Jupiter

stoneill

Last night was ideal conditions to view Jupiter, tonight is well, less than adequate.
at 19:54 - Jupiter will be just rising above the horizon at ENE.
Pity the night is so ****e - would be good to have a look at it tonight.

ScrubsfanChris

Except if you live in the south, where its been raining all week

bc dub

Saw Jupiter last night, first time ever to see/realise what it was.

Can anyone tell me is it true that to the naked eye it appears to wobble a couple of milameters? I could have sworn it was moving. My friend told me that due to it's distance to the eye, certain rays impact how you see it and give it a shaky look.

novarock

Took this last night, it really was stunningly bright..

Iancar29

My one from the phoenix park last night

macpac26

wow some nice photos lads. Finished college at 10 last night and the sky was clear got a great view of it. Stunning really. Ive got to invest in a telescope..

Eramen

Beautiful photos. Jupiter really was impressive last night, I hope we get more such pristine nights for observing it.

SuprSi

Wow, I thought that was the moon last night. It was really bright over here. Clear skies tonight so hopefully I'll get another look at it.

Any reason why it is so bright? It's way further out than the moon and although it's significantly bigger, surely its distance would mean the light coming back wouldn't be as strong?

Fowler87

Some great pics Shame it was pissing in Mayo last night to see anything

coylemj

SuprSi wrote: »

Wow, I thought that was the moon last night. It was really bright over here. Clear skies tonight so hopefully I'll get another look at it.

Any reason why it is so bright? It's way further out than the moon and although it's significantly bigger, surely its distance would mean the light coming back wouldn't be as strong?

You make a valid point, Jupiter's relative brightness as seen from Earth is helped by the fact that it's albedo (reflectivity) is 0.5 vs. 0.12 for the Moon.

So if Jupiter was made of the same material as the Moon it would be four times dimmer. As a gas giant it reflects back 4x more sunlight per unit of surface area than the Moon.

WalterMitty

Was in dublin city centre last night and the moon and jupiter were right above the spire when looking down mary street and henry street . Amesome, the juxtoposition of the terrestrial and the extra terrestrial.

Gumbo

Assuming jupiter is the star beside the Moon?

bought a new camera a few weeks ago, and still trying to get used to some settings, but hers mine from last night.


IMG_0368 by kceire, on Flickr

Penfailed

Iancar29 wrote: »

My one from the phoenix park last night

Very cool pic! It was cloudy here last night...:(

bc dub

My effort...

Calibos

I don't mean to be critical but You know thats not in focus right?

bc dub

Its an effort at capturing it, not an entry to a competition.

peterako

Just to follow on on the 'not focused' comment....

If you look at the bottom right corner of teh shot below you'll see one of Jupiter's moons......

You'll also see that there are a number of concentric circles aroudn the moon.

You can use this moon (for example) to get near perfect focus....

Just focus the scope till the moon appears as a dot rather than concentric circles and Jupiter will be pretty much in good focus

You can then adjust gain etc on the camera and get nice (in focus) views/shots of Jupiter!

bc dub wrote: »

My effort...

Calibos

peterako wrote: »

Just to follow on on the 'not focused' comment....

If you look at the bottom right corner of teh shot below you'll see one of Jupiter's moons......

You'll also see that there are a number of concentric circles aroudn the moon.

You can use this moon (for example) to get near perfect focus....

Just focus the scope till the moon appears as a dot rather than concentric circles and Jupiter will be pretty much in good focus

You can then adjust gain etc on the camera and get nice (in focus) views/shots of Jupiter!

I thought this was a photo of 'The Moon' and Jupiter rather than Jupiter and on of 'its moons'??

emo72

I'm now officially confused

peterako

I really shouldn't stay up late unsupervised

Yep....the dot is Jupiter.

Sorry for the confusion....totally due to my stupidity....

For some reason (possibly cause I was taking some captures of Jupiter on Saturday night) I got mixed up in the thread.

