Jupiter

10.1″ f/4.5, Mallincam DS432cTEC with 5x barlow
Exposure = 9 msec, Gain = 30 of 250
November 27, 2021  22:06 UTC

Jupiter with 3 Galilean moons visible (Ganymede to the upper left of the disk, Io and Europa respectively to the lower right). Approximate magnitudes for the three moons are 4.5, 5.0, and 5.3 respectively. The Great Red Spot is not visible having just rotated off of the disk’s right-hand limb a half hour previously. Image stacked in Autostakkert using the top 25% of 1005 SER frames, post-processed in GIMP.

North at 1 o’clock, East at 10 o’clock

10.1″ f/4.5, Mallincam DS432cTEC with 5x barlow
Exposure = 55 msec, Gain = 6.34 of 250
August 6, 2022  6:28 UTC

A beautiful night of seeing, conditions were about a 4 out of 5. In the image here, Jupiter’s Great Red Spot (GRS) has started to climb into view from the left-hand limb. The GRS cuts into the southern edge of the South Equatorial Belt (SEB), if you look closely there appears to be a line drawn around the top of the GRS. Lots of details in terms of twists, turns, and dark patches in the belts and zones are visible, especially in the dark and prominent North Equatorial Belt (NEB). The brighter spot on the lower right of the disk that looks like a white blemish on the cloud-tops is actually the moon Europa transiting across Jupiter’s face. A couple of other moons, Io (right of Jupiter) and Ganymede (further left of Jupiter) are also visible.

Image stacked in Autostakkert using the top 10% of 1004 SER frames, post-processed in Affinity Photo.

North at 11 o’clock, East at 8 o’clock

10.1″ f/4.5, Mallincam DS432cTEC with 5x barlow
Exposure = 55 msec, Gain = 6.34 of 250
August 6, 2022  6:04 UTC

This image is from an SER series of frames taken 24 minutes earlier than the previous image. The GRS is barely visible on the eastern limb, demonstrating how much the planets rotates in a short period of time.

Image stacked in Autostakkert using the top 10% of 1011 SER frames, post-processed in Affinity Photo.

North at 11 o’clock, East at 8 o’clock

10.1″ f/4.5, Mallincam DS432cTEC with 5x barlow and Atmospheric Dispersion Corrector
Exposure = 11 msec, Gain = 30 of 250
August 14, 2022  4:44 UTC

Average seeing (3/5) tonight. My first time using the Atmospheric Dispersion Corrector (ADC); it definitely increases the visible details when the prisms are adjusted to the right setting. Here the GRS has just past the central meridian (11 minutes previously). Lots of details in the NEB including white circular storms. Some subtler brown bands are visible in the Equatorial Zone (EZ) and beautiful outlining around the GRS. The Galilean Moon Io is to the left of Jupiter.

Image stacked in Autostakkert using the top 40 frames of 1010 SER frames, post-processed in Affinity Photo.

North at 10 o’clock, East at 7 o’clock

Jupiter with Io and Callisto

10.1″ f/4.5, Mallincam DS432cTEC with 5x barlow and ADC
Exposure = 53 msec, Gain = 5 of 250
August 28, 2021  05:56 UTC

Amazing seeing conditions tonight, 5/5. Moons Io (far left) and Callisto (left) accompany Jupiter. Incredible details are visible in the various belts; the SEB has three dark lines streaming ahead of the GRS, and the NEB has some interesting twists and knots.

Image stacked in Autostakkert using the top 10% of 567 AVI frames, post-processed in Affinity Photo and Pixlr.

North at 12 o’clock, East at 9 o’clock

Close-up of the previous image. A couple of white spots are sitting to the upper-left of the GRS. Another very bright spot sits below the GRS in the South Temperate Belt (STB), is this Red Spot Jr? The central “eye” in the GRS is also evident. Exquisite grey-blue detailing of methane clouds especially in the Equatorial Zone (EZ). A handle-shaped festoon splits off from the north edge of the NEB. Chris Go has a C14 image for this date about 9 hours later (see here).

Jupiter with Io transit and shadow

10.1″ f/4.5, Mallincam DS432cTEC with 5x barlow and ADC
Exposure = 28 msec, Gain = 9 of 250
September 24, 2021  02:26 UTC

Seeing conditions were about 3 of 5, average. Io is in mid-transit across the face of Jupiter, visible here as a brighter spot directly above the Great Red Spot, closely preceded by its dark shadow. The proximity of the shadow to the disk of the moon is probably due to Jupiter being just two days before opposition. The distance between Io and the cloud tops of Jupiter where the shadow is falling is 422,000 kilometers, approximately similar to the Earth-Moon distance.

Image stacked in Autostakkert using the top 100 frames of 3057 SER frames, post-processed in Affinity Photo.

North at 11 o’clock, East at 8 o’clock

10.1″ f/4.5, Mallincam DS432cTEC with 5x barlow
Exposure = 45 msec, Gain = 6 of 250
December 8, 2021  22:40 UTC

Seeing was between 2 or 3 of 5. Three Galilean moons are visible, Io to the left with Ganymede to the right and Europa further right. Ganymede’s shadow is on Jupiter’s disk at the lower-right, at this time it is about 40 minutes before leaving the right-edge of the disk. Ganymede is approximately 1,000,000 kilometers from Jupiter, third farthest of the four Galilean moons.

Image stacked in Autostakkert using the top 25 percent of 1006 SER frames, post-processed in Affinity Photo and Pixlr.

North at 10 o’clock, East at 7 o’clock

Jupiter with Ganymede shadow