spot (GRS) was impressive. The core of the GRS was a dark salmon color (3-4/10) surrounded by a reddish pink to white color (5-7/10) over the rest of the GRS. The South Equatorial Belt (SEB) was a light brown to a greenish-brown color (3-4/10) with bright (7/10), undulating rifts over it's northern half. The South Tropical Zone (STrZ) appeared bright with a dusky to dull (4-5/10) band appearing to connect to the southern border of the GRS. A dark (3/10) elongated condensation appeared within it following the GRS. An elongated, and bright (7/10) oval BA was noted within the dark (3/10) South Temperate Belt (STB). The center of the GRS was timed at 130.3 (L2, 128.4 L3).
A digital image produced in Photoshop CS3.
Carlos
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mike bacanin
sage
Reged: 03/19/07
Posts: 346
Loc: united kingdom
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Hi Carlos,
to me as a planetary enthusiast, that is a superb observation! what make is your telescope, it is interesting as i recently acquired a tak tsc 225, a similar sized scope.
regards
mike (in UK)
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RLTYS
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/18/04
Posts: 1741
Loc: New York (Long Island)
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Carlos
A beautiful sketch of the GRS. Your sketch confirms that the the feature emitting from the southern part of the GRS is not Red Spot Jr. (I thought it was.) RSjr as you mention is the small spot following the GRS within the STB.
Thanks for the info.
Rich (RLTYS)
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10" F4.8 Refl.
4" F5 Refr.
50mm F12 Refr. (Tasco #6TE-5)
12x63 and 10x50 Binoculars.
"I want to do more then just look."
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frank5817
Post Laureate
Reged: 06/13/06
Posts: 3041
Loc: Illinois
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Carlos,
A most impressive, detailed close-up view of the GRS and its surroundings. Great write-up.   
Frank 
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markseibold
sage
Reged: 01/19/08
Posts: 463
Loc: Portland Oregon
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Carlos
A Beautiful rendering of the GRS up close! You have reminded me that I want to see it now in a better instrument than I have. As tomorrow night is the peak of the Perseids Meteor Shower. There will be a large Star Party here, 25 miles outside of Portland Oregon in the Columbia River Gorge with many large telescopes provided by the local astronomy club. Some high quality Newtonian reflectors up to 20 and 30 inches have appeared at this event before.
Unfortunately, I am not sure that the GRS is visible tomorrow night as many of us will stay into the early Tuesday morning hours. Can you or someone confirm that the GRS is visible tomorrow from the Pacific time zone?
Thanks again for sharing this. You have inspired me to take a closer look.
Mark
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frank5817
Post Laureate
Reged: 06/13/06
Posts: 3041
Loc: Illinois
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Mark,
Try: www.geocities.com/blobrana/features/GRS.htm
Frank
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Tommy5
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 03/28/04
Posts: 1391
Loc: Chicagoland
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great close up of the grs region, i watched this event from my home in chicagland,but clouds often got in the way. Mark,the sky and telescope website has a program that will tell you when the grs will cross the meridian. SkyandTelescope.com Great sketch again you have really mastered the digital sketching media.
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markseibold
sage
Reged: 01/19/08
Posts: 463
Loc: Portland Oregon
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Tommy - Thanks for the GRS link in S & T. Although I have the moon transit times book-marked, I always have trouble finding the GRS time table in their huge site-
I did not want to detract from Carlos' sketch posting but just wanted to thank Carlos again for sharing his great CS3 rendering of the GRS to remind me to see it again soon. Proof that great artwork can teach and gratify us all.
-Mark
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Special Ed
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/18/03
Posts: 3531
Loc: Greenbrier Co., WV 38N, 80W
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Quote:
Carlos
A beautiful sketch of the GRS. Your sketch confirms that the the feature emitting from the southern part of the GRS is not Red Spot Jr. (I thought it was.) RSjr as you mention is the small spot following the GRS within the STB.
Thanks for the info.
Rich (RLTYS)
Rich,
Well, while I agree that Carlos has produced a beautiful sketch of the Great Red Spot and its surroundings, these images by Chris Go from August 10th and August 8th (scroll down) show that Oval BA (aka Red Spot Jr.) is preceding the GRS at about System II longitude 100°. RS Jr would be to the upper left and off of Carlos's excellent rendering of the GRS at System II longitude 133°.
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Michael Rosolina
8" f/10 Orange Tube SCT
4.25" f/4.2 Astroscan Reflector
SVP 3.6" f/13.6 CA Reflector
40mm PST f/10
APM Germany HD 15x70 binoculars
Canon 12x36 IS II binoculars
Mark I Eyeball
My CN Gallery
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CarlosEH
Post Laureate
Reged: 01/19/05
Posts: 3115
Loc: Pembroke Pines, Broward County...
