Is Jupiter bright enough to be seen in color by the naked eye from Jupiter orbit?Why does this image of Jupiter look so strange?Will there be joint observations from earth and the Juno spacecraft when it reaches Jupiter?Which of the outer planets could you see with the naked eye if you were in close proximity?The plane of the orbit of Juno around Jupiter is not the ecliptic plane. How did it get into this plane?When can we (public) expect to see the first optical images of Jupiter from the Juno spacecraft?

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Is Jupiter bright enough to be seen in color by the naked eye from Jupiter orbit?


Why does this image of Jupiter look so strange?Will there be joint observations from earth and the Juno spacecraft when it reaches Jupiter?Which of the outer planets could you see with the naked eye if you were in close proximity?The plane of the orbit of Juno around Jupiter is not the ecliptic plane. How did it get into this plane?When can we (public) expect to see the first optical images of Jupiter from the Juno spacecraft?






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margin-bottom:0;

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43















$begingroup$


After seeing spectacular photographs of Jupiter, especially this one:



Shadow of IO on Jupiter by JUNO



I wondered if this would be visible with the naked eye from Jupiter orbit? Is the sunlight at Jupiter bright enough to see this in color, or would we merely see a very dim, low contrast, gray version of this once our rods had adapted to the ambient light?










share|improve this question











$endgroup$










  • 32




    $begingroup$
    For anyone wondering, the big black spot is a solar eclipse from Io
    $endgroup$
    – BlueRaja - Danny Pflughoeft
    Oct 16 at 2:13







  • 5




    $begingroup$
    @BlueRaja-DannyPflughoeft Also, the shadow looks overly large relative to the planet which appears with exaggerated curvature for reasons of optics or image processing. I remember reading this is only 11% of Jupiter's surface. If you saw the shadow at that size, Jupiter's horizon would be relatively flat.
    $endgroup$
    – David Tonhofer
    Oct 16 at 5:59







  • 4




    $begingroup$
    Wouldn't this question be more on topic in the astronomy stack exchange site than in this space exploration one?
    $endgroup$
    – Aaron F
    Oct 16 at 10:56






  • 6




    $begingroup$
    As far as I can tell, Jupiter appears orange to the naked eye from Earth.
    $endgroup$
    – Eric Duminil
    Oct 16 at 13:07






  • 4




    $begingroup$
    @ point is : it looks colorful from Earth already.
    $endgroup$
    – Eric Duminil
    Oct 16 at 15:22

















43















$begingroup$


After seeing spectacular photographs of Jupiter, especially this one:



Shadow of IO on Jupiter by JUNO



I wondered if this would be visible with the naked eye from Jupiter orbit? Is the sunlight at Jupiter bright enough to see this in color, or would we merely see a very dim, low contrast, gray version of this once our rods had adapted to the ambient light?










share|improve this question











$endgroup$










  • 32




    $begingroup$
    For anyone wondering, the big black spot is a solar eclipse from Io
    $endgroup$
    – BlueRaja - Danny Pflughoeft
    Oct 16 at 2:13







  • 5




    $begingroup$
    @BlueRaja-DannyPflughoeft Also, the shadow looks overly large relative to the planet which appears with exaggerated curvature for reasons of optics or image processing. I remember reading this is only 11% of Jupiter's surface. If you saw the shadow at that size, Jupiter's horizon would be relatively flat.
    $endgroup$
    – David Tonhofer
    Oct 16 at 5:59







  • 4




    $begingroup$
    Wouldn't this question be more on topic in the astronomy stack exchange site than in this space exploration one?
    $endgroup$
    – Aaron F
    Oct 16 at 10:56






  • 6




    $begingroup$
    As far as I can tell, Jupiter appears orange to the naked eye from Earth.
    $endgroup$
    – Eric Duminil
    Oct 16 at 13:07






  • 4




    $begingroup$
    @ point is : it looks colorful from Earth already.
    $endgroup$
    – Eric Duminil
    Oct 16 at 15:22













43













43









43


2



$begingroup$


After seeing spectacular photographs of Jupiter, especially this one:



Shadow of IO on Jupiter by JUNO



I wondered if this would be visible with the naked eye from Jupiter orbit? Is the sunlight at Jupiter bright enough to see this in color, or would we merely see a very dim, low contrast, gray version of this once our rods had adapted to the ambient light?










share|improve this question











$endgroup$




After seeing spectacular photographs of Jupiter, especially this one:



Shadow of IO on Jupiter by JUNO



I wondered if this would be visible with the naked eye from Jupiter orbit? Is the sunlight at Jupiter bright enough to see this in color, or would we merely see a very dim, low contrast, gray version of this once our rods had adapted to the ambient light?







juno naked-eye






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited Oct 15 at 18:05









Machavity

3,8951 gold badge11 silver badges42 bronze badges




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asked Oct 15 at 17:34









Kaushik GhoseKaushik Ghose

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8606 silver badges10 bronze badges










  • 32




    $begingroup$
    For anyone wondering, the big black spot is a solar eclipse from Io
    $endgroup$
    – BlueRaja - Danny Pflughoeft
    Oct 16 at 2:13







  • 5




    $begingroup$
    @BlueRaja-DannyPflughoeft Also, the shadow looks overly large relative to the planet which appears with exaggerated curvature for reasons of optics or image processing. I remember reading this is only 11% of Jupiter's surface. If you saw the shadow at that size, Jupiter's horizon would be relatively flat.
    $endgroup$
    – David Tonhofer
    Oct 16 at 5:59







  • 4




    $begingroup$
    Wouldn't this question be more on topic in the astronomy stack exchange site than in this space exploration one?
    $endgroup$
    – Aaron F
    Oct 16 at 10:56






  • 6




    $begingroup$
    As far as I can tell, Jupiter appears orange to the naked eye from Earth.
    $endgroup$
    – Eric Duminil
    Oct 16 at 13:07






  • 4




    $begingroup$
    @ point is : it looks colorful from Earth already.
    $endgroup$
    – Eric Duminil
    Oct 16 at 15:22












  • 32




    $begingroup$
    For anyone wondering, the big black spot is a solar eclipse from Io
    $endgroup$
    – BlueRaja - Danny Pflughoeft
    Oct 16 at 2:13







