NEW CLOUD FEATURE ON JUPITER <br /> <br /> S&T contributing editor Thomas A. Dobbins reports that an unusual disturbance has appeared in Jupiter's clouds. It is a very elongated, bluish streak that runs along the interface of the dark South Equatorial Belt (SEB) with the bright Equatorial Zone (EZ). <br /> <br /> The first hint that some change was under way came from Spanish amateur Jesus Sanchez. He reported that a small, bicolored feature was present in the SEB on February 14th. By the 25th this disturbance stretched partway around the planet. <br /> <br /> Images from several observers show that on February 27th the new feature transited Jupiter's central meridian about 2.5 hours before the Great Red Spot (GRS). This time difference between transits may increase slowly in the next few days, because Jupiter's EZ rotates slightly faster than the GRS. <br /> <br /> Go to http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/ and see Paul Deans&#47977; article, "A Disturbance in Jupiter&#47977; Clouds," for more about this anomaly. <br />