JUPITER March - April 2015

By Christopher Go

April 30, 2015 

Condition was a little better this evening.

The GRS can be seen setting on these images.  Note the complex wake following the GRS.    The STB Ghost can be seen rising on the left.  This feature is very dark in methane band.  The NEB is very active in this region.

April 29, 2015 

Just arrived from my trip to the USA.  Had a wonderful time at NEAIC/NEAF and Mt Wilson Observatory!

Seeing was average and transparency was poor because of clouds.  I have changed my filter wheel to a Starlight Express USB filter wheel.

Oval BA is well resolved.  Ganymede's shadow is on the EZ.  The NEB is quiet in this region.

April 13, 2015 

Transparency was poor this evening but seeing was very good!  I'm leaving tomorrow to attend the NEAIC/NEAF in Suffern, NY where I will be giving Planetary Imaging workshops.  I was unable to capture any methane band image because of poor transparency.

The GRS has dark features around it's edge.  The core is dark red.    The "wake" of the GRS is very complex due to the outbreaks.    The NEB in this region is starting to become active.  Note the complex rift system on the NEB.

April 12, 2015 

I wasn't expecting to image today.  It was clear all day but overcast at sunset.  At around 8:30pm, the sky cleared.  Seeing was bad and transparency was poor!

Oval BA can be seen setting on the right and the GRS is rising on the left.  The NEB looks quiet in this region but there seems to be some expansion on the NEBn.  Europa's shadow can be seen on the EZ.

April 11, 2015  PART II

Seeing was better this time around. 

White Spot Z has a white core.  To the lower right of WSZ is what appears to be a large cyclonic oval.  There are a lot of rift activity on the NEB.  The SEB looks quiet in this region.

April 11, 2015 

Seeing was unstable this evening.

The GRS is setting in this image.  Note the bright outbreak following the GRS.  This outbreak is the bright spot following the GRS in Methane band.  The STB ghost can be seen in these images.  This feature is dark in Methane band.  There are a lot of rifts on the NEB in this region.

April 10, 2015 

Tomio Akutsu is back in Cebu for a few days.  I was able to image with him this evening.  Seeing was perfect!

Oval BA is very well resolved.  It is still has a light orange core but surrounded by a black ring.  SEBn is very active in this region. 

Note the strange feature on the NEBn.  The dark projection seem to be enclosing a clump of small ovals while a large white oval is pushing into it on the right.  There is a small red oval on the NTB. 

April 9, 2015 

The sky was clear this evening but seeing was very variable!

Note the chaotic NEB.  There are a lot of bright outbreaks creating the complex rift system that we are seeing on the NEB.    Note the particularly bright reddish outbreak at the CM on the second image.

Note the large low contrast white spot on the NTZ which is bright in Methane band.  The SEB is very quiet in this region.  The south polar red spot has very low contrast.

April 8, 2015 

I had second thoughts imaging this evening.  It was mostly cloudy but there was a small clearing.  After setting up my scope, the small clearing because overcast skies!  However seeing was perfect despite the very low transparency.  I had to image through clouds and had to reduce my frame rate to half my usual. To compensate, I increased the number of RGB capture until the clouds won!

The GRS is rising in this image.  Note the small red spot preceding the  GRS!  I wish it was possible to get a methane band image but the sky condition was just impossible.  This object might be methane bright.  The NEB is quiet in this region but has a very dark red color.

 

April 7, 2015 

Seeing was very good this evening but transparency was poor.

Oval BA has a pale orange color.  There seems to be two dark spots inside Oval BA close to the white core.   The area preceding BA looks very active.

Note the small white ovals lining up on the SEBn.  Note the bright feature on the mid SEB close to the CM.

The NEB is getting a very deep red color.  Note the complex rifts being formed by the interaction of the NEB and the EZ festoons.  There is a curious feature on the NEBn.   This complex feature seem to be red ovals merging?  Note also the bright white ovals outside this feature that seems to be pushing at each other.

Note the curious white and red oval on the NNTZ.  This creates a weird "eyes" of Jupiter.

April 6, 2015 

Seeing was very good this evening.  But I only had a short imaging session because of clouds.

The GRS is very well resolved. The dark core is resolved and the southern part of the GRS has a dark bar.  Note the bright projection NW of the GRS.  In the northern part of the GRS, there is a curious red extension.  There is bright outbreak following the GRS and the wake of the GRS is very complex. 

Note the bright rifts on the NEB in what seems to be on patterned intervals.   The STB ghost can be seen rising on the left.

April 4, 2015 

There was a total lunar eclipse this evening.  Transparency was poor because of clouds which is probably the outer rain band of Typhoon Maysak.  Seeing was surprisingly good.  I had to get about 16 min of data to get this decent image!

