Jupiter 2018

Very poor seeing for this session, perhaps the worst I've seen in a couple years. Despite the conditions, the disturbance protruding off the South Equatorial Belt is clearly visible to the west of the Great Red Spot.

This is the first light of a Celestron C14 EdgeHD. While not every first light is a good light, it's better than no light!

CH4 image of Jupiter. GRS looks bright as always when using this filter. Perhaps the most notable feature is the dark feature bordering the SEB on the EZ. It's also visible to a lesser extent on the Near IR image.

Poor seeing, but the near infrared filter and shortened focal length helped counter it somewhat.

Poor seeing for this session, although conditions improved near the end. I had to remove the barlow to get anything acceptable. The North Temperate Belt and North Equatorial Belt looks skinnier compared to last year. The Equatorial Zone looks tinged with a hint of orange. A South Tropical Disturbance is present to the west of the GRS.

Poor seeing once again for this session and the occasional cloud made consistent imaging difficult. There's a notable long barge just north of the NTB. The NEB appears wavy as it recedes in width. The EZ has a hint of orange. Oval BA appears light orange at the moment. The STB ghost is closely trailing it but isn't visible in this image due to the conditions.

I had to rush out the 90mm Maksutov because of a brief opening in the clouds. The NEB has some brown barges and white spots embedded in its northern edge. From left to right, Io, Ganymede, and Europa are surrounding Jupiter. I was hoping to see Ganymede's shadow transit on Jupiter, but the clouds reclaimed the opening before that happened. By the time I went to bed, fog had descending over our area.

Seeing turned out to be below average, despite the prospects for it to be decent. The NTBn has almost completely faded, while the NTBs has thinned. Meanwhile, the NEB appears to be collapsing southward. The belt appears unusually thin in a couple of segments. The EZ appears to have a thin and tenuous belt just south of the equator. The STB Ghost has converted to a dark segment as it closes in on a collision with Oval BA.

Io has left the disk of the planet, while Ganymede just emerged from behind Jupiter.

Seeing was better, relatively speaking, than what I've seen over the past few months despite Jupiter being only 29° in altitude. However, I am still waiting for anything decent almost six months after receiving the C14 Edge HD. Unfortunately, thin clouds that slowly grew opaque prevented any more imaging when Jupiter was at a higher altitude and seeing was improving.

Some notes about surface details, from north to south:

• The NTB has thinned to little more than a thin orange belt since its dramatic return early last apparition.
• White Spot Z is near the central meridian on the northern edge of the NEB.
• The NEB continues to retreat to its normal height.
• The EZ still has an orange tint.
• The southern edge of the SEB is noticeably darker than the rest of the belt.
• Oval BA is rising with the darkened Ghost trailing it.

Seeing was awful, as it has been every session since 2018 started. Nothing much to note on the surface.

Seeing was decent while capturing this image, certainly much better than any other time this year!

Notes:

• The NTB is faint and thin.
• White Spot Z is visible just before the central meridian.
• The EZ has an orange tint.
• The SEB is split by a lighter band and contains a couple brown barges near the central meridian.
• The Great Red Spot is setting.
• The wake trailing the GRS is small.
• Oval BA has a dark collar from the STB Ghost.

Seeing improved compared to the previous photo.

Notes:

• The NTB is fading, and a pattern of dark markings are visible on the northern edge before the central meridian.
• White Spot Z is just passed the CM.
• The EZ has an orange tint.
• Three brown barges are visible in the SEBs.
• Oval BA is at the CM, with the STB ghost trailing it.
• The sector of the STB trailing Oval BA is dark.

Seeing improved compared to the previous photo.

Notes:

• The NTB is fading.
• The NEBn before the central meridian is ragged.
• The EZ is tinted orange.
• A brown barge in the SEBs is just before the CM, while two more are setting.
• Dark material is trailing the STB Ghost.

Seeing improved compared to the previous photo.

Notes:

• The NTB is fading.
• The NEBn before the central meridian is ragged, while it isn't after the CM.
• The EZ is tinted orange.
• A brown barge in the SEBs is just after the CM.
• Dark material is trailing the STB Ghost.

Seeing peaked while this image was taken.

