by AlanF » Fri Nov 08, 2013 5:30 pm
It's certainly possible to see frequent solar eclipses from Jupiter (if you could stand on the upper atmosphere). Its moons are in the same plane as its orbit, and we frequently see the shadows of the larger moons, Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto cast onto the planet's cloud tops. Tomorrow morning, for example, we could see Io and Europa and their shadows cross the face of Jupiter.
But the question was whether the eclipses are like those seen here on Earth. From Jupiter, the Sun's apparent diameter varies from 5.9 to 6.4 arc minutes. From Jupiter the average apparent size (from the cloud tops) of Io is 36.1 arc minutes, Europa is 18.0 arc minutes, Ganymede is 18.2 arc minutes, and Callisto is 9.2 arc minutes. They all appear larger than the Sun. Their orbits are not eccentric enough to change their apparent sizes much.
Even it if was possible from Jupiter, I suspect the much smaller Sun would make the event far less impressive.
I recall reading a science fiction short story, probably from the 1950s or 60s, about a solar eclipse. The kicker was that aliens were here to see it (quietly). I don't recall the author or title, and a quick Google search did not turn up any clues.
Clear skies, Alan
It's certainly possible to see frequent solar eclipses from Jupiter (if you could stand on the upper atmosphere). Its moons are in the same plane as its orbit, and we frequently see the shadows of the larger moons, Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto cast onto the planet's cloud tops. Tomorrow morning, for example, we could see Io and Europa and their shadows cross the face of Jupiter.
But the question was whether the eclipses are like those seen here on Earth. From Jupiter, the Sun's apparent diameter varies from 5.9 to 6.4 arc minutes. From Jupiter the average apparent size (from the cloud tops) of Io is 36.1 arc minutes, Europa is 18.0 arc minutes, Ganymede is 18.2 arc minutes, and Callisto is 9.2 arc minutes. They all appear larger than the Sun. Their orbits are not eccentric enough to change their apparent sizes much.
Even it if was possible from Jupiter, I suspect the much smaller Sun would make the event far less impressive.
I recall reading a science fiction short story, probably from the 1950s or 60s, about a solar eclipse. The kicker was that aliens were here to see it (quietly). I don't recall the author or title, and a quick Google search did not turn up any clues.
Clear skies, Alan