White Spot Z is prominent in this image.  The core is clearly white but the surround area is light orange.  The southern part of the "halo" of WSZ is black!

The bluish STB ghost can also be seen.

 

April 3, 2015  Part II

Seeing was variable this evening but because of the long holiday, I have more time to image.  Here is the second round for this evening with the GRS as the highlight.

The GRS is well resolved this evening.  As noted by John Rogers, the methane bright area of the GRS seem to be offset towards the south .  Note the parallel dark lines on the north side of the GRS.    The outbreak following the GRS is very bright. 

The NEB is quiet in this region.

 

April 3, 2015  Part I

The sky was clear this evening.  Seeing was very variable probably because of Typhoon Maysak close by.  This is my first part of my imaging tonight.  I have more images of the GRS on Part II which I am still processing.

Note the feature on the NEBn on the right.  This feature is very complex.  Seems like there are a couple of AWO inside this feature.  This feature is not bright in Methane band.

Note the small bright feature on the STrZ/SEBs on the right side.   Oval BA has a pale orange color.  The white center is well resolved.

April 2, 2015

The sky was clear this evening.  Seeing was mostly good but variable. 

The NEB is very chaotic here.  Complex rift forming!  White Spot Z is very distinct and is actually dark in CH4!  Note the Methane dark feature on the NEBs which corresponds to a festoon interaction with the NEB!

Two methane bright spots on the northern part of Jupiter. The one on the NTZ is a small red spot.  Note the deep red barge preceding this red spot.  The second spot seem to the large low contrast white spot on the NNTZ.

The SEB is quiet in this region.  The South Polar Red Spot is visible here.

April 1, 2015

It was very cloudy today.   I fortunate that there was a short clearing.  Seeing was good but transparency was poor.  I was only able to get a set of RGB and IR.  After that, clouds rolled in again.

The GRS is well resolved.  There is a dark feature in the NNE border of the GRS.  The wake of the GRS is back to normal. The outbreak seem to be pushing towards the southern part of the GRS.

The NEB has a lot of rift activity.  The EZ festoon/NEB interaction is very active here.  The NTB dark barge seem to be forming a bulge.  Io looks very nice as it floats above the EZ.

 

March 31, 2015

The sky was overcast early this evening.  But it cleared up at around 8:30pm.  Seeing was excellent but I had to deal with strong gusty winds.

Note the strange feature on the right edge of the NEBn?  Is this a white oval merger, an outbreak or a disturbance?

Oval BA is well resolved in this image.  Note the black barge close to the SPR.

Ganymede can be seen on the EZ and surface features can be seen.

March 30, 2015

Seeing was good this evening.   I was only able to get a set of images before clouds rolled in.

The STB ghost is prominent in these images.  This feature is dark in CH4.  The NEB is very active in this region.

March 29, 2015

Seeing was variable this evening. There were periods of good seeing.

The GRS is very well resolved in these imagers.  Note the complex wake of the GRS has returned.  There is also a bright outbreak following the GRS.  The SSTB spots interaction looks interesting.

Activity seems to be starting in the NEB.  Oval BA is setting in the far right of this image.

March 27, 2015

Seeing was unstable this evening.

The GRS is setting on this image.  Note the fully developed wake of the GRS.  The outbreak  has really reactivated.  The GRS is well resolved with a dark core.  There seems to be an outbreak starting on the NEB.  Note the dark EZ festoon pushing into the NEB!

March 25, 2015

Seeing was very unstable this evening because it was very windy.   It was also hazy today.

The GRS is setting on this image.  The outbreak following the GRS is getting chaotic. Io's shadow is on the EZ.  The NEB looks quiet in this region except for the outbreak rising on the left.

March 23, 2015

Seeing was great this evening!

The NEB is very active in this region.  Note the complex rift  that is stirring things up.  Is there an upheaval going on?  The SPR red spot can be seen at the CM.  The NNTZ white spot that is bright in CH4 is also prominent.

Note the interesting conjunction of Io and Callisto!  Callisto is very dark compared to fiery Io.

 

March 22, 2015

Seeing was good this evening.

The Great Red Spot is well resolved in this image.  The outbreak following the GRS is bright in CH4.  Note also the CH4 bright streak northwest of the GRS.  This might be an outbreak that is pushed down by the GRS.  Note the CH4 dark streaks inside the GRS.  Are these artifacts or real?

Outbreaks seem to be starting on the NEBs close to an EZ feeston.

March 21, 2015

Seeing was good this evening but transparency was variable because of haze and clouds.

