[ngcles]

Hi Robert & All,

Yes, the entry at Wikipedia is correct. I was without doubt one of the most amazing things I've ever seen in the sky/through the 'scope.

The individual spots were dark grey/brownish with a hint of violet colour and easily visible in small/moderate and moderate sized telescopes. The G spot was the most prominent (and slightly annular) followed (I think) by C about 5-odd persisted for weeks as discrete spots but over the course of time, they all faded and joined up to make a slightly darker belt on Jupiter that was like that for maybe 2-3 months before it completely faded out.

I wasn't there then, but I'm told the queue at Sydney Observatory to see the spots through the 11 1/2" refractor and the C-14 (then) was over 200m long.

My prediction before the event was that it would end up being a non-event and unlikely to be seen in amateur 'scopes. Boy was I wrong! Glad I was too. For me, it was right up there with:

Supernova 1987A
Comet McNaught
Total Solar Eclipse 1976
Total Solar Eclipse 2002
Apollo landings

Best,

Les D
Contributing Editor
AS&T