  • 5




    $begingroup$
    @BlueRaja-DannyPflughoeft Also, the shadow looks overly large relative to the planet which appears with exaggerated curvature for reasons of optics or image processing. I remember reading this is only 11% of Jupiter's surface. If you saw the shadow at that size, Jupiter's horizon would be relatively flat.
    $endgroup$
    – David Tonhofer
    Oct 16 at 5:59







  • 4




    $begingroup$
    Wouldn't this question be more on topic in the astronomy stack exchange site than in this space exploration one?
    $endgroup$
    – Aaron F
    Oct 16 at 10:56






  • 6




    $begingroup$
    As far as I can tell, Jupiter appears orange to the naked eye from Earth.
    $endgroup$
    – Eric Duminil
    Oct 16 at 13:07






  • 4




    $begingroup$
    @ point is : it looks colorful from Earth already.
    $endgroup$
    – Eric Duminil
    Oct 16 at 15:22







32




32




$begingroup$
For anyone wondering, the big black spot is a solar eclipse from Io
$endgroup$
– BlueRaja - Danny Pflughoeft
Oct 16 at 2:13





$begingroup$
For anyone wondering, the big black spot is a solar eclipse from Io
$endgroup$
– BlueRaja - Danny Pflughoeft
Oct 16 at 2:13





5




5




$begingroup$
@BlueRaja-DannyPflughoeft Also, the shadow looks overly large relative to the planet which appears with exaggerated curvature for reasons of optics or image processing. I remember reading this is only 11% of Jupiter's surface. If you saw the shadow at that size, Jupiter's horizon would be relatively flat.
$endgroup$
– David Tonhofer
Oct 16 at 5:59





$begingroup$
@BlueRaja-DannyPflughoeft Also, the shadow looks overly large relative to the planet which appears with exaggerated curvature for reasons of optics or image processing. I remember reading this is only 11% of Jupiter's surface. If you saw the shadow at that size, Jupiter's horizon would be relatively flat.
$endgroup$
– David Tonhofer
Oct 16 at 5:59





4




4




$begingroup$
Wouldn't this question be more on topic in the astronomy stack exchange site than in this space exploration one?
$endgroup$
– Aaron F
Oct 16 at 10:56




$begingroup$
Wouldn't this question be more on topic in the astronomy stack exchange site than in this space exploration one?
$endgroup$
– Aaron F
Oct 16 at 10:56




6




6




$begingroup$
As far as I can tell, Jupiter appears orange to the naked eye from Earth.
$endgroup$
– Eric Duminil
Oct 16 at 13:07




$begingroup$
As far as I can tell, Jupiter appears orange to the naked eye from Earth.
$endgroup$
– Eric Duminil
Oct 16 at 13:07




4




4




$begingroup$
@ point is : it looks colorful from Earth already.
$endgroup$
– Eric Duminil
Oct 16 at 15:22




$begingroup$
@ point is : it looks colorful from Earth already.
$endgroup$
– Eric Duminil
Oct 16 at 15:22










4 Answers
4






active

oldest

votes


















64

















$begingroup$

The distance from Jupiter to the Sun is about 4.95 to 5.46 AU (Astronomical Unit, the distance of Earth to Sun). So the intensity of sunlight at Jupiter is about 1/25 of the intensity at Earth.



This light intensity is much more than neccessary to be seen in color by the naked eye enclosed in a space suit. About 1/1000 would be still bright enough.



Neptune is about 30 AU. Its intensity of 1/900 is enough for color vision.



In units of measure, the maximum illuminance on Earth's surface is about 130,000 Lux (Sun at zenith in Summer, clear sky). Above the atmosphere illuminance will be about 30 % higher.



So at Jupiter there are 5200 lx. That is comparable to a clouded sky at noon in winter with 6000 lx.



At Neptune there are 144 lx; a living room is about 100 to 300 lx. Street lighting is about 10 lx, enough to see the color of a red or yellow car.



All illuminance values are to be seen only as orders of magnitude. For human vision a factor of two for illuminance is felt as a small difference. We are able to see at a very wide range from 100,000 lx down to fractions of 1 lx.






share|improve this answer












$endgroup$










  • 53




    $begingroup$
    Jupiter is the 4th brightest natural object in the sky (Sun, Moon, Venus), and even a powerful set of binoculars can resolve the colored bands from here on earth. If we can see that type of detail from here, then we can definitely see the banding and cloud structures from Jupiter orbit.
    $endgroup$
    – Quietghost
    Oct 15 at 18:45






  • 6




    $begingroup$
    You could add some comparison - the illumination available for the image above is (according to Wikipedia) about as much as on a "cloudy day in winter at noon"
    $endgroup$
    – asdfex
    Oct 15 at 21:15







  • 2




    $begingroup$
    @Taemyr yes, the albedo of Jupiter is 0.52, of Earth 0.367. I neglected the influence of the atmosphere of Earth, The illuminance values are just orders of magnitude.
    $endgroup$
    – Uwe
    Oct 16 at 10:32






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    Correct me if I’m wrong, but it sounds like the numbers you are describing would be the intensity of the Sun’s light from Jupiter, not the intensity of the Sun’s light reflected off of Jupiter as seen from orbit—which I imagine might be an order of magnitude or two lower (since Jupiter is far from a perfect reflector). You do comment that we have three orders of magnitude to play with, so the answer is probably still overall accurate (as, indeed, is suggested by @Quietghost’s comment), but the numbers provided don’t back it up perfectly it seems to me.
    $endgroup$
    – KRyan
    Oct 16 at 14:14







  • 1




    $begingroup$
    the maximum illuminance on Earth is about 130,000 Lux (Sun at zenith in Summer, clear sky) is that the intensity on the surface of Earth (after some has been lost to the atmosphere) - if we're trying to determine sunlight hitting Earth relative to sunlight hitting another planet, wouldn't we want to use intensity hitting the atmosphere, not the surface?
    $endgroup$
    – dwizum
    Oct 16 at 15:04


















27

















$begingroup$

Jupiter is very bright and is one of the brightest things in the night sky when it is visible. Through even a small telescope (such as my own 100mm telescope) shades of dark brown, beige, cream and salmon pink are visible, even though 100x or 200x magnification dims the image. From Jupiter orbit, it would be a dazzling sight.






share|improve this answer










$endgroup$






















    5

















    $begingroup$

    Uwe has provided a very good analysis of why Jupiter should be visible in color from Jupiter orbit, and Ags1 has pointed out that you can see the different colors through even a small telescope.



