JUPITER STATS
Apparent diameter: 48"
Sys I CM: 306°
Sys II CM: 316°

Excellent seeing allowed me to make this observation at 388X with my 10-inch Starfinder. The North Equatorial Belt (NEB) features a fine webwork of festoons and columns. An interesting array is visible right along the central meridian (CM). Immediately preceding the CM, a cursive v-shaped pair--one arching southeast and the other angling southwest--reach across the Equatorial Zone (EZ) and connect to the Equatorial Belt (EB). Immediately following the CM, another pair originates in a less prominent blue swell. The preceding festoon dips south-southwest, connecting to a festoon. A column extends straight across the EZ creating a confluence with the EB and a second festoon.

Another v-shaped pair of festoons is visible along the NEB between the following limb and the CM. A combination festoon and column connect two dark blue swells along the NEB between the preceding limb and the CM. The NEB displays an overall honey brown coloration. The northern edge of the NEB features two sections with a darker, chocolate brown hue.

The light colored North Tropical Zone (NTrZ) separates the North Temperate Belt (NTB) from the NEB. he NTB is quite dark and features two knots that straddle the CM. The light gray North Polar Region extends to the North North Temperate Belt (NNTB) and has an even density. The North Temperate Zone (NTZ) separating the NTB and NNTB is half-toned between the white NTrZ and gray NPR.

The light gray tone of the South Polar Region (SPR) extends to the South Temperate Belt (STB). The South South Temperate Belt (SSTB) is visible within this gray region at a latitude of -40 degrees. Also visible, a subtle band at a latitude of -70 degrees. The South Equatorial Belt (SEB) is split in two sections by a light colored rift. This rift follows a path just inside the northern boundary of the SEB for most of its course. The SEB sections have a somewhat darker brown hue than the NEB.

JUPITER STATS
Apparent diameter: 48"
Sys I CM: 23°
Sys II CM: 13°

The Great Red Spot (GRS) was visible rising along the following limb. The dark outline of its border was clear and well-defined. The orange hued oval just inside the southern edge of the GRS was also seen, a difficult observation with the GRS so close to the limb. The interior rift hugged the northern border of the SEB, broadening slightly when approaching the GRS.

The South Temperate Belt (STB) lay across the South Tropical Zone (STrZ) from the SEB. A small, dark knot was visible in the STB at a Sys II longitude of 20 degrees. The STB defined the northern extent of the grayish South Polar Region (SPR). A narrow dark belt was visible within the gray South Polar Region (SPR). This belt is at -50 degrees latitude, the same latitude as the one observed September 25, 1999 at 06:35 UT. The Sys II CM of that observation was 5 degrees so Jupiter was presenting essentially the same SPR as is described here. This belt is located about 10 degrees south of the South South Temperate Belt (SSTB) observed just two hours earlier. The SPR has typically been observed to have a uniform gray appearance. However, the SPR was distinctly darker from -70 degrees to the pole. The northern extent of this darker gray area corresponds to the latitude of the belt observed twice before. I would be interested to read other observations of belt structure within the SPR.

The North Equatorial Belt (NEB) continues to display a series of festoons and columns reaching across the Equatorial Zone (EZ) to the Equatorial Belt (EB). The North Temperate Belt (NTB) and North North Temperate Belt (NNTB) were observed, as was the gray hued North Polar Region (NPR). The gray NPR was broken only by the lighter toned North North Temperate Zone (NNTZ) which was visible extending along a latitude of +43 degrees from the following limb to a Sys II longitude of ~60 degrees.