"When [the exciting prospects of the Galileo mission] are incorporated with the rich history and future capabilities of Jupiter studies utilizing astronomical techniques from the ground and from earth-orbit, it is not surprising to find growing research interest in a concerted international effort to coordinate an observational program that will provide a solid factual basis for the future study of time-variable phenomena in the Jupiter system. Called the International Jupiter Watch (IJW), this "grass-roots" organization seeks to build on the rich legacy of Voyager and Pioneer, and the more than two decades of ground-based and Earth-orbital planetary astronomy, to ensure that, by the time Galileo is injected into orbit, planetary science will be in the best possible position to advance our knowledge of the jovian system."
Many of the IJW organizers were Galileo people, and a close connection has always been maintained. IJW has the formal support of the Galileo PSG, and the Project offers a small amount of other support.
The following brief history is adapted from the IJW's first publication, a document of limited circulation developed at the May 1986 meeting:
"The idea of a Jupiter Watch program grew out of a series of discussions among Chris Russell, Imke de Pater, and Torrence Johnson and several colleagues in the early 1980's. These informal discussion suggested that there was a need for such a program and much latent support for one. At that time the Galileo launch seemed to be imminent, and any Jupiter Watch program would derive benefit if it were to include the interval of Galileo observations. Russell obtained a small grant from the California Space Institute to hold a workshop which would prepare a report on the feasibility of a Jupiter Watch program. A discussion session was held at the October 1985 DPS meeting to poll a larger segment of the community and get further ideas as to how to proceed. As a result of these discussions and a larger set of questionnaires, it was decided to hold the workshop at the Kennedy Space Center just prior to the lauch of Galileo in May 1986. The Challenger disaster cancelled the scheduled launch, but the community was strongly in favor of continuing with the planned workshop at a more accessible location. We changed the date to make it more convenient for Galileo investigators and changed the venue to the Pasadena Convention Center. Over sixty scientists attended the workshop, only three of whom obtained partial support for their travel from the workshop. Four of the attendees were from abroad."
The workshop and organizing meeting were held in Pasadena on May 13 and 14, 1986. The report was prepared by the members of the first Steering Committee, consisting of Russell (chair), de Pater, and Johnson along with Mike Belton, Don Hunten, and Bob West, who also acted as editor. Russell was later succeeded as chair by Dave Morrison and currently Hunten, both also Galileo IDS's.
There are six Working Groups, whose Chairs take care of nearly all the actual business of the IJW: coordination of various observers and rapid reporting by E-mail of preliminary results.
Jay Goguen (Satellites) Ted Kostiuk (Aurora) Glenn Orton (Atmosphere) Imke de Pater (Radio and Magnetosphere) Nick Schneider (Torus) Kent Wells (Laboratory and theory)
They are all members of the Steering Committee, along with half a dozen others chosen with emphasis on international representation. The normal term is three years.
Working Groups usually meet during the DPS, and in addition two general conferences have been held. The first, in Flagstaff in 1987, produced the SP- 494 "Time-variable phenomena in the Jovian system". The second was held in Annapolis in 1992; publication is forthcoming in JGR-Planets.
The members-at-large of the Steering Committee are currently
During the Annapolis meeting it became clear that many people were as interested in Saturn as Jupiter, and the Steering Committee agreed that it would be valuable to establish a more formal connection with Cassini, similar to the existing one with Galileo. The suggested support is almost entirely moral; in addition, IJW wants Cassini scientists to be aware of what it may be able to contribute scientifically, and to stimulate possible joint endeavors. Hunter Waite, who was at the meeting, was asked to make the initial approach, and there have also been informal discussions with Dennis Matson. If the connection is established, IJW will have to consider a change of name; IJSW springs to mind.
Mike Belton Mike Klein Ted Kostiuk Dave Morrison Chris Russell John Spencer Bob West Tadashi Asada (Japan) Catherine de Bergh (France) Steven Miller (UK) Fernando Moreno (Spain) Boris P. Ryabov (Ukraine) Nicholas Thomas (Germany)