JUPITER March 2016

By Christopher Go

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Condition was good today.  I did some tweaks in the setting of the prototype camera and some adjustments on my OTA.  The details of the color image from pole to pole are astounding!    I love this new camera!

Oval BA is setting on the right.  Note the two small dark spots following Oval BA.  These two have been coming closer and close.  I bet these will merge in the next 1-3 days  

The SEBs is very turbulent.   Note the very bright outbreak on the NEB and the bright rift to its left!  The NEB has a lot of rifting.  Note the dark red spots on the NEBn.

The details on the temperate and polar regions are stunning!

Seeing was  unstable today.   We are still having northerly wind which is really affecting seeing.

I'm back using the prototype camera.  The GRS is well resolved.  Note the streaks inside the GRS.  The wake of the GRS is very turbulent with a lot of major outbreaks!  White Spot Z can be seen on the NEB.  The North Polar Red Spot can also be seen south of the GRS.

Seeing was very bad today.   We had the northerly wind which made Jupiter very mushy.  I had to take a lot of images to get some acceptable images.

The STB Ghost is prominent on these images.  The NEB is quiet in this region.

Exciting imaging session today.  When I started my setup, it was mostly clear.  After setting up, the sky became overcast.  I thought this was just a passing cloud.  Suddenly, it started to drizzle!!  I was in panic and had to cover take down everything and cover my telescope.  Unfortunately, I dropped my focuser control and it died!  After 5 minutes, the sky cleared!  Thank goodness my AP900GTO mount can control the focuser!  So I will be temporarily using this to control the focuser until I get a new controller at NEAF!  Seeing was variable this evening.  After getting my first set of images, seeing went downhill so I gave up.

Oval BA can be seen just past the CM.  It still has a strong orange color with a distorted core.  The SEB is very turbulent.  Note the bright white outbreak setting on the right.  The NEB has a lot of complex rifts and a few outbreaks.

Condition was good this evening.  I just made some changes in my workflow.  For final sharpening, I am now using Google Nix Sharpener Pro tool.

Oval BA is setting on the right.  Note the complex rift on the NEB.   The SEB is also very turbulent.

Condition was good this today.

The GRS is well resolved.  Note the tiny vortices inside the GRS.   The wake of the GRS is very turbulent.   Note the small red spot following the red spot.  There is a bright streak on the northern side of this small spot.   White Spot Z is also well resolved.  The edge of this spot is dark red and it has a bright center.  The feature looks like an eye.

Condition was variable today but seeing was mostly good.  It was also a bit windy.

The STB Ghost is prominent in these images.    Note the small white spots on the southern half of the SEB.  The NEB is quiet in this region.  While the NTB is active here with all those small white spots.

I imaged very early today. Probably too early as I was tutoring a friend Chris Brian Conception on how to image Jupiter.

Finally, the GRS and Oval BA on the same frame!  Oval BA is slowly approaching the GRS it's one every two years conjunction which will probably happen later this year.  THe wake of the GRS is very turbulent.  Note the tiny pink spot embedded on the STB Ghost like feature.  White Spot Z can be seen on the NEBn.

Seeing was not very good today.

The STB Ghost can be seen just past the CM.  The NEB is quiet in this region.    The NTB is active in this region. 

It was partially cloudy again this evening.  Seeing was much better than yesterday. 

Oval BA is well resolved.  The white core seems to be distorted.  The SEB is very turbulent.   There is a very bright region in the EZn  enclosed by a huge festoon just before the CM.

It was partially cloudy today and with high winds.  Seeing was below average and transparency made imaging challenging.  I had to reject a lot of data.

The GRS is well resolved.  Note the bright streak on STrZ on the lower right of the GRS.  The wake of the GRS looks very violent with bright outbreaks very close to the GRS. 

The South Polar red spot can be seen below the GRS.  White Spot Z can be seen on the NEBn.

Seeing was good today.  I was only able to capture 1 set of images before clouds rolled in while I was imaging in Methane band.

The STB Ghost can be seen in this image.  Note the small white spots lining up immediately north of this feature.  The elongated portion of the STB Ghost seem to have a faint coloration.

The SSTB has some interesting features in between the white spots.  The dark red barge on the SEB is still very prominent.  There are a lot of rifts on the NEB, but no outbreaks.

