Giovanni Battista Riccioli and Jupiter's cloud belts

"The recent disappearance of one of Jupiter‟s cloud belts...has attracted significant attention from the scientific media (Phillips 2010). While this recent disappearance of a cloud belt is dramatic, changes in the clouds of Jupiter occur from time to time and have often been discussed in the scientific literature (for example, Cheng et. al. 2008, Satoh and Kawabata 1992). In fact, changes in the appearance of the Jovian clouds have been noted since the very beginning of telescopic astronomy. What follows is a translation of a discussion of reports on the appearance of Jupiter‟s disk from 1630 to 1664 that is contained in the Astronomia Reformata (1665) by the Italian Jesuit astronomer Giovanni Battista Riccioli...."

"Changes in the Cloud Belts of Jupiter, 1630-1664, as reported in the 1665 Astronomia Reformata of Giovanni Battista Riccioli" by Christopher M. Graney

Giovanni Battista Riccioli [Wikipedia]