Notes:

• The NTB is fading. Some dark spots are on the northern edge.
• Most of the NEBn is ragged.
• The EZ is tinted orange.
• A brown barge in the SEBs has just passed the central meridian.
• Dark material is trailing the STB Ghost. A small white spot is embedded.

Seeing started deteriorating before this photo was taken, but was still above average for our location.

Notes:

• The NTB is faded.
• The NEBn is ragged. Two spots on the belt's boundary are rising.
• The EZ is tinted orange.
• A brown barge in the SEBs is about to set.
• The STB Ghost is setting.

Seeing continued to deteriorate, but was still better than any other night this year so far.

Notes:

• The NTB is faded.
• The NEBn is ragged.
• The EZ is tinted orange.
• A brown barge in the SEBs is rising, while another is setting.
• Dark material is trailing the STB Ghost.

Seeing improved slightly before this image. The session was cut short by low clouds.

Notes:

• The NTB is faded. Some gray material is in the NTBn.
• The NEBn is ragged.
• The EZ is tinted orange.
• A brown barge in the SEBs is rising, while another is setting.

Sky conditions were nearly perfect! The view through the eyepiece was also spectacular!

Notes:

• The NTB is fading.
• The NEBn is receding.
• The NEB has a couple rifts and outbreaks.
• The EZ is tinted orange.
• The Great Red Spot has an intense brick red coloration. A few features, including its dark core, are visible.
• The wake of the GRS is small.
• Material from the SEBs is being pulled around the GRS and into the STZ, where it forms a thin belt circling the planet.
• The South Polar Red Spot is intensely red.

Conditions remained nearly perfect while taking this photo.

Notes:

• The NTB is fading.
• The NEBn is receding.
• White Oval Z is rising.
• The NEB has a couple rifts and outbreaks.
• The EZ is tinted orange.
• The Great Red Spot has an intense brick red coloration. A few features, including its dark core, are visible.
• The wake of the GRS is small.
• Material from the SEBs is being pulled around the GRS and into the STZ, where it forms a thin belt circling the planet.
• Oval BA is rising.
• The South Polar Red Spot is intensely red.

Conditions remained nearly perfect while taking this photo.

Notes:

• The NTB is fading.
• The NEBn is receding.
• White Oval Z is rising.
• The NEB has a couple rifts and outbreaks.
• The EZ is tinted orange.
• The Great Red Spot has an intense brick red coloration. A few features, including its dark core, are visible.
• The wake of the GRS is small.
• Material from the SEBs is being pulled around the GRS and into the STZ, where it forms a thin belt circling the planet.
• Oval BA is rising.
• The South Polar Red Spot is intensely red.

Seeing deteriorated slightly compared to the previous image, but remained very good.

Notes:

• The NTB is fading.
• White Oval Z is rising.
• The NEBn is receding.
• The NEB has a couple rifts and outbreaks.
• The EZ is tinted orange.
• The Great Red Spot has an intense brick red coloration. A few features, including its dark core, are visible.
• The wake of the GRS is small.
• Material from the SEBs is being pulled around the GRS and into the STZ, where it forms a thin belt circling the planet.
• Oval BA is rising.
• The South Polar Red Spot is setting.

Seeing started to improve again.

Notes:

• The NTB is fading.
• White Oval Z is rising.
• The NEBn is receding.
• The NEB has a couple rifts and outbreaks.
• The EZ is tinted orange.
• The SEB is displaying many finer details.
• The Great Red Spot is setting.
• The wake of the GRS is small.
• Oval BA and the STB Ghost are rising.

Seeing remained stable while capturing data for this image

Notes:

• The NTB is fading.
• White Oval Z is rising.
• The NEBn is receding.
• The NEB has a couple rifts and outbreaks.
• The EZ is tinted orange.
• The SEB is displaying many finer details.
• The Great Red Spot is setting.
• The wake of the GRS is small.
• Oval BA and the STB Ghost are rising.

Seeing remained excellent.

