Abstract
A total of 26 measurements of Jupiter's 12-year average rotation period were made at frequencies of 18, 20, and 22.2 MHz at observatories in Florida and Chile. An improved method was employed in which histograms of occurrence probability vs central meridian longitude obtained at the same frequency and observatory during apparitions about 12 years (one Jovian year) apart were cross correlated. The longitude shift giving maximum cross correlation was used to correct the initially assumed rotation period value. The mean of the measurements is 9 hr 55 min 29.689 sec, with a standard deviation of the mean of 0.005 sec. This is about 0.02 sec, or 4 standard deviations, less than the System III (1965) value. The measurements indicate that the rotation period was not changing (linearly) at a rate in excess of 0.03 sec/yr. If the synoptic monitoring program is continued through the next maximum of the jovicentric declination of the Earth ( D E), we will probably be able to detect a rate of change in rotation period as small as 0.002 sec/yr. This accuracy might be sufficient to reveal a secular drift in Jupiter's magnetic field.
Published Version
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