My shots from Saturday (Need further procsesing when I have time):



Dot on top band is the shadow of one of Jupiter's moons. Splodge on the lower part is the GRS.

macpac26

Wow great photos peter. what equipment you use to get those shots?

peterako

PM sent so that I don't hijack the thread

slade_x

peterako wrote: »

PM sent so that I don't hijack the thread

I dont see how it would be considered hijacking as the topic of discussion is about observing jupiter

peterako

Thanks slade_x,

Equipment used:

Orion Optics Europa F4 200 (A UK mirrored 8" newtonian) with a Crayford focusser.
Celestron CG-5 EQ mount with drive on RA for tracking.
Revelation (GSO) 2.5x Barlow
Philips SPC900NC webcamera for capture.
wxAstroCapture as capture software
Registax 6 postprocessing

Rubber ball to throw for the dog to stop him knocking his tail against the mount while I was capturing the images......

I know there's more detail inthe captures to extratct, and that teh scope was not sufficiently cooled.

Hoping for a nice clear Winter (at night anyway ),

Clear skies,
Peter

Rubecula

Just wait until you get a decent shot of Saturn. That is a lovely sight.

peterako

My best Saturns thus far.

Was such a poor year for (me for) viewing and capturing Saturn

But...Jupiter's here and Mars will be up at a reasonable time soon too!

Will try and get a look at Uranus one of these nights.......

Quick rework of the captures with an earlier version of Registax:

premiercounty

Hi all,

Saw this thread and thought Id post up my effort from last night

equipment used

Meade Etx 70at
Phillips spc900nc web cam
wxastrocapture software for capture
registax 5 processing

This was my very first astrophotography effort, Im quite pleased with it:D I found out what equipment and software to use from online forums etc.

I also have a meade lx200 8 inch SCT with tracking
which Im hoping to get time and clear skies to use, Id like to get detail like your photos there peter.

peterako

Nicely focused! And gives a great perspective on the moons around Jupiter!

You should get at least as good pics as I have with the SCT if not better

I feel scope envy.....

saltie

Calibos wrote: »

I don't mean to be critical but You know thats not in focus right?

Jesus harsh. I think thats an excellent pic

Calibos

saltie wrote: »

Jesus harsh. I think thats an excellent pic

Eh, I wasn't trying to be harsh, I don't think I was harsh. The reason I posted my comment was due to the fact that it seems that the OP and now you too don't quite realise how out of focus the photo is.

This is a photo of the Earths moon and the planet Jupiter. It is not a photo of the planet Jupiter and one of is Gallilean moons like Ganymede which is what Peterako thought. If it were a photo of Jupiter and Ganymede it would be one of the best astrophotos of ganymede taken by an amatuer on earth.

Seeing as its a photo of our Moon and the planet jupiter I know its out of focus because at the focal length the picture was taken with the Moon the size it is in the photo, Jupiter would not be a disc that size. It should still look like a bright star near the moon in the photo.

In other words while the OP thought he photographed detail on the disc of Jupiter he was infact way out of focus. If you look closely at the 'Disc' of Jupiter you can see his Newtonian telescopes Spider vanes. A sure sign that the starlike point of Jupiter at that image scale is grossly out of focus.

Here is a photo showing Jupiters disc compared to the moon at the bottom of the page.

http://www.sas.org.au/astrophotography/renato/renato.htm

There is a difference between being pedantic and just nitpicking faults in something and pointing out a false assumption.

3ndahalfof6

Calibos wrote: »

Eh, I wasn't trying to be harsh, I don't think I was harsh. The reason I posted my comment was due to the fact that it seems that the OP and now you too don't quite realise how out of focus the photo is.

This is a photo of the Earths moon and the planet Jupiter. It is not a photo of the planet Jupiter and one of is Gallilean moons like Ganymede which is what Peterako thought. If it were a photo of Jupiter and Ganymede it would be one of the best astrophotos of ganymede taken by an amatuer on earth.

Seeing as its a photo of our Moon and the planet jupiter I know its out of focus because at the focal length the picture was taken with the Moon the size it is in the photo, Jupiter would not be a disc that size. It should still look like a bright star near the moon in the photo.