Seeing was variable this evening. 

There are three red spots in this image.  The GRS is the most prominent.  The wake of the GRS is very chaotic here.    There are a lot of outbreaks on this wake and these can be seen clearly in the Methane Band image.

The second red spot is the South Polar Red Spot which is due south of the GRS.  On the left, Oval BA is peeking out as the 3rd red spot.

White Spot Z is showing some structure inside.  This spot is still methane dark.

Note the small pink oval on the STB embedded on the "STB Ghost" - like feature.

Seeing was average this evening.  

The STB ghost is prominent in these images.  The NEB looks quiet this region.  The NEB is active in this region.

Seeing was excellent this evening. Unfortunately, after my first run, clouds rolled it.

Oval BA is well resolved in these images.  The central white core of Oval BA seem to be flattened!  Note the white streaks on north side of the orange ring of Oval BA!

The wake of the GRS looks very active.  The NEB is dark and wide in this region.

Condition was poor today.  I had to cut short my imaging run because clouds rolled it. 

The GRS is rising on this image.   The region preceding the GRS has a very light color. The NEB is quiet and narrow in this region. 

Condition was good this evening. 

The STB Ghost  can be seen rising on the right.  The dark red barge on the SEB is still prominent.  A feeston is creating a rift system on the NEB.

Seeing was variable this evening.  I had to deal with clouds.  I'm back to using the Skyris 236M as I have having some hardware issue with my early prototype camera.

The GRS is rising in this image.  The SEB ghost can be seen setting on the right.  The bright feature in the mid SEB can be seen on the CM.  The NEB is narrow in this region. 

Seeing was challenging.  Seeing was mostly very bad but there was a period of good seeing.

Fire and Ice!  A double transit of volcanic Io and the ice moon Europa!  The moons are close to their shadow because it is still close to opposition.

Oval BA is prominent and has a stronger color.  The orange ring is very prominent.  The wake of the GRS can be seen on the right.  The NEB is quiet in this region.

Seeing was variable this evening.   I am testing a new prototype camera for Skyris.  This camera is incredible!

The GRS is well resolved with the dark core and some features the right edge.  The of the GRS is very turbulent.  The South Polar red Spot is prominent.  The White Spot Z rules of the NEBn. 

Seeing was unstable at the start of the session but improved as Jupiter got higher..

Oval BA can be seen setting on the right.  The SEBn and SEBs is very turbulent. The NEB has some outbreaks and complex rift activity.

Seeing was good this evening.

Oval BA is now approaching the GRS.  Note the bright outbreak on the wake of the GRS.  This outbreak reminds me of the outbreak that started the last revival of the SEB.  This outbreak is bright in methane band.  Note the little red spot on the STB embedded on a bluish feature like the STB Ghost.

The NEB is quiet in this region. White Spot Z is setting on the right.  The dark red barge on the CM of the NEB looks interesting.

I spent more than 2 hrs imaging!  Seeing was variable but with periods of very good seeing.

The most prominent feature is the Great Red Spot which is resolved to the core!  There are outbreaks on the wake of the GRS.  The South Polar Red Spot is also prominent directly south of the GRS.

White Spot Z can also be seen and it is on a very active region on the NEBn.  There are a lot of rift activity on the NEB. 

Seeing was very good this evening. But because I was a bit sleepy, I  neglected to do fine focus.  (Stupid me!) Most of my G and B channels were out of focus.  I had to derotate more data to salvage last night's imaging run.  This is the reason for the vertical bands on the image. I'm very happy with the nice CH4 image I was able to capture!

The GRS has a very strong color.  In the IR image, there is a distinctive bright spot inside the GRS.  Bright outbreaks are appearing on the wake of the GRS. 

The South Polar red spot is prominent below the GRS.  THis spot is bright in Methane band.  White Spot Z can be seen on the NEBn.  There is a small white spot directly south of the WSZ within the reddish halo.

Seeing was variable this evening but a good period of near perfect seeing.

Ganymede and it's shadow can be seen transiting on Jupiter's disk.  Lots of details resolved on Ganymede including a bright polar cap.

The NEB is active in this region with a bright outbreak and complex rifts.  The dark red barge on the SEB is still prominent.   The STB Ghost can be seen rising on the left on the 2nd image.