    I wish to offer an even simpler demonstration that you would see the colors. Go out at night and look at Jupiter in the sky. You can use software such as Stellarium to figure out where it will be. You will probably perceive Jupiter as clearly being yellow, maybe very slightly orange.



    Since it is bright enough to perceive the colors when seen from Earth, you should certainly be able to perceive them much closer, in Jupiter orbit.






    share|improve this answer










    $endgroup$






















      5

















      $begingroup$

      Let's double check that the color of Jupiter will be visible over a large range of distances. (tl;dr it will!)



      I calculated the relative brightness of Jupiter normalized to 5.2 AU the average distance from Earth assuming 100% illumination, and then the relative surface brightness.



      This assumes the eye remains dark-adapted.



      Anywhere beyond roughly 1.5 AU, Jupiter is unresolved by our eye (assuming a nominal 1 arcminute resolution) so the apparent surface brightness increases as we move closer to Jupiter, until we can start resolving the disk. After that the apparent surface brightness (intensity per unit solid area) doesn't increase, for the same reason that a wall does not get brighter as we walk closer to it.



      So as we move from 6.2 AU to about 1.5 AU Jupiter's apparent surface brightness will only increase, and after that it remains roughly constant. So I propose to agree with several other answers that the colors of Jupiter will be visible anywhere from Earth to Jupiter orbit.



      The four dots represent (from left to right):



      location distance (1E+06 km)
      --------------------------------- -------------------
      Io's orbit 0.42
      Jupiter's Hill sphere (max orbit) 53.2
      5.2 - 1 AU (inferior conjunction) 628.5
      5.2 + 1 AU (superior conjunction) 928.5


      enter image description here



      Python script for the plot



      import numpy as np
      import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

      R_jupiter = 69900. # km
      a_jupiter = 778.5E+06 # km
      a_io = 421.8E+03 # km
      AU = 150E+06 # km
      G_Msun, GM_jupiter = 1.327E+20, 1.267E+17 # m^3/s^2

      minres = (1/60.) * np.pi/180 # minimum resolution of human eye ~ 1 arcminute

      R_Hill = a_jupiter * (GM_jupiter / (3.*G_Msun))**(1./3.)

      print('R_Hill for Jupiter (million km): ', R_Hill/1E+06)

      print('Jupiter at 5.2 AU, minres (radians): ', 2*R_jupiter/a_jupiter, minres)

      distance = np.logspace(np.log10(a_io), np.log10(a_jupiter+AU), 2001)
      size = 2*R_jupiter / distance


      apparent_size = np.sqrt(minres**2 + size**2)
      relative_brightness = (a_jupiter/distance)**2
      apparent_surface_brightness = relative_brightness * (minres / apparent_size)**2

      points = [a_jupiter+AU, a_jupiter-AU, R_Hill, a_io]
      ipoints = [np.argmax(distance >= p) for p in points] # I'm lazy
      relative_brightness_points = relative_brightness[ipoints]
      apparent_surface_brightness_points = apparent_surface_brightness[ipoints]


      plt.figure()
      plt.plot(distance, relative_brightness)
      plt.plot(points, relative_brightness_points, 'ok')
      plt.plot(distance, apparent_surface_brightness)
      plt.plot(points, apparent_surface_brightness_points, 'ok')
      plt.text(3E+06, 0.8, 'apparent surface brightness', fontsize=16)
      plt.text(3E+06, 1E+05, 'relative brightness', fontsize=16)
      plt.xlabel('distance (km)', fontsize=16)
      plt.xscale('log')
      plt.yscale('log')
      plt.show()





      share|improve this answer










      $endgroup$
















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        4 Answers
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        4 Answers
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        active

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        64

















        $begingroup$

        The distance from Jupiter to the Sun is about 4.95 to 5.46 AU (Astronomical Unit, the distance of Earth to Sun). So the intensity of sunlight at Jupiter is about 1/25 of the intensity at Earth.



        This light intensity is much more than neccessary to be seen in color by the naked eye enclosed in a space suit. About 1/1000 would be still bright enough.



        Neptune is about 30 AU. Its intensity of 1/900 is enough for color vision.



        In units of measure, the maximum illuminance on Earth's surface is about 130,000 Lux (Sun at zenith in Summer, clear sky). Above the atmosphere illuminance will be about 30 % higher.



        So at Jupiter there are 5200 lx. That is comparable to a clouded sky at noon in winter with 6000 lx.



        At Neptune there are 144 lx; a living room is about 100 to 300 lx. Street lighting is about 10 lx, enough to see the color of a red or yellow car.



        All illuminance values are to be seen only as orders of magnitude. For human vision a factor of two for illuminance is felt as a small difference. We are able to see at a very wide range from 100,000 lx down to fractions of 1 lx.






        share|improve this answer












        $endgroup$










        • 53




          $begingroup$
          Jupiter is the 4th brightest natural object in the sky (Sun, Moon, Venus), and even a powerful set of binoculars can resolve the colored bands from here on earth. If we can see that type of detail from here, then we can definitely see the banding and cloud structures from Jupiter orbit.
          $endgroup$
          – Quietghost
          Oct 15 at 18:45






        • 6




          $begingroup$
          You could add some comparison - the illumination available for the image above is (according to Wikipedia) about as much as on a "cloudy day in winter at noon"
          $endgroup$
          – asdfex
          Oct 15 at 21:15







        • 2




          $begingroup$
          @Taemyr yes, the albedo of Jupiter is 0.52, of Earth 0.367. I neglected the influence of the atmosphere of Earth, The illuminance values are just orders of magnitude.
          $endgroup$
          – Uwe
          Oct 16 at 10:32






        • 1




          $begingroup$
          Correct me if I’m wrong, but it sounds like the numbers you are describing would be the intensity of the Sun’s light from Jupiter, not the intensity of the Sun’s light reflected off of Jupiter as seen from orbit—which I imagine might be an order of magnitude or two lower (since Jupiter is far from a perfect reflector). You do comment that we have three orders of magnitude to play with, so the answer is probably still overall accurate (as, indeed, is suggested by @Quietghost’s comment), but the numbers provided don’t back it up perfectly it seems to me.
          $endgroup$
          – KRyan
          Oct 16 at 14:14







        • 1




          $begingroup$
          the maximum illuminance on Earth is about 130,000 Lux (Sun at zenith in Summer, clear sky) is that the intensity on the surface of Earth (after some has been lost to the atmosphere) - if we're trying to determine sunlight hitting Earth relative to sunlight hitting another planet, wouldn't we want to use intensity hitting the atmosphere, not the surface?
          $endgroup$
          – dwizum
          Oct 16 at 15:04















        64

















        $begingroup$

        The distance from Jupiter to the Sun is about 4.95 to 5.46 AU (Astronomical Unit, the distance of Earth to Sun). So the intensity of sunlight at Jupiter is about 1/25 of the intensity at Earth.



