JUPITER 2009

By Christopher Go

A new year for Jupiter.  The past 3 years of Jupiter have been exciting.  What will this year hold?  This year, Jupiter will be in Equinox like Saturn.  There will be mutual events with some moons of Jupiter. 

This year is also exciting because of an impact event discovered by my friend Anthony Wesley!  Congratulations to Anthony for this historic discovery!

All images were taken using a Celestron C11 mounted on an AP900GTO mount.  A DMK 21BF04 camera was used.  RGB is done using a Homeyer Motorized filter wheel.  This year I received a Custom Scientific Methane Band filter (889nm  18nm bandpass).  Thanks to Dr. Imke de Pater of UC Berkeley for providing this filter!  Amplification is done using an Astrophysics Convertible Barlow working at 3X.

Image acquisition was done using IC Capture 2.0 and processing done with Registax V5.

These images were taken at Cebu City, Philippines. 

http://www.redspotjr.com

For more information on the names of various belts and zones of Jupiter and the meaning of the abbreviations I use please check the Sky and Telescope Jupiter Observing Guide.

All images of this site are my property.  If you wish to publish it on your site or print, please email me for permission.

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My old images can be viewed at:

2007 Images   2008 Images		ALPO Archives
March-May 2009		ALPO Japan Jupiter Section
June-July 2009		Jupiter with my C8
Aug-Oct 2009

More images for the new year.  Spent 2 hours cooling my OTA.  This may be my last images till next weekend.  I have to image even when the sky is still blue!

This is the area preceding the GRS.  This area is quiet.  The SEB has faded.  The dark features on the SEBn looks like the EZ material pushing into the SEB.

Dark festoons from the EZ seems to be pushing on the NEBs.  Note the dark streak on the NTB.

Happy New Year!! Here's my first Jupiter image of the year!  Seeing was good when I made my first image.  Sadly seeing deteriorated after my first image.

Oval BA can be seen in this image.  It is still a little red but isn't as dark as the GRS.  The white oval following BA is still there pushing towards BA and still blocked by the dark cyclonic oval between it and BA.

The SEBs is almost white!  The dark spots are still there.  No sign of revival yet.  It is also interesting to see that the SEBn dark. 

The EZ is quiet.  Io is transiting the EZ.  The NEB is very dark.  Note the dark oval at the CM.

Seeing was surprisingly good this evening!  The sky was still very bright when I took this image.

The GRS is very dark!  I did a quick visual before imaging and the GRS is very prominent while the SEB is totally invisible!  Only the northern edge of the SEB can be seen visually.  The SEBs has faded a lot.  Note the dark barge following the GRS has become elongated.  Note the bright feature on the EZ north of the GRS.

The NEB is still very dark.  It is striking to see the contrast between the SEB and NEB.

Happy New Year everyone.  Hopefully I should have a few more weeks to Jupiter images!

Merry Christmas everyone! Jupiter is less than 40deg above the horizon.   I hope to have a few weeks more of decent images of ol Jove.

Oval BA is very dark.  Note the white spot following it is still pushing towards BA.  The cyclonic oval between BA and the white spot has turned dark red.  Note another white oval moving towards the white oval following BA. 

The SEB is very pale.  The mid-SEB activity is very prominent.  Io's shadow is at the EZs.  The "fan" on the shadow is due to distortion because of bad seeing.

The NEB is very dark red.  The NEB darks spots are still prominent.  Note the dark barge on the NTBn.  The NNTZ LRS is prominent.  The red ring is even resolved.

Jupiter is now just above my roof.   Seeing is getting worse because of thermal emissions from my roof. 

As Jupiter get's close to the sun, it is getting interesting!  Note that the GRS is very red.   I