Notes:

• The NTB is fading.
• White Oval Z is near the central meridian.
• The NEBn is receding.
• The NEB has a couple rifts and outbreaks.
• The EZ is tinted orange.
• The SEB is displaying many finer details.
• The Great Red Spot is setting.
• The wake of the GRS is small.
• Oval BA and the STB Ghost are rising.
• The white core of Oval BA is resolved.

Conditions rapidly deteriorated after the previous image. Low clouds caused variable transparency and seeing.

Notes:

• The NTB is fading.
• White Oval Z is at the central meridian.
• The NEBn is receding.
• The NEB has a couple rifts and outbreaks.
• The EZ is tinted orange.
• The white core of Oval BA is barely resolved.

Tonight's conditions were excellent. This is the best conditions I've seen while using the C8 in a long time.

Notes:

• The NTB continues to fade.
• There's a brown barge on the NEBn trailing a white oval.
• The NEB has several rifts.
• The STB Spectre is faintly visible with its western edge near the CM.

Seeing was quite good. Clouds weren't an issue unlike the previous night.

Notes:

• A long dark segment is centered on the CM of the NNTB.
• The NTBn is a string of small dark spots.
• The NTBs is a thin orange line.
• The NEB has a system of rifts starting at the CM and extending eastwards.
• The EZ is tinted orange.
• The SEB contains a brown barge after the CM.

Seeing continued to be excellent.

Notes:

• A long dark segment is nearly centered on the CM of the NNTB.
• The NTBn is a string of small dark spots.
• The NTBs is a thin orange line.
• The NEB has a system of rifts starting at the CM and extending eastwards.
• The EZ is tinted orange.
• The SEB contains a brown barge after the CM.

Seeing started strong on this night.

Notes:

• The NTB is a thin orange belt.
• The NEBn has a small brown barge just before the CM.
• The EZ is displaying an obvious orange tinge.
• The GRS has a very strong brick red color.

Seeing remained excellent.

Notes:

• The NTB is a thin orange line.
• The NEBn has a brown barge on the CM.
• The EZ is tinged orange.
• The GRS is at the CM.

Seeing remained excellent during this capture.

Notes:

• White Spot Z is rising.
• The EZ is tinted orange.
• The SEB holds a barge to the north of Oval BA.
• The wake following the GRS is at the CM.
• The GRS has a strong brick red coloration.
• Oval BA is rising.

Seeing started deteriorating, but was still very good.

Notes:

• White Spot Z is rising.
• The EZ is tinted orange.
• The SEB holds a barge to the north of Oval BA.
• The wake following the GRS is at the CM.
• The GRS has a strong brick red coloration.
• Oval BA is rising.

Seeing had deteriorated by the time this photo was taken.

Notes:

• White Spot Z is on the NEBn.
• The EZ is tinted orange.
• The SEB holds a barge to the north of Oval BA.
• The GRS has a strong brick red coloration.

Seeing had deteriorated by the time this photo was taken.

Notes:

• White Spot Z is on the NEBn.
• The EZ is tinted orange.
• The SEB holds a barge to the north of Oval BA.
• The GRS has a strong brick red coloration.

Seeing was decent, but likely hindered by heat plumes from a nearby house.

Notes:

• The NTB is thin.
• The NEBn is somewhat wavy.
• Most of the EZ is tinted orange.
• The GRS has an intense brick red coloration.
• The STB is slightly dull.

I decided to get an IR photo of Jupiter after completing the RGB set. Seeing was good.

Notes:

• The NEBn is somewhat wavy.
• The Great Red Spot is rising.

The night began with good transparency and decent seeing.

Notes:

• The NTBn is gray and spotted while the NTBs is a thin orange line.
• Io and its shadow are transiting Jupiter. The shadow is partially covering a white oval.
• The EZ is tinted orange.
• The STB is light brown.

Seeing was decent and transparency was good.

Notes:

• The NTBn is gray and spotted while the NTBs is a thin orange line.
• Io and its shadow are transiting Jupiter. The shadow is centered on a white oval.
• The EZ is tinted orange.
• The STB is light brown.

Seeing was decent and transparency was good.

Notes:

• The NTBn is gray and spotted while the NTBs is a thin orange line.
• Io's shadow is transiting Jupiter as Io itself leaves the disk. The shadow is covering a white oval.
• The EZ is tinted orange.
• The STB is light brown.