        This light intensity is much more than neccessary to be seen in color by the naked eye enclosed in a space suit. About 1/1000 would be still bright enough.



        Neptune is about 30 AU. Its intensity of 1/900 is enough for color vision.



        In units of measure, the maximum illuminance on Earth's surface is about 130,000 Lux (Sun at zenith in Summer, clear sky). Above the atmosphere illuminance will be about 30 % higher.



        So at Jupiter there are 5200 lx. That is comparable to a clouded sky at noon in winter with 6000 lx.



        At Neptune there are 144 lx; a living room is about 100 to 300 lx. Street lighting is about 10 lx, enough to see the color of a red or yellow car.



        All illuminance values are to be seen only as orders of magnitude. For human vision a factor of two for illuminance is felt as a small difference. We are able to see at a very wide range from 100,000 lx down to fractions of 1 lx.






        share|improve this answer












        $endgroup$










        • 53




          $begingroup$
          Jupiter is the 4th brightest natural object in the sky (Sun, Moon, Venus), and even a powerful set of binoculars can resolve the colored bands from here on earth. If we can see that type of detail from here, then we can definitely see the banding and cloud structures from Jupiter orbit.
          $endgroup$
          – Quietghost
          Oct 15 at 18:45






        • 6




          $begingroup$
          You could add some comparison - the illumination available for the image above is (according to Wikipedia) about as much as on a "cloudy day in winter at noon"
          $endgroup$
          – asdfex
          Oct 15 at 21:15







        • 2




          $begingroup$
          @Taemyr yes, the albedo of Jupiter is 0.52, of Earth 0.367. I neglected the influence of the atmosphere of Earth, The illuminance values are just orders of magnitude.
          $endgroup$
          – Uwe
          Oct 16 at 10:32






        • 1




          $begingroup$
          Correct me if I’m wrong, but it sounds like the numbers you are describing would be the intensity of the Sun’s light from Jupiter, not the intensity of the Sun’s light reflected off of Jupiter as seen from orbit—which I imagine might be an order of magnitude or two lower (since Jupiter is far from a perfect reflector). You do comment that we have three orders of magnitude to play with, so the answer is probably still overall accurate (as, indeed, is suggested by @Quietghost’s comment), but the numbers provided don’t back it up perfectly it seems to me.
          $endgroup$
          – KRyan
          Oct 16 at 14:14







        • 1




          $begingroup$
          the maximum illuminance on Earth is about 130,000 Lux (Sun at zenith in Summer, clear sky) is that the intensity on the surface of Earth (after some has been lost to the atmosphere) - if we're trying to determine sunlight hitting Earth relative to sunlight hitting another planet, wouldn't we want to use intensity hitting the atmosphere, not the surface?
          $endgroup$
          – dwizum
          Oct 16 at 15:04













        64















        64











        64







        $begingroup$

        The distance from Jupiter to the Sun is about 4.95 to 5.46 AU (Astronomical Unit, the distance of Earth to Sun). So the intensity of sunlight at Jupiter is about 1/25 of the intensity at Earth.



        This light intensity is much more than neccessary to be seen in color by the naked eye enclosed in a space suit. About 1/1000 would be still bright enough.



        Neptune is about 30 AU. Its intensity of 1/900 is enough for color vision.



        In units of measure, the maximum illuminance on Earth's surface is about 130,000 Lux (Sun at zenith in Summer, clear sky). Above the atmosphere illuminance will be about 30 % higher.



        So at Jupiter there are 5200 lx. That is comparable to a clouded sky at noon in winter with 6000 lx.



        At Neptune there are 144 lx; a living room is about 100 to 300 lx. Street lighting is about 10 lx, enough to see the color of a red or yellow car.



        All illuminance values are to be seen only as orders of magnitude. For human vision a factor of two for illuminance is felt as a small difference. We are able to see at a very wide range from 100,000 lx down to fractions of 1 lx.






        share|improve this answer












        $endgroup$



        The distance from Jupiter to the Sun is about 4.95 to 5.46 AU (Astronomical Unit, the distance of Earth to Sun). So the intensity of sunlight at Jupiter is about 1/25 of the intensity at Earth.



        This light intensity is much more than neccessary to be seen in color by the naked eye enclosed in a space suit. About 1/1000 would be still bright enough.



        Neptune is about 30 AU. Its intensity of 1/900 is enough for color vision.



        In units of measure, the maximum illuminance on Earth's surface is about 130,000 Lux (Sun at zenith in Summer, clear sky). Above the atmosphere illuminance will be about 30 % higher.



        So at Jupiter there are 5200 lx. That is comparable to a clouded sky at noon in winter with 6000 lx.



        At Neptune there are 144 lx; a living room is about 100 to 300 lx. Street lighting is about 10 lx, enough to see the color of a red or yellow car.



