[8]  SEB revival outbreak (report, 2007 June 6th)

The SEB outbreak is now quite extensive and seems very likely to be the beginning of the SEB Revival.  It is developing just like SEB Revivals
usually do.

Here is a set of images from June 4 (3 observers on one rotation) and June 6 - some of these images being from the ALPO-Japan web site (thankyou). As you see, it is spreading both p. (east) in the northern SEB, and f. (west) as a chain of dark spots retrograding on the SEBs edge.  At the source, a small but very dark spot has appeared (most obvious in the lower-resolution image, as confirmed by others from Japan).  More bright and dark spots should appear at this point, if the SEB Revival is to continue.

A few speculations about what may happen in future:

1. Like others which broke out before the SEB was fully faded, this may be less spectacular than some past SEB Revivals; but that will be more than compensated by the high resolution of modern images.

2. The outbreak seems to be ignoring STrD-2, or perhaps destroying it.  But the retrograding dark spots will encounter STrD-1, about one month from now if it still exists, and they might recirculate to the STBn at that point.

3. If the SEB does revive, perhaps it will soon fade again, leading to another Revival about 3 years from now??

John Rogers,
Jupiter Section Director,
British Astronomical Association.