The two largest planets in our solar system are now putting on an exciting show for observers — and they're perfectly placed for those of you hoping to try out that new telescope or eyepiece holiday gift.
On Jupiter, the revival of the South Equatorial Belt has spread to almost completely encircle the planet. Jupiter is a snap to find blazing high in the south at nightfall.
Meanwhile, a new white storm has burst forth on Saturn. Perhaps the ringed planet was feeling neglected due the attention heaped on Jupiter recently.
First spotted by amateurs in Japan around mid-December, Saturn's storm now spans roughly 100° of longitude in the North Tropical Zone (roughly 34° north). The bright "head," or leading edge, is located at System II longitude 157° (293° in System III).
Saturn is now well up in the southeastern sky before dawn, far to the upper right of bright Venus. Be on the lookout for rapid changes to the feature's shape and extent. It will next be positioned in the middle of the planet's disk at 00:21, 11:01, and 21:40 December 29th Universal Time; and at 8:19 (favoring eastern North America) and 18:59 on the 30th UT. Here are transit-time predictions through January 13th (in Easterm Standard Time, which is UT minus 5 hours).
This disturbance is not the same one noted by amateurs earlier this year, which appeared at a dynamic southern latitude band nicknamed "Storm Alley."
Veteran planet-watcher Thomas Dobbins notes the last time such a large storm appeared on Saturn was 1994, but that one had much lower contrast with its surroundings than the current event. This disturbance is easily the brightest feature on the globe — it even rivals the brightness of the planet's ring system.
NASA's Cassini spacecraft has a "ringside" seat for the roiling clouds, as seen in the shot at right, which was taken on December 24th and transmitted to Earth on the 27th.
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