        All illuminance values are to be seen only as orders of magnitude. For human vision a factor of two for illuminance is felt as a small difference. We are able to see at a very wide range from 100,000 lx down to fractions of 1 lx.







        share|improve this answer















        share|improve this answer




        share|improve this answer








        edited Oct 18 at 17:20









        Lightness Races with Monica

        1711 silver badge7 bronze badges




        1711 silver badge7 bronze badges










        answered Oct 15 at 17:49









        UweUwe

        19.5k3 gold badges50 silver badges82 bronze badges




        19.5k3 gold badges50 silver badges82 bronze badges










        • 53




          $begingroup$
          Jupiter is the 4th brightest natural object in the sky (Sun, Moon, Venus), and even a powerful set of binoculars can resolve the colored bands from here on earth. If we can see that type of detail from here, then we can definitely see the banding and cloud structures from Jupiter orbit.
          $endgroup$
          – Quietghost
          Oct 15 at 18:45






        • 6




          $begingroup$
          You could add some comparison - the illumination available for the image above is (according to Wikipedia) about as much as on a "cloudy day in winter at noon"
          $endgroup$
          – asdfex
          Oct 15 at 21:15







        • 2




          $begingroup$
          @Taemyr yes, the albedo of Jupiter is 0.52, of Earth 0.367. I neglected the influence of the atmosphere of Earth, The illuminance values are just orders of magnitude.
          $endgroup$
          – Uwe
          Oct 16 at 10:32






        • 1




          $begingroup$
          Correct me if I’m wrong, but it sounds like the numbers you are describing would be the intensity of the Sun’s light from Jupiter, not the intensity of the Sun’s light reflected off of Jupiter as seen from orbit—which I imagine might be an order of magnitude or two lower (since Jupiter is far from a perfect reflector). You do comment that we have three orders of magnitude to play with, so the answer is probably still overall accurate (as, indeed, is suggested by @Quietghost’s comment), but the numbers provided don’t back it up perfectly it seems to me.
          $endgroup$
          – KRyan
          Oct 16 at 14:14







        • 1




          $begingroup$
          the maximum illuminance on Earth is about 130,000 Lux (Sun at zenith in Summer, clear sky) is that the intensity on the surface of Earth (after some has been lost to the atmosphere) - if we're trying to determine sunlight hitting Earth relative to sunlight hitting another planet, wouldn't we want to use intensity hitting the atmosphere, not the surface?
          $endgroup$
          – dwizum
          Oct 16 at 15:04












        • 53




          $begingroup$
          Jupiter is the 4th brightest natural object in the sky (Sun, Moon, Venus), and even a powerful set of binoculars can resolve the colored bands from here on earth. If we can see that type of detail from here, then we can definitely see the banding and cloud structures from Jupiter orbit.
          $endgroup$
          – Quietghost
          Oct 15 at 18:45






        • 6




          $begingroup$
          You could add some comparison - the illumination available for the image above is (according to Wikipedia) about as much as on a "cloudy day in winter at noon"
          $endgroup$
          – asdfex
          Oct 15 at 21:15







        • 2




          $begingroup$
          @Taemyr yes, the albedo of Jupiter is 0.52, of Earth 0.367. I neglected the influence of the atmosphere of Earth, The illuminance values are just orders of magnitude.
          $endgroup$
          – Uwe
          Oct 16 at 10:32






        • 1




          $begingroup$
          Correct me if I’m wrong, but it sounds like the numbers you are describing would be the intensity of the Sun’s light from Jupiter, not the intensity of the Sun’s light reflected off of Jupiter as seen from orbit—which I imagine might be an order of magnitude or two lower (since Jupiter is far from a perfect reflector). You do comment that we have three orders of magnitude to play with, so the answer is probably still overall accurate (as, indeed, is suggested by @Quietghost’s comment), but the numbers provided don’t back it up perfectly it seems to me.
          $endgroup$
          – KRyan
          Oct 16 at 14:14







        • 1




          $begingroup$
          the maximum illuminance on Earth is about 130,000 Lux (Sun at zenith in Summer, clear sky) is that the intensity on the surface of Earth (after some has been lost to the atmosphere) - if we're trying to determine sunlight hitting Earth relative to sunlight hitting another planet, wouldn't we want to use intensity hitting the atmosphere, not the surface?
          $endgroup$
          – dwizum
          Oct 16 at 15:04







        53




        53




        $begingroup$
        Jupiter is the 4th brightest natural object in the sky (Sun, Moon, Venus), and even a powerful set of binoculars can resolve the colored bands from here on earth. If we can see that type of detail from here, then we can definitely see the banding and cloud structures from Jupiter orbit.
        $endgroup$
        – Quietghost
        Oct 15 at 18:45




        $begingroup$
        Jupiter is the 4th brightest natural object in the sky (Sun, Moon, Venus), and even a powerful set of binoculars can resolve the colored bands from here on earth. If we can see that type of detail from here, then we can definitely see the banding and cloud structures from Jupiter orbit.
        $endgroup$
        – Quietghost
        Oct 15 at 18:45




        6




        6




        $begingroup$
        You could add some comparison - the illumination available for the image above is (according to Wikipedia) about as much as on a "cloudy day in winter at noon"
        $endgroup$
        – asdfex
        Oct 15 at 21:15





        $begingroup$
        You could add some comparison - the illumination available for the image above is (according to Wikipedia) about as much as on a "cloudy day in winter at noon"
        $endgroup$
        – asdfex
        Oct 15 at 21:15





        2




        2




        $begingroup$
        @Taemyr yes, the albedo of Jupiter is 0.52, of Earth 0.367. I neglected the influence of the atmosphere of Earth, The illuminance values are just orders of magnitude.
        $endgroup$
        – Uwe
        Oct 16 at 10:32




        $begingroup$
        @Taemyr yes, the albedo of Jupiter is 0.52, of Earth 0.367. I neglected the influence of the atmosphere of Earth, The illuminance values are just orders of magnitude.
        $endgroup$
        – Uwe
        Oct 16 at 10:32




        1




        1




        $begingroup$
        Correct me if I’m wrong, but it sounds like the numbers you are describing would be the intensity of the Sun’s light from Jupiter, not the intensity of the Sun’s light reflected off of Jupiter as seen from orbit—which I imagine might be an order of magnitude or two lower (since Jupiter is far from a perfect reflector). You do comment that we have three orders of magnitude to play with, so the answer is probably still overall accurate (as, indeed, is suggested by @Quietghost’s comment), but the numbers provided don’t back it up perfectly it seems to me.
        $endgroup$
        – KRyan
        Oct 16 at 14:14