In other words while the OP thought he photographed detail on the disc of Jupiter he was infact way out of focus. If you look closely at the 'Disc' of Jupiter you can see his Newtonian telescopes Spider vanes. A sure sign that the starlike point of Jupiter at that image scale is grossly out of focus.

Here is a photo showing Jupiters disc compared to the moon at the bottom of the page.

http://www.sas.org.au/astrophotography/renato/renato.htm

There is a difference between being pedantic and just nitpicking faults in something and pointing out a false assumption.

I think if you had posted the explanation on the 1st post there would be no misunderstanding, very well explained and teaching us a lot about it, so thank you good reading.

ThatDrGuy

Hi,
Here is my Jupiter attempt from my tiny 4inch celestron:


I cant seem to get any image at all when I use a barlow. Is this because the image isnt bright enough or is something else wrong ? I use a Nexstar 4se with nextimage.

peterako

You may just not be in focus (range) with the barlow.

Try to get Jupiter centred in teh camera without the barlow.

Then put the Barlow in. Change the camera exposure settings to Auto.

You may see light from an unfocused Jupiter somewhere then you can centre on this and focus.

If you don't see light try focussing in/out till you do.

Depending on you focusser Jupter may not be centred when teh barlow goes in.

Keep at it! It'll be worth it!

peterako

Very, very quick capture of Jupiter, Ganymede and Io last night.

Spent the next hour or so exploring the sky with my middle child after this



Clear skies,
Peter

djhaxman

Good work Peter. What scope are you using again?

Megastar

I've been enjoying Jupiter here, via binoculars and telescope (ETX70). Some very very clear nights and looks like another one tonight.

I tried to photograph it through my telescope but came up against a problem. With a webcam screwed into an eyepiece (no Barlow) the planet is showing up very large and very bright. With all the brightness and contrast settings adjusted it's still a big white blob, although I'm getting the moons more or less sharp and focussed.

Any tips for me as to how to get a usable image to record?

peterako

Thanks djhaxman:

Orion Optics F4 200 (8" ish) Newtonian on an old Celstron CG5 Mount with RA motor for tracking. Definitely not a highend boutique scope, but very functional.

The optics in the scope are great!
The scope looks very cheap....but hey....in the dark..

I also have a Celestron G8N sitting in the corner (another 8" Newt) that gave me good service prior to the Orion Optics one. Must find a home for it.

Megastar:

Sounds like the gain is set too high and/or the shutter speed is too high(?).

Jupiter is BRIGHT, so you don't need too much gain (i use teh lowest setting) or shutter speed.

Play with these settings and see what you get.

Without the Barlow Jupiter will seem even brighter....

Clear skies,
Peter

calabi yau

Didnt want to be left out: taken with my Sony Ericsson Phone and my 8" manual DOB

ceejay

Joining the party


jupiter-2011-11-06 by Ciaran Walsh, on Flickr

Grabbed this using my Celestron NexStar 4SE and the NexImage CCD, and processed it with RegiStax 5.1.

Looking at it with the naked eye with the standard eyepiece was pretty cool too - you could make out the cloud bands and the 4 main satellites. Later in the night I'm pretty sure I could see one of the moons transiting Jupiter - but maybe I was kidding myself

I'm hoping to get some more eyepieces for Chrismas and be able to see it "up close"

stoneill

Nice clear night tonight -
Get the telescopes out!
Can anyone there with the correct equipment manage to get a pic of the Moon and Jupiter together?

Plug

You would need roughly a 40mm eye piece but they have to be really close together.

Kencollins

I went for a look at Jupiter in the garden last night at about 11pm. Had a pair of Lidl binos with my (12x30 ish) and i could make out two of the moons! One seemed very close to the planet, the other one was about 4 times that distance.
I was amased I could see them with such a cheap (11 euro) pair of binos, got a nice surprise!

Cant wait to get a scope and do some proper observations.

