There are a numbr of occasions during June 2008, when only one satellite, 4 Callisto, will be visible. The other three satellites will either be in eclipse come occultation behind Jupiter or in transit across the face of Jupiter.
Eclipses occur when a satellite moves through
the shadow of Jupiter. As it moves into the shadow the satellite
will gradually fade from view and disappear. When it comes out of
the shadow a faint spot of light will appear and gradually
brighten.
Occultations occur when a satellite moves behind
Jupiter as seen from the Earth. Hence during an occultation the
satellite is hidden by the planet.
Transits occur when a satellite moves across the
face of Jupiter as seen from the Earth.
Shadow transits occur when the shadow of the
satellite cast by the Sun moves across the face of the planet
Occultations always start at the western limb of Jupiter and end at the east. Transits always start at the eastern limb of the planet and end at the west. In both cases the satellite will appear to "sink" into the bright limb of Jupiter at the ingress and gradually emerge from the limb of Jupiter at an egress.
In general eclipse events take place when the satellite is a small distance away from Jupiter as seen from the Earth. Before opposition, as in June, they occur to the west of the planet.
All these events can be observed through a small telescope. Note that when Jupiter is viewed through an undriven telescope its image will drift to the west. This enables the west side of the planet to be determined.
In the case of disappearances into eclipse (EcD) the satellite is likely to be visible as it fades for a minute or two after the predicted time. For reappearances (EcR) the satellite will start to emerge a minute or two before the predicted time.
At present the south pole of Jupiter is tilted slightly towards the Sun so that eclipses and occultations appear to take place to the south of Jupiter's equator. Transits and shadow events appear to take place a little north of Jupiter's equator. From New Zealand Jupiter's north pole is the lower pole of the planet.
| Date | Time UT, Event | Time UT, Event | Time UT, Event | Time UT, Event |
| June 1 | 14:44, 3 ShI | 17:20, 2 ShI | 17:53, 3 ShE | 18:08, 3 TrI |
| June 1 cont. | 18:40, 1 EcD | 18:59, 2 TrI | ||
| Only 1 satellite visible after the start of the transit of 2 Europa at 18:59, until after sunrise. | ||||
| June 2 | 15:53, 1 ShI | 16:42, 1 TrI | 18:09, 1 ShE | 18:59, 1 TrE |
| June 3 | 11:52, 2 EcD | 13:08, 1 EcD | 16:13, 1 OcR | 16:19, 2 OcR |
| June 4 | 10:21, 1 ShI | 11:09, 1 TrI | 12:38, 1 ShE | 13:26, 1 TrE |
| June 5 | 08:08, 2 TrI | 09:19, 2 ShE | 10:39, 1 OcR | 10:52, 2 TrE |
| June 5 cont. | 11:08, 3 OcR | |||
| Only 1 satellite visible after 2 Europa begins to transit at 8:08, until 1 Io reappears from occultation at 10:39. | ||||
| June 6 | 07:52, 1 TrE | |||
| June 7 | 19:06, 4 EcD | |||
| June 8 | 18:43, 3 ShI | |||
| June 9 | 17:47, 1 ShI | 18:28, 1 TrI | ||
| June 10 | 14:29, 2 EcD | 15:02, 1 EcD | 17:58, 1 OcR | 18:38, 2 OcR |
| June 11 | 12:15, 1 ShI | 12:55, 1 TrI | 14:32, 1 ShE | 15:12, 1 TrE |
| June 12 | 08:44, 3 EcD | 09:10, 2 ShI | 09:30, 1 EcD | 10:25, 2 TrI |
| June 12 cont. | 11:53, 2 ShE | 12:24, 1 OcR | 13:08, 2 TrE | 14:31, 3 OcR |
| Only 1 satellite visible after 2 Europa begins to transit at 10:25, until 1 Io reappears from occultation at 12:24. | ||||
| June 13 | 07:21, 1 TrI | 09:00, 1 ShE | 09:38, 1 TrE | |
| June 14 | 07:47, 2 OcR | |||
| June 16 | 07:29, 4 TrI | 11:08, 4 TrE | ||
| June 17 | 16:55, 1 EcD | 17:06, 2 EcD | ||
| June 18 | 14:10, 1 ShI | 14:40, 1 TrI | 16:26, 1 ShE | 16:57, 1 TrE |
| June 19 | 11:24, 1 EcD | 11:44, 2 ShI | 12:40, 2 TrI | 12:43, 3 EcD |
| June 19 cont. | 14:08, 1 OcR | 14:27, 2 ShE | 15:24, 2 TrE | 17:53, 3 OcR |
| Only 1 satellite visible after 3 Ganymede moves into eclispe at 12:43, until 1 Io reappears from occultation at 14:08. | ||||
| June 20 | 08:38, 1 ShI | 09:06, 1 TrI | 10:55, 1 ShE | 11:23, 1 TrE |
| June 21 | 08:34, 1 OcR | 10:05, 2 OcR | ||
| June 23 | 07:30, 3 TrE | |||
| June 24 | 13:06, 4 EcD | 18:49, 1 EcD | ||
| June 25 | 16:04, 1 ShI | 16:24, 1 TrI | 18:21, 1 ShE | 18:41, 1 TrE |
| June 26 | 13:17, 1 EcD | 14:17, 2 ShI | 14:54, 2 TrI | 15:52, 1 OcR |
| June 26 cont. | 16:42, 3 EcD | 17:01, 2 ShE | 17:38, 2 TrE | |
| June 27 | 10:32, 1 ShI | 10:50, 1 TrI | 12:49, 1 ShE | 13:07, 1 TrE |
| June 28 | 07:46, 1 EcD | 09:01, 2 EcD | 10:18, 1 OcR | 12:21, 2 OcR |
| June 29 | 07:18, 1 ShE | 07:33, 1 TrE | ||
| June 30 | 06:18, 2 ShE | 06:39, 3 ShI | 06:45, 2 TrE | 07:33, 3 TrI |
| June 30 cont. | 09:53, 3 ShE | 10:48, 3 TrE | ||