        $begingroup$
        Correct me if I’m wrong, but it sounds like the numbers you are describing would be the intensity of the Sun’s light from Jupiter, not the intensity of the Sun’s light reflected off of Jupiter as seen from orbit—which I imagine might be an order of magnitude or two lower (since Jupiter is far from a perfect reflector). You do comment that we have three orders of magnitude to play with, so the answer is probably still overall accurate (as, indeed, is suggested by @Quietghost’s comment), but the numbers provided don’t back it up perfectly it seems to me.
        $endgroup$
        – KRyan
        Oct 16 at 14:14





        1




        1




        $begingroup$
        the maximum illuminance on Earth is about 130,000 Lux (Sun at zenith in Summer, clear sky) is that the intensity on the surface of Earth (after some has been lost to the atmosphere) - if we're trying to determine sunlight hitting Earth relative to sunlight hitting another planet, wouldn't we want to use intensity hitting the atmosphere, not the surface?
        $endgroup$
        – dwizum
        Oct 16 at 15:04




        $begingroup$
        the maximum illuminance on Earth is about 130,000 Lux (Sun at zenith in Summer, clear sky) is that the intensity on the surface of Earth (after some has been lost to the atmosphere) - if we're trying to determine sunlight hitting Earth relative to sunlight hitting another planet, wouldn't we want to use intensity hitting the atmosphere, not the surface?
        $endgroup$
        – dwizum
        Oct 16 at 15:04













        27

















        $begingroup$

        Jupiter is very bright and is one of the brightest things in the night sky when it is visible. Through even a small telescope (such as my own 100mm telescope) shades of dark brown, beige, cream and salmon pink are visible, even though 100x or 200x magnification dims the image. From Jupiter orbit, it would be a dazzling sight.






        share|improve this answer










        $endgroup$



















          27

















          $begingroup$

          Jupiter is very bright and is one of the brightest things in the night sky when it is visible. Through even a small telescope (such as my own 100mm telescope) shades of dark brown, beige, cream and salmon pink are visible, even though 100x or 200x magnification dims the image. From Jupiter orbit, it would be a dazzling sight.






          share|improve this answer










          $endgroup$

















            27















            27











            27







            $begingroup$

            Jupiter is very bright and is one of the brightest things in the night sky when it is visible. Through even a small telescope (such as my own 100mm telescope) shades of dark brown, beige, cream and salmon pink are visible, even though 100x or 200x magnification dims the image. From Jupiter orbit, it would be a dazzling sight.






            share|improve this answer










            $endgroup$



            Jupiter is very bright and is one of the brightest things in the night sky when it is visible. Through even a small telescope (such as my own 100mm telescope) shades of dark brown, beige, cream and salmon pink are visible, even though 100x or 200x magnification dims the image. From Jupiter orbit, it would be a dazzling sight.







            share|improve this answer













            share|improve this answer




            share|improve this answer










            answered Oct 15 at 19:45









            Ags1Ags1

            1,0832 silver badges12 bronze badges




            1,0832 silver badges12 bronze badges
























                5

















                $begingroup$

                Uwe has provided a very good analysis of why Jupiter should be visible in color from Jupiter orbit, and Ags1 has pointed out that you can see the different colors through even a small telescope.



                I wish to offer an even simpler demonstration that you would see the colors. Go out at night and look at Jupiter in the sky. You can use software such as Stellarium to figure out where it will be. You will probably perceive Jupiter as clearly being yellow, maybe very slightly orange.



                Since it is bright enough to perceive the colors when seen from Earth, you should certainly be able to perceive them much closer, in Jupiter orbit.






                share|improve this answer










                $endgroup$



















                  5

















                  $begingroup$

                  Uwe has provided a very good analysis of why Jupiter should be visible in color from Jupiter orbit, and Ags1 has pointed out that you can see the different colors through even a small telescope.



                  I wish to offer an even simpler demonstration that you would see the colors. Go out at night and look at Jupiter in the sky. You can use software such as Stellarium to figure out where it will be. You will probably perceive Jupiter as clearly being yellow, maybe very slightly orange.



                  Since it is bright enough to perceive the colors when seen from Earth, you should certainly be able to perceive them much closer, in Jupiter orbit.






                  share|improve this answer










                  $endgroup$

















                    5















                    5











                    5







                    $begingroup$

                    Uwe has provided a very good analysis of why Jupiter should be visible in color from Jupiter orbit, and Ags1 has pointed out that you can see the different colors through even a small telescope.



                    I wish to offer an even simpler demonstration that you would see the colors. Go out at night and look at Jupiter in the sky. You can use software such as Stellarium to figure out where it will be. You will probably perceive Jupiter as clearly being yellow, maybe very slightly orange.



                    Since it is bright enough to perceive the colors when seen from Earth, you should certainly be able to perceive them much closer, in Jupiter orbit.






                    share|improve this answer










                    $endgroup$



                    Uwe has provided a very good analysis of why Jupiter should be visible in color from Jupiter orbit, and Ags1 has pointed out that you can see the different colors through even a small telescope.



                    I wish to offer an even simpler demonstration that you would see the colors. Go out at night and look at Jupiter in the sky. You can use software such as Stellarium to figure out where it will be. You will probably perceive Jupiter as clearly being yellow, maybe very slightly orange.



                    Since it is bright enough to perceive the colors when seen from Earth, you should certainly be able to perceive them much closer, in Jupiter orbit.







                    share|improve this answer













                    share|improve this answer




                    share|improve this answer










                    answered Oct 17 at 21:41









                    Harry BravinerHarry Braviner

                    1511 bronze badge




                    1511 bronze badge
























                        5

















                        $begingroup$

                        Let's double check that the color of Jupiter will be visible over a large range of distances. (tl;dr it will!)



                        I calculated the relative brightness of Jupiter normalized to 5.2 AU the average distance from Earth assuming 100% illumination, and then the relative surface brightness.



                        This assumes the eye remains dark-adapted.



                        Anywhere beyond roughly 1.5 AU, Jupiter is unresolved by our eye (assuming a nominal 1 arcminute resolution) so the apparent surface brightness increases as we move closer to Jupiter, until we can start resolving the disk. After that the apparent surface brightness (intensity per unit solid area) doesn't increase, for the same reason that a wall does not get brighter as we walk closer to it.



                        So as we move from 6.2 AU to about 1.5 AU Jupiter's apparent surface brightness will only increase, and after that it remains roughly constant. So I propose to agree with several other answers that the colors of Jupiter will be visible anywhere from Earth to Jupiter orbit.



                        The four dots represent (from left to right):



                        location distance (1E+06 km)
                        --------------------------------- -------------------
                        Io's orbit 0.42
                        Jupiter's Hill sphere (max orbit) 53.2
                        5.2 - 1 AU (inferior conjunction) 628.5
                        5.2 + 1 AU (superior conjunction) 928.5


                        enter image description here



                        Python script for the plot



                        import numpy as np
                        import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

                        R_jupiter = 69900. # km
                        a_jupiter = 778.5E+06 # km
                        a_io = 421.8E+03 # km
                        AU = 150E+06 # km
                        G_Msun, GM_jupiter = 1.327E+20, 1.267E+17 # m^3/s^2

                        minres = (1/60.) * np.pi/180 # minimum resolution of human eye ~ 1 arcminute

                        R_Hill = a_jupiter * (GM_jupiter / (3.*G_Msun))**(1./3.)

                        print('R_Hill for Jupiter (million km): ', R_Hill/1E+06)

                        print('Jupiter at 5.2 AU, minres (radians): ', 2*R_jupiter/a_jupiter, minres)

                        distance = np.logspace(np.log10(a_io), np.log10(a_jupiter+AU), 2001)
                        size = 2*R_jupiter / distance


                        apparent_size = np.sqrt(minres**2 + size**2)
                        relative_brightness = (a_jupiter/distance)**2
                        apparent_surface_brightness = relative_brightness * (minres / apparent_size)**2

                        points = [a_jupiter+AU, a_jupiter-AU, R_Hill, a_io]
                        ipoints = [np.argmax(distance >= p) for p in points] # I'm lazy
                        relative_brightness_points = relative_brightness[ipoints]
                        apparent_surface_brightness_points = apparent_surface_brightness[ipoints]


                        plt.figure()
                        plt.plot(distance, relative_brightness)
                        plt.plot(points, relative_brightness_points, 'ok')
                        plt.plot(distance, apparent_surface_brightness)
                        plt.plot(points, apparent_surface_brightness_points, 'ok')
                        plt.text(3E+06, 0.8, 'apparent surface brightness', fontsize=16)
                        plt.text(3E+06, 1E+05, 'relative brightness', fontsize=16)
                        plt.xlabel('distance (km)', fontsize=16)
                        plt.xscale('log')
                        plt.yscale('log')
                        plt.show()





                        share|improve this answer










                        $endgroup$



















                          5

















                          $begingroup$

                          Let's double check that the color of Jupiter will be visible over a large range of distances. (tl;dr it will!)



                          I calculated the relative brightness of Jupiter normalized to 5.2 AU the average distance from Earth assuming 100% illumination, and then the relative surface brightness.



                          This assumes the eye remains dark-adapted.



                          Anywhere beyond roughly 1.5 AU, Jupiter is unresolved by our eye (assuming a nominal 1 arcminute resolution) so the apparent surface brightness increases as we move closer to Jupiter, until we can start resolving the disk. After that the apparent surface brightness (intensity per unit solid area) doesn't increase, for the same reason that a wall does not get brighter as we walk closer to it.



                          So as we move from 6.2 AU to about 1.5 AU Jupiter's apparent surface brightness will only increase, and after that it remains roughly constant. So I propose to agree with several other answers that the colors of Jupiter will be visible anywhere from Earth to Jupiter orbit.



                          The four dots represent (from left to right):



                          location distance (1E+06 km)
                          --------------------------------- -------------------
                          Io's orbit 0.42
                          Jupiter's Hill sphere (max orbit) 53.2
                          5.2 - 1 AU (inferior conjunction) 628.5
                          5.2 + 1 AU (superior conjunction) 928.5


                          enter image description here



                          Python script for the plot



                          import numpy as np
                          import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

                          R_jupiter = 69900. # km
                          a_jupiter = 778.5E+06 # km
                          a_io = 421.8E+03 # km
                          AU = 150E+06 # km
                          G_Msun, GM_jupiter = 1.327E+20, 1.267E+17 # m^3/s^2

                          minres = (1/60.) * np.pi/180 # minimum resolution of human eye ~ 1 arcminute

                          R_Hill = a_jupiter * (GM_jupiter / (3.*G_Msun))**(1./3.)

                          print('R_Hill for Jupiter (million km): ', R_Hill/1E+06)

                          print('Jupiter at 5.2 AU, minres (radians): ', 2*R_jupiter/a_jupiter, minres)

                          distance = np.logspace(np.log10(a_io), np.log10(a_jupiter+AU), 2001)
                          size = 2*R_jupiter / distance


                          apparent_size = np.sqrt(minres**2 + size**2)
                          relative_brightness = (a_jupiter/distance)**2
                          apparent_surface_brightness = relative_brightness * (minres / apparent_size)**2

                          points = [a_jupiter+AU, a_jupiter-AU, R_Hill, a_io]
                          ipoints = [np.argmax(distance >= p) for p in points] # I'm lazy
                          relative_brightness_points = relative_brightness[ipoints]
                          apparent_surface_brightness_points = apparent_surface_brightness[ipoints]


                          plt.figure()
                          plt.plot(distance, relative_brightness)
                          plt.plot(points, relative_brightness_points, 'ok')
                          plt.plot(distance, apparent_surface_brightness)
                          plt.plot(points, apparent_surface_brightness_points, 'ok')
                          plt.text(3E+06, 0.8, 'apparent surface brightness', fontsize=16)
                          plt.text(3E+06, 1E+05, 'relative brightness', fontsize=16)
                          plt.xlabel('distance (km)', fontsize=16)
                          plt.xscale('log')
                          plt.yscale('log')
                          plt.show()





                          share|improve this answer










                          $endgroup$

















                            5















                            5











                            5







                            $begingroup$

                            Let's double check that the color of Jupiter will be visible over a large range of distances. (tl;dr it will!)



                            I calculated the relative brightness of Jupiter normalized to 5.2 AU the average distance from Earth assuming 100% illumination, and then the relative surface brightness.



                            This assumes the eye remains dark-adapted.



                            Anywhere beyond roughly 1.5 AU, Jupiter is unresolved by our eye (assuming a nominal 1 arcminute resolution) so the apparent surface brightness increases as we move closer to Jupiter, until we can start resolving the disk. After that the apparent surface brightness (intensity per unit solid area) doesn't increase, for the same reason that a wall does not get brighter as we walk closer to it.



                            So as we move from 6.2 AU to about 1.5 AU Jupiter's apparent surface brightness will only increase, and after that it remains roughly constant. So I propose to agree with several other answers that the colors of Jupiter will be visible anywhere from Earth to Jupiter orbit.



                            The four dots represent (from left to right):



                            location distance (1E+06 km)
                            --------------------------------- -------------------
                            Io's orbit 0.42
                            Jupiter's Hill sphere (max orbit) 53.2
                            5.2 - 1 AU (inferior conjunction) 628.5
                            5.2 + 1 AU (superior conjunction) 928.5


                            enter image description here



                            Python script for the plot



                            import numpy as np
                            import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

                            R_jupiter = 69900. # km
                            a_jupiter = 778.5E+06 # km
                            a_io = 421.8E+03 # km
                            AU = 150E+06 # km
                            G_Msun, GM_jupiter = 1.327E+20, 1.267E+17 # m^3/s^2

                            minres = (1/60.) * np.pi/180 # minimum resolution of human eye ~ 1 arcminute

                            R_Hill = a_jupiter * (GM_jupiter / (3.*G_Msun))**(1./3.)

                            print('R_Hill for Jupiter (million km): ', R_Hill/1E+06)

                            print('Jupiter at 5.2 AU, minres (radians): ', 2*R_jupiter/a_jupiter, minres)

                            distance = np.logspace(np.log10(a_io), np.log10(a_jupiter+AU), 2001)
                            size = 2*R_jupiter / distance


                            apparent_size = np.sqrt(minres**2 + size**2)
                            relative_brightness = (a_jupiter/distance)**2
                            apparent_surface_brightness = relative_brightness * (minres / apparent_size)**2

                            points = [a_jupiter+AU, a_jupiter-AU, R_Hill, a_io]
                            ipoints = [np.argmax(distance >= p) for p in points] # I'm lazy
                            relative_brightness_points = relative_brightness[ipoints]
                            apparent_surface_brightness_points = apparent_surface_brightness[ipoints]


                            plt.figure()
                            plt.plot(distance, relative_brightness)
                            plt.plot(points, relative_brightness_points, 'ok')
                            plt.plot(distance, apparent_surface_brightness)
                            plt.plot(points, apparent_surface_brightness_points, 'ok')
                            plt.text(3E+06, 0.8, 'apparent surface brightness', fontsize=16)
                            plt.text(3E+06, 1E+05, 'relative brightness', fontsize=16)
                            plt.xlabel('distance (km)', fontsize=16)
                            plt.xscale('log')
                            plt.yscale('log')
                            plt.show()





                            share|improve this answer










                            $endgroup$



                            Let's double check that the color of Jupiter will be visible over a large range of distances. (tl;dr it will!)



                            I calculated the relative brightness of Jupiter normalized to 5.2 AU the average distance from Earth assuming 100% illumination, and then the relative surface brightness.



                            This assumes the eye remains dark-adapted.



                            Anywhere beyond roughly 1.5 AU, Jupiter is unresolved by our eye (assuming a nominal 1 arcminute resolution) so the apparent surface brightness increases as we move closer to Jupiter, until we can start resolving the disk. After that the apparent surface brightness (intensity per unit solid area) doesn't increase, for the same reason that a wall does not get brighter as we walk closer to it.



                            So as we move from 6.2 AU to about 1.5 AU Jupiter's apparent surface brightness will only increase, and after that it remains roughly constant. So I propose to agree with several other answers that the colors of Jupiter will be visible anywhere from Earth to Jupiter orbit.



                            The four dots represent (from left to right):



                            location distance (1E+06 km)
                            --------------------------------- -------------------
                            Io's orbit 0.42
                            Jupiter's Hill sphere (max orbit) 53.2
                            5.2 - 1 AU (inferior conjunction) 628.5
                            5.2 + 1 AU (superior conjunction) 928.5


                            enter image description here



                            Python script for the plot



                            import numpy as np
                            import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

                            R_jupiter = 69900. # km
                            a_jupiter = 778.5E+06 # km
                            a_io = 421.8E+03 # km
                            AU = 150E+06 # km
                            G_Msun, GM_jupiter = 1.327E+20, 1.267E+17 # m^3/s^2

                            minres = (1/60.) * np.pi/180 # minimum resolution of human eye ~ 1 arcminute

                            R_Hill = a_jupiter * (GM_jupiter / (3.*G_Msun))**(1./3.)

                            print('R_Hill for Jupiter (million km): ', R_Hill/1E+06)

                            print('Jupiter at 5.2 AU, minres (radians): ', 2*R_jupiter/a_jupiter, minres)

                            distance = np.logspace(np.log10(a_io), np.log10(a_jupiter+AU), 2001)
                            size = 2*R_jupiter / distance


                            apparent_size = np.sqrt(minres**2 + size**2)
                            relative_brightness = (a_jupiter/distance)**2
                            apparent_surface_brightness = relative_brightness * (minres / apparent_size)**2

                            points = [a_jupiter+AU, a_jupiter-AU, R_Hill, a_io]
                            ipoints = [np.argmax(distance >= p) for p in points] # I'm lazy
                            relative_brightness_points = relative_brightness[ipoints]
                            apparent_surface_brightness_points = apparent_surface_brightness[ipoints]


                            plt.figure()
                            plt.plot(distance, relative_brightness)
                            plt.plot(points, relative_brightness_points, 'ok')
                            plt.plot(distance, apparent_surface_brightness)
                            plt.plot(points, apparent_surface_brightness_points, 'ok')
                            plt.text(3E+06, 0.8, 'apparent surface brightness', fontsize=16)
                            plt.text(3E+06, 1E+05, 'relative brightness', fontsize=16)
                            plt.xlabel('distance (km)', fontsize=16)
                            plt.xscale('log')
                            plt.yscale('log')
                            plt.show()






                            share|improve this answer













                            share|improve this answer




                            share|improve this answer










                            answered Oct 17 at 23:17









                            uhohuhoh

                            90.7k28 gold badges221 silver badges708 bronze badges




                            90.7k28 gold badges221 silver badges708 bronze badges































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