Galileo’s TOES II Certificate Coordinator:

Introduction

Galileo’s T.O.E.S. is a challenge to observe all of the interactions between Jupiter and its four Galilean Moons.  Each cycle sees many of those events, but not necessarily all of them.

But twice in its orbit around the Sun, we see the orbits of Jupiter’s Galilean Moons almost exactly edge-on.  This means in addition to the events with Jupiter, the moons have events with each other.  There are two types of events:  Occultations and Eclipses.  These events can occur between each pair of moons.  The goal is to observe all of these events

Note:  All of the events do not occur during every 6th-year apparition of Jupiter.

Note: Galileo’s T.O.E.S. is not a prerequisite for Phase II.

You must complete all 24 possible observation events.  

You should document the event by logging this information for each event:

• First moon’s name
• Event type (occultation, eclipse)
• Second moon’s name
• Date (either Local or Universal Time)
• Time (use the same: Local or Universal Time)
• Latitude and Longitude of the Observation
• Equipment used
• Filters used (if used)
• Magnification
• Seeing and Transparency

For a 6th-Year Apparition certificate:

You must complete all of the possible event types for that apparition.  For 2021, this is 13.  You can earn this certificate every six years.

Logging information is as outlined above.

Submitting for Certification

This program has a certificate (only) for those who successfully complete all of the required observations. Once you have made the necessary observations, either send a copy of your log to the Galileo’s TOES Award Coordinator or have it reviewed and approved by an officer of your local club. That officer should then send an email to the Galileo’s TOES Award Coordinator with the observer’s name, club, e-mail address, and mail address. Also, send the name and email address of the person to whom the certificate should be sent.