Explanation:
Five hand drawn sketches of Jupiter were used to create this
beautifully detailed flat map of the ruling gas giant's
turbulent cloud tops.
Made with colored pencils at the eyepiece of a 16 inch diameter
telescope, the original drawings are about 5 inches (12.5 cm) in
diameter.
The drawn
planisphere
map dimensions are 16x8 inches (40x20 cm).
Observing on different dates in November and December of 2011,
astronomical artist Fred Burgeot has relied
on
Jupiter's rotation to
cover the planet's complete circumference.
Digital animator Pascal Chauvet has also translated Burgeot's drawings
into an intriguing video (vimeo),
synthesizing a telescopic view of the rotating planet
with a tilt and phase appropriate for the observing dates.
The video includes the Galilean moons
moving along their orbits,
beginning with Ganymede and Io casting shadows as they
glide in front of Jupiter, followed
by Europa and Callisto passing behind the planet's banded disk.