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I would like to thank everyone for their kind compliments on my observation of the Great Red Spot (GRS) and surrounding region. I would first like to thank Michael Rosolina for pointing out my error in identifying the oval within the South Temperate Belt (STB) as Oval BA. As Michael points out Oval BA is located at ~100 degrees longitude West within the STB and therefore preceding the GRS. This just points out that an experienced planetary observer can make mistakes like anyone else. I would also like to point out that the detail recorded was detected over a period of one hour while the seeing fluctuated. Patience is a virtue while studying the Moon and planets. The Great Red Spot (GRS) is always interesting to observe as it changes with time (please see HST sequence below and my 2002 GRS observation). At times the Great Red Spot (GRS) may nearly disappear or become stronger in color (e.g. GRS becoming a dark red during the 1989-90 and 1992-93 apparitons when the South Equatorial Belt (SEB) nearly disappeared). The problem with calculating the position of the Great Red Spot (GRS) using software is that whereas it changes little in latitude (~5 degrees) it changes dramatically in longitude (center ~130 degrees West). I have cropped an excellent image of Jupiter obtained by Paul Maxson on the same date (05:04 U.T., L1 044.5, L2 154.4, L3 152.1) using his impressive Mewlon 250 showing the Great Red Spot (GRS) region. I have labeled the major features visible including Oval BA preceding the GRS.
Mike- I must first state to you "HOLD ON TO THAT INCREDIBLE INSTRUMENT" as you have in your hands the finest SCT ever produced. I own a custom-made 9-inch (23-cm) f/13.5 Maksutov-Cassegrain by a friend of mine, Michael Palermiti, who is a noted imager and optician in Jupiter, Florida (USA). The optics of my instrument are no less than 1/6th wave (peak-to-valley) as measured by my friend. I can attest to the figure observing all types of celestial objects, especially the Moon and planets. I hope that you enjoy many nights of good seeing in order to reach the potential of your instrument. I look forward to your future observations on this forum.
Links;
http://www.britastro.org/jupiter/guide.htm (outstanding guide by noted imager Damain Peach)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Red_Spot#Great_Red_Spot
http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/solar-system/2008/27/
http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/solar-system/2008/23/
Carlos
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CarlosEH
Post Laureate
Reged: 01/19/05
Posts: 3115
Loc: Pembroke Pines, Broward County...
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My observation of the Great Red Spot (GRS) and surrounding region made on January 12, 2002 using my 8-inch F8.7 Klevtzov-Cassegrain (a fine instrument using a novel secondary design incorporating a mangin mirror/lens). Note the difference in appaearance of the GRS and surrounding region, especially the Oval BA.
Happy Jupiter Observing!
Carlos
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RLTYS
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/18/04
Posts: 1741
Loc: New York (Long Island)
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To All
After reading these postings I'm begining to wonder if I've seen Oval BA (Red Spot Jr) at all.  Well I guess I'll just have to keep trying.  I do get the impression that Oval BA is not as well defined or as prominent as it was in 2006. It was much easier to see then. But at least I'm getting a better idea where to look.
Thanks for the info.
Rich (RLTYS)
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10" F4.8 Refl.
4" F5 Refr.
50mm F12 Refr. (Tasco #6TE-5)
12x63 and 10x50 Binoculars.
"I want to do more then just look."
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Special Ed
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/18/03
Posts: 3531
Loc: Greenbrier Co., WV 38N, 80W
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Carlos,
Thank you for posting your outstanding GRS strip drawing (I'd like to try that), Paul Maxson's annotated image, and those links. Also thank you for providing us with the recent history of the dynamic Great Red Spot and Oval BA.
We are very lucky to have such a skilled and experienced observer participating here and sharing his knowledge and expertise so generously. I know I personally have benefitted tremendously over the past few years by talking with you and seeing your work via the Internet.
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Michael Rosolina
8" f/10 Orange Tube SCT
4.25" f/4.2 Astroscan Reflector
SVP 3.6" f/13.6 CA Reflector
40mm PST f/10
APM Germany HD 15x70 binoculars
Canon 12x36 IS II binoculars
Mark I Eyeball
My CN Gallery
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rodelaet
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/28/06
Posts: 2655
Loc: 50°56' N - 4°58' E (Belgium)
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Carlos,
Wow! Very impressive details. 
I feel like looking into your EP.
Thank you for sharing this great observation.
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Rony
My Astronomy Sketches
My Binocular Sketches
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rolandlinda3
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 01/24/06
Posts: 1612
Loc: Crozet VA 22932
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Great sketch. You guys that do this planetary detail have my attention. For whatever reason and my own operator error, I cannot see this great detail. Roland
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CarlosEH
Post Laureate
Reged: 01/19/05
Posts: 3115
Loc: Pembroke Pines, Broward County...
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Thank you all for your kind compliments on my sectional observation of the Great Red Spot (GRS) and surrounding region. I enjoy making sectional observations as much as whole disk ones. I will continue to make them in the future.
Michael- It has been my pleasure to have met you and the other wonderful members of this incredible forum. Astronomy is about sharing as we have all given to each other on this forum. I am glad that my experience has helped other persons appreciate the heavens a little better. The best of luck and clear and steady skies.
Carlos
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