Director: K. Horikawa, Secretary: Y. Iga
It came to the final stage of the apparition. Jupiter was approaching the sun for solar conjunction in December. Though we had little time for observation just after sunset, enthusiastic observers still reported some images this month.
| Observer | Location | Telescope | Images/Drawings | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fukui, Hideto | (Shizuoka, Japan) | 35cm SCT. | 5 | images |
| Horikawa, Kuniaki | (Yokohama, Japan) | 16cm Refl. | 1 | drawing |
| Kazemoto, Akira | (Kyoto, Japan) | 50cm Refl. | 1 | image |
Dark segment of STB extended beyond RS, and its p. end reached about II:40 deg. Its f. end which detached from STrD was also prograding, and it was probably at II:220-270 deg., though exact longitude could not be determined. As a result, STrD-1 was observed as a solitary bulge of SEBs at about II:300 deg.
SEB had generally revived as a dark belt by activity of SEB Revival started in May. The belt was double in most longitude, and SEBZ between the components became much duskier than before. According to Fukui's image on Nov. 3, there were dark spots on SEBs preceding STrD-1. It suggested that the activity still continued there.
Saturn passed western quadrature in early December, and it came to appear in the east sky after midnight. This month, we received observations listed below, but number of observation made little increase, as Mars absorbed observer's interests.
| Observer | Location | Telescope | Images/Drawings | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akutsu, Tomio | (Philippines) | 35cm SCT | 2 | images |
| Ikemura, Toshihiko | (Nagoya, Japan) | 31cm Refl. | 5 | images |
| Kazemoto, Akira | (Kyoto, Japan) | 50cm Refl. | 1 | image |
| Olivetti, Tiziano | (Thailand) | 28cm Refl. | 2 | images |
| Yoneyama, Seiichi | (Yokohama, Japan) | 20cm Refl. | 4 | images |
SEB and NTB were clearly observed as reddish belts on Saturn. SEB was double in general, and south component is much fainter than north component. Akutsu's near-infrared image on Nov. 14 showed a bright band surrounding SPR. In northern hemisphere, light NTrZ was seen between NTB and ring A. Also, entire northern hemisphere was covered by delicate narrow bands in Olivetti's image.
(December 14, K. Horikawa)
(Translated on April 1)