ORBITAL PATTERNS OF JUPITERS MOONS

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ORBITAL PATTERNS OF JUPITERS MOONS
Doug Jenkins and Tammy Schmidt, The Evergreen
State College, Olympia, WA 98505
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ABSTRACT Jupiter possesses a dynamic satellite
system whose mythology dates from the Roman
dynasty. In 1610, Galileos discovery of moons
orbiting Jupiter destroyed the widely accepted
geocentric model of the universe. Like Galileo,
we also observed moons orbiting Jupiter with the
use of binoculars and a telescope from two
locations. Empowered with this knowledge, we
calculated the mass of Jupiter and its monthly
angular movement, which allowed us to determine
when Jupiter will return to the same celestial
location as it was in May 2004.. We perceived
the motion of the moons to be orbiting the polar
regions. Like many fundamentals in science,
perceptions are deceiving.

• SUMMARY
• From Earths perspective and due to Jupiters
  angular movement of 1o per month, the planet will
  return to its current location in 30 years.
• Using Keplers 3rd law and Newtons 2nd, the mass
  of Jupiter is 1.8 x 1027 kg.
• The orbital movements of the moons appeared to
  deviate from Jupiters equatorial plane. The
  optical illusion was created because of Earths
  axial tilt.
• Ganymede, Europa and Io share predictable orbital
  patterns in a 124 ratio.
• Our null hypothesis is not rejected for the
  four-moon Jovian system because our study period
  was too short to get adequate data on Callistos
  orbit.

HYPOTHESIS The purpose of this project is to
track the orbital movement and period of each
moon by conducting observations over a one-month
period. We will compare these observed data with
actual data collected from scientific resources
in order to predict the location of each moon on
successive nights. We will calculate the mass of
Jupiter based on the period of its moons. We
will calculate the exact celestial return of
Jupiter based on its movement throughout the
month. We will also build a scale model of the
Jovian system for presentation. Our null
hypothesis states that Jupiters moons have no
relative orbital pattern.
Jupiters angular movement of 1o/month 30 yr
return.
Alignment of Io, Europa, and Ganymede every 7
days.
Predictable orbital periods of Io, Europa and
Ganymede.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Doug would like to thank his
wife for her understanding during his all-night
stellar observations. We would like to thank
E.J. Zita for her constructive comments and
direction. We would like to thank the Cal staff
for their technological assistance.  
REFERENCES Freedman, R.A., and W.J. Kaufmann III.
2002. Jupiter Lord of the Planets and The
Galilean Satellites of Jupiter. pp. 283-321 In
Universe, 6th ed., W.H. Freeman and Company, New
York. Washburn, M., 1983. Distant Encounters The
exploration of Jupiter and Saturn, Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich, San Diego. Ancient Roman Gods and
Goddesses. 14 May 2004 http//www.crystalinks.com/
romegods.html Hebe and Ganymede. 14 May 2004
http//www.online-mythology.com/hebe_ganymede/ Io
and Callisto. 14 May 2004 http//www.online-mythol
ogy.com/io_callisto/ Jupiter. 11 May 2004
http//www.solarviews.com/eng/jupiter.htm Jupiter
s Moons. 14 May 2004 http//rds.yahoo.com/S603818
3D1/CS6038183/SS47365422/http//www.enchantedl
earning.com/subjects/astronomy/planets/jupiter/moo
ns.shtml
METHODS Observations were conducted on clear
nights at two areas from 26 April to 20 May 2004.
Observer 1, located at 47o N, 123o W (Olympia,
WA), used 8 x 42 binoculars to record relative
positions of the moons to Jupiter. Observer 2,
located at 47o N, 122o 36 W (Steilacoom, WA),
used a 910 mm Dobsonian telescope with a 10 mm
objective. Observers coordinated their viewing
times to coincide with each other as well as to
track the directional movements of the moons.
Each observer drew sketches of the moons
positions. The observers compared sketches and
calculated the orbital period for each moon. The
mass of Jupiter was determined using Newtons 2nd
law and Keplers 3rd law.
Mass of Jupiter determined from the orbital
periods of its moons (Newtons 2nd law and
Keplers 3rd law).
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