Final photo of Jupiter for the night. Seeing was decent and transparency was good.

Notes:

• The NTBn is gray and spotted while the NTBs is a thin orange line.
• Io's shadow is partially covering a white oval.
• The EZ is tinted orange.
• A brown barge on the SEB is approaching the CM.
• The STB is light brown.

Seeing was typical of what we've been seeing while imaging Jupiter the last few nights. However, Saharan dust limited transparency.

Notes:

• There's a brown spot rising on the North Temperate Zone that wasn't there on the 12th of July.
• The northern North Equatorial Belt is wavy.
• The Equatorial Zone is tinged orange.
• The Great Red Spot has a strong coloration.
• Oval BA is rising.
• The South Polar Red Spot is at a similar longitude as the GRS.
• Io is displaying its orange color.
• On Ganymede, Osiris and Uruk Sulcus are at the central meridian while Galileo Regio is setting.

Seeing remained typical of what we've been seeing while imaging Jupiter the last few nights. Saharan dust limited transparency.

Notes:

• There's a brown spot in the North Temperate Zone that wasn't there on the 12th of July.
• The northern North Equatorial Belt is wavy.
• White Oval Z is rising.
• The Equatorial Zone is tinged orange.
• The Great Red Spot has a strong coloration.
• Oval BA and the STB Ghost are rising.
• The South Polar Red Spot is at a similar longitude as the GRS.

Seeing was better than previous nights with Jupiter.

Notes:

• The North Temperate Belt is fading.
• The North Equatorial Belt is ragged on both the north and south edges.
• The Equatorial Zone is tinted orange.
• The South Equatorial Belt is quiet.
• There is a dark brown barge just past the central meridian in the SEB.
• The SEBs is darker than the rest of the belt.

Seeing continued to be good.

Notes:

• The North Temperate Belt is fading.
• The North Equatorial Belt is ragged on both the north and south edges.
• The Equatorial Zone is tinted orange.
• The South Equatorial Belt is quiet.
• There is a dark brown barge past the central meridian in the SEB.
• The SEBs is darker than the rest of the belt.

Seeing was decent but limited by heat plumes.

Notes:

• The Equatorial Zone is tinted orange.
• The southern edge of the South Equatorial Belt is very dark.
• The Great Red Spot is rising.

Seeing worsened a little bit after the previous image.

Notes:

• The Equatorial Zone is tinted orange.
• The southern edge of the South Equatorial Belt is very dark.
• The Great Red Spot is rising.

Seeing continued to deteriorate as Jupiter approached a roof.

Notes:

• The Equatorial Zone is tinted orange.
• The southern edge of the South Equatorial Belt is very dark.
• The Great Red Spot is rising.

Seeing started great for this session.

Notes:

• The North Temperate Belt is fading.
• The Equatorial Zone continues to be tinted orange.
• The south edge of the South Equatorial Belt appears clumpy.
• The darkened STB Ghost and Oval BA are past the central meridian.

Seeing remained steady.

Notes:

• The North Temperate Belt is fading.
• The Equatorial Zone continues to be tinted orange.
• The south edge of the South Equatorial Belt appears clumpy.
• The darkened STB Ghost and Oval BA are past the central meridian.

Seeing worsened tremendously after the previous photo.


Notes:

• The North Temperate Belt is fading.
• White Oval Z is setting.
• The Equatorial Zone continues to be tinted orange.
• The south edge of the South Equatorial Belt appears clumpy.
• The darkened STB Ghost and Oval BA are setting.

The night started with decent seeing and excellent transparency.

Notes:

• The North Temperate Belt is thinning as it fades.
• There's a tiny brown barge at the central meridian in the northern North Equatorial Belt
• A white oval is east of the brown barge on the NEBn.
• The NEB has a couple outbreaks.
• Most of the Equatorial Zone is tinted orange.
• The southern South Equatorial Belt is very dark.

Seeing remained decent and transparency excellent.

Notes:

• The North Temperate Belt is thinning as it fades.
• There's a tiny brown barge just past the central meridian in the northern North Equatorial Belt
• A white oval is east of the brown barge on the NEBn.
• The NEB has a couple outbreaks.
• Most of the Equatorial Zone is tinted orange.
• The southern South Equatorial Belt is very dark.

