Maximum heliocentric latitude

[JamesF]

The calendar for Feb says, for instance:

"Jupiter is at its greatest heliocentric latitude south today"

I assume that means it's as far below the sun's "equator" as it gets. Is that something particularly relevant to observing, or just a point of interest?

Does that also mean (I'd never considered it before) that the sun's axis of rotation is not perpendicular to the ecliptic?

James

[brianb]

No, the sun's axis of rotation is not perpendicular to the ecliptic - which is merely the plane of the earth's orbit.

There's nothing much to see with Jupiter's orbital tilt as it is tiny compared with Earth's. When the tilt is near maximum you will see Callisto passing "above" and "below" the planet instead of in front of and behind it, and there will be no eclipses of Callisto. Otherwise there's nothing unusual to view ... and with Jupiter taking 12 years to complete its orbit, the angle actually varies very little over a period of months, let alone one day or instant of "greatest heliocentric latitude".

[JamesF]

Ahhh, I see (I think

I was trying to work out if it's more of an event for Saturn, but I'm guessing there are lots of other variables such as the angle the rings present to the sun and the relative difference between our heliocentric latitude and that of Saturn.

James