1 Introduction

The next passage of the Earth and Sun through the Jovian equatorial plane will be the opportunity to observe mutual events when the Jovian satellites will eclipse and occult each other starting from the end of the year 2002. Usually, and since 1973, mutual event observations concern the Galilean moons since their photometric observation is easy to perform. The Amalthea case is very different because of the faintness of this moon, its magnitude at mean opposition being close to V=14 (Nicholson 1991; Millis 1978). Furthermore, the semimajor axis of its orbit being 2.5 Jovian radii, this satellite moves close to Jupiter which will have a mean visible magnitude V=-2.6at opposition in February 2003. Nevertheless several methods, such as the observation in infrared bands or using coronographic methods, can give access to these photometric observations in some high altitude locations. Relative photometry is only necessary in order to acquire lightcurves from which positional circumstances and scaterring light parameters can be deduced. Aksnes & Franklin (1976) have previously recommended the observation of this type of event, but to our knowledge, no lightcurves could be obtained at this time. We hope that the improvement of detectors, and especially, the advent of CCD photometry and infrared observations will now allow success in these observations. One of our main goals is to obtain strong astrometric constraints for our dynamical model of Amalthea. Subsequently, this will allow us to improve the dynamical model of the three innermost satellites, whose motions are much less known, since their astrometric positions are generally relative to Amalthea.