The SEB is quiet in this region..  The South Polar Region (SPR) red spot can be seen close to the CM. The NEB has a lot of complex rift activity.  White Spot Z is setting on the right.  Note the very bright spot on the NNTZ in the methane band.  This is associated low contrast white spot on the color image.

March 20, 2015

Seeing has finally improved!  Hopefully seeing will be perfect for the rest of dry season.

The GRS is setting in these images.  The GRS is shows a dark core.  The northeast part of the GRS looks disrupted. The outbreak following the GRS is getting complex and chaotic.  The NEB looks quiet in this region.

March 19, 2015

A strong northerly wind is still active here in Cebu.  This is the reason for the unstable seeing!  Hopefully things will change soon!

Oval BA is well resolved.  It's wake seems to have quiet down.  The SEBn is very chaotic.   The NEB looks quiet here.

March 18, 2015

Seeing was still bad this evening.  Transparency was also low.

White Spot Z can be seen at the CM.  Europa is at the EZ.  The STB ghost is the bluish feature on the STB.

 

 

March 17, 2015

Seeing was unstable this evening.  I had to get over 10 min of data to get some decent RGB images.

The GRS is well resolved with a lot of details!  There are two big outbreaks following the GRS.  These outbreaks are bright in CH4.    Ganymede's shadow can be seen at the edge of the EZ.  The NEB is quiet in this region.

March 16, 2015

Seeing was very bad this evening because of the coming Tropical Storm Bavi.  I had to use 18 min of data to get an acceptable image.

The White Spot Z is still dark on CH4.    Both edges of the SEB are very active.

March 14, 2015

Seeing was still unstable this evening because of strong gusty winds and haze.  I had to capture more data to get these images.

Oval BA is well resolved.  It is a light orange color.  The white center is resolved.   Note the small dark barge on the SPR. 

There is a bright outbreak on the NEB creating complex rifts on the belt.   Note the large white spot on the NPR.  This spot is bright in CH4.

March 13, 2015

A tropical storm is heading our way.  This has disrupted our sky condition here.  Seeing was very unstable and transparency poor because of clouds.

The GRS is setting.  The outbreak following the GRS is very bright!   Note the bright area on the NEBs at the CM.  This might be a start of an outbreak.  There is a large low contrast spot at the NPR at the CM.

March 11, 2015

Another windy night and seeing was again variable.  I took a lot of data but only one set was ok.

White Spot Z can be seen at the CM.    It is still not bright in CH4.  Note the reddish ring that surrounds this spot while it's southern edge is dark.

Europa and it's shadow are at the EZ. 

March 10, 2015

Condition was again variable this evening. Transparency was bad because of thin clouds and seeing was affected by some turbulence.

The GRS is well resolved in these images.   Note the dark features on the northern side of the GRS.  A new outbreak can be seen following the GRS.  The NEB is quiet in this region.

March 9, 2015

Condition was variable this evening. 

The SPR red oval can be seen in these images.  This spot is bright in CH4.  The SEB looks very complex in this region.    Note the white oval on the mid-
SEB on the left.

The NEB has a complex rift activity.  Note the large NTZ white spot which is very bright in CH4.  Io and it's shadow can be seen on the SEB.  BTW, I had to manually add Io in these images because of derotation.  I got Io from my single image.

March 7, 2015

Seeing was variable this evening.  Fortunately, there were periods of good seeing.

Oval BA is prominent in these images.  The color is currently pale orange.  Note the white core is well resolved.  The SSTB ovals are very bright in CH4.  The SEB is very active in this region.  Note the small white ovals on the SEBs.

There are complex outbreaks on the NEB.  Note the small ovals lining up on the NTB.  There is also a dark red oval on the NTZ which is bright in methane band.  

March 5, 2015  GRS

March 5, 2015

Fantastic night for imaging.  Seeing and transparency was close to perfect.

Incredible details in Jupiter.  The GRS is well resolved!  Note the small oval following Jupiter, it seems that this oval survived the passage on Jupiter.  The SEB preceding the GRS is very complex.  Oval BA can be seen setting on the right. 

The NEB is quiet in this region.  Note the bright area on the NTrZ just north of the NEB.   There seems to be a large oval forming on the NEBn close to the CM on the first image.  The temperate zones on both hemispheres are well resolved!

March 1, 2015

Condition was better today.  Seeing was good but still had to deal with winds and some clouds.

There is an interesting bluish feature on the STB.  The SEBs is very active in this region.   Note the bright area on the SEBs that seems to be the source of the activity on the SEBs.  Is this a disturbance?

The NEB is quiet in this region.  Note the small dark red spot on the NEB.

 

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Copyright 2015 Christopher Go (chris@cstoneind.com)