Cú Giobach

Kencollins wrote: »

I went for a look at Jupiter in the garden last night at about 11pm. Had a pair of Lidl binos with my (12x30 ish) and i could make out two of the moons! One seemed very close to the planet, the other one was about 4 times that distance.
I was amased I could see them with such a cheap (11 euro) pair of binos, got a nice surprise!

If Jupiter wasn't so bright you would see them easily with the naked eye.
If someone has excellent eyesight it could also be possible to see Ganymede or Callisto with the naked eye anyway, and by blocking Jupiter it could be possible for those without the eyes of a hawk to see them. Here is an interesting article on it.

There's a pole outside my house with a thin metal hoop on it that would be perfect for occulting annoying planets, so having thought of it I'll now be trying to catch one without optical aid.
Has anyone out there done this before?

Edit: Actually I'm gonna start a thread on this.

Plug

Kencollins wrote: »

I went for a look at Jupiter in the garden last night at about 11pm. Had a pair of Lidl binos with my (12x30 ish) and i could make out two of the moons! One seemed very close to the planet, the other one was about 4 times that distance.
I was amased I could see them with such a cheap (11 euro) pair of binos, got a nice surprise!

Cant wait to get a scope and do some proper observations.

Hopefully Saturday will be clear so. Usually the thing is, when you buy a telescope it is usually cloudy for for 3 weeks:p

ednwireland

cracking views tonight but high cloud started rolling in, makes a change clear skies and not having to wrap up.

peterako

Just got a chance to process some captures from 6th November:



Have some captures from the 5th....but could not stay awake long enough to capture Io's transit

Clear skies,
Peter

MiNdGaM3

Here's a different perspective on Jupiter, in conjunction with the moon.

peterako

Excellent MiNdGaM3!!

Kencollins

Hi all!

The clouds lifted here in Limerick for an hour, and Igot to try out my new scope! Jupiter was AMAZING!

The scope is a 5", 650 focal length newtonian, using a 10mm kelner and a barlow lens.

I could make out two of the "bands" on jupiter, two darker circles on the lower band, and lots of detail in between! It really is amazing, I wasn't expecting that kind of detail at all.

I thought there was something wrong with the scope at first, as one of the moons had a ghost image right next to it, turns out it was actually two of the moons quite close to each other! (Thanks stellarium!)

Unfortunatly it clouded over again before I could find the Orion Nebula...

One thing that was a bit strange was an optical effect around jupiter. When it was perfectly in focus, there was a "cross-hair" type effect, with 4 lines radiating out quite a bit. I'd liken it to looking at a street light through squinted eyes really.

Does anybody have any idea what would cause this? Could it have been the viweing conditions, light pollution (I was in my garden and neighbours had some bedroom lights on, and smoke from fires too!), or is this a feature of kelner lenses?

Im still on a high today, cant wait to get looking again!

Kersh

Some brilliant pictures in this thread, a joy to look at.

peterako

Hi Ken,

Cross hairs are probably due to the brightness of Jupiter and light diffraction from the secondary mirror vanes and/or possibly an optical aberration in some component.

If a optical issue it will more than likely be with one of the eyepieces though 'could' be collimation issues.

Next time you get out:

- Try a star test to see if it's collimation.
Go in and out of focus and see how much the image differs from 'ideal'. You may see dark likes along the vane obstruction. If these correspond to the crosshairs you are seeing then it's probably the vanes + brightness.

- Try and find a bright star like Vega at high magnification and see if you get the same cross hairs.
In an ideal scope, with no scondary mirror vanes, you'll see a dot. But in a Newt with vanes you'll see diffraction spikes. The number of spikes = number of vanes.

PM if you'd like to discuss.

I'm only guessing above. It'll be a matter of trial and error to find out what is causing it.

Delighted to read your first report on Jupiter!! As other's have said "wait till you see Saturn!".

And it's rings will be at a nice orientation next time Saturn is up at a reasonable hour.

I have only mananged to see The Great Nebula in Orion with Binocualrs so far this year. But Orion will be nicel placed reasonably early soon too.

Clear skies,
Peter