Seeing continued to be decent while transparency stayed excellent.

Notes:

• The North Temperate Belt is thinning as it fades.
• There's a tiny brown barge past the central meridian in the northern North Equatorial Belt
• A white oval is east of the brown barge on the NEBn.
• The NEB has a couple outbreaks.
• Most of the Equatorial Zone is tinted orange.
• The southern South Equatorial Belt is very dark.

Seeing was above average, but I think small details were blurred by micro-turbulence.

Notes:

• The North Temperate Belt is thin.
• The North Equatorial Belt is covered with small rift-like features.
• White Oval Z is rising.
• The Equatorial Zone is orange.
• The Great Red Spot is about to set.
• Oval BA is much paler than the GRS.

Seeing continued to be decent.

Notes:

• The North Temperate Belt is thin.
• The North Equatorial Belt is covered with small rift-like features.
• White Oval Z is rising.
• The Equatorial Zone is orange.
• The Great Red Spot is about to set.
• Oval BA is much paler than the GRS.

Seeing was above average, but I think small details were blurred by micro-turbulence.

Notes:

• The North Temperate Belt is thin.
• The North Equatorial Belt is covered with small rift-like features.
• White Oval Z is approaching the central meridian.
• The Equatorial Zone is orange.
• The Great Red Spot is about to set.
• Oval BA is much paler than the GRS.

After seven nights of imaging with the C14, it's time to go back to the C8 for one more night. Seeing was great and transparency was excellent.

Notes:

• Europa's shadow is transiting north of the North Temperate Belt.
• The northern edge of the North Equatorial Belt is ragged.
• Most of the Equatorial Zone is tinged orange.
• The South Equatorial Belt looks calm.

Soon after an exhausting two weeks of astrophotography in July, I went to the Green Bank Observatory in West Virginia to do some radio astronomy projects in ERIRA. I highly recommend looking at the program if you're a university student and have even a slight interest in astronomy and research. While I was there I calculated the mass of Jupiter using three of my images and landed less than one percent above the accepted value! Three days after returning from WV, I resumed imaging from home under average seeing and good transparency. I used my Tele Vue 2.5x Powermate for this and the next few nights.

Notes:

• The North Temperate Belt has almost disappeared.
• A brown barge on the North Equatorial Belt is near the central meridian.
• The Equatorial Zone is tinted orange.

Seeing improved compared to the previous night.

Notes:

• The North Temperate Belt has almost completely faded.
• White Oval Z is two-thirds of the way from the limb to the central meridian.
• The Equatorial Zone is tinted orange.
• The region of outbreaks following the Great Red Spot is nearly non-existent.
• Oval BA is near the CM.

Seeing was a lot better than the past couple nights for Jupiter.

Notes:

• The North Temperate Belt has nearly disappeared.
• The northern edge of the North Equatorial belt is wavy.
• The Equatorial Zone is tinted orange.
• There is a brown barge in the South Equatorial Belt about halfway after the central meridian.
• A dark sector of the South Temperate Belt is setting.

Conditions for imaging started out almost perfect.

Notes:

• The North Temperate belt is thin and faded.
• The Equatorial Zone is tinged orange.
• The Great Red Spot is rising.
• A brown barge in the South Equatorial Belt is setting.
• Io and Europa are positioned nearby.

Seeing conditions continued to be excellent.

Notes:

• The North Temperate belt is thin and faded.
• The Equatorial Zone is tinged orange.
• The Great Red Spot is rising.
• A brown barge in the South Equatorial Belt is setting.
• Io and Europa are positioned nearby.

Seeing was above average.

Notes:

• The North Temperate Belt is severely faded.
• The North Equatorial Belt is wavy on its northern edge.
• The Equatorial Zone is orange.
• Oval BA and the STB Ghost are setting.

Seeing remained above average.

Notes:

• The North Temperate Belt is severely faded.
• The North Equatorial Belt is wavy on its northern edge.
• The Equatorial Zone is orange.
• Oval BA and the STB Ghost are setting.