Alyssa Brown, Southern Utah University
Physical Science
It has been long debated whether early astronomers could truly see any detail during their first observation and rough sketches of the satellites of Jupiter. Many have argued against the accuracy and validity of such drawings, claiming the lack of technological advance led to rough hewn and mediocre drawings with little evidence of these individuals having truly seen these satellites. Through our research, we hope to prove validity in those early sketches based on current knowledge. By converting the dates and times each early sketch was created into Julian Calendar days, then using the date obtained to calculate the position of each individual satellite of Jupiter, as well as the face that was approximately facing Earth at the time the sketch was made, we can compare current images to those previously obtained sketches. By analyzing the sketches for determining features as well as the relative location of those features in relation to their approximate location on the satellite face the astronomer was most likely observing, we can either validate or disclaim these early sketches. This experiment will provide beneficial insight into the accuracy of primitive sketches made centuries before more detailed information was discovered about the celestial bodies that continue to fascinate us. The information gained from this experiment may even lend a greater knowledge and understanding of how to study these celestial bodies, since if the information presented by these early sketches were accurate, we could potentially reevaluate the manner in which we currently conduct our present observation.