A SYSTEM OF CIRCUMPOLAR WAVES IN JUPITERS STRATOSPHERE

We report on the optical identification on Hubble Space Telescope (HST ) and Voyager 1 archived images, of a circumpolar system of Jovian str atospheric quasi-stationary waves, centered at planetographic latitude s -53 degrees, -62 degrees, and -67 degrees with averaged zonal wavenu mbers 23, 11, and 12 respectively. The most conspicuous wave is detect ed in the 890-nm strong absorption band of methane at -67 degrees lati tude. Its amplitude changes in a matter of days, stretching and contra cting but preserving the number of components in the latitude circle. This wave has been observed during several years and seems to be a per sistent, long-term phenomena in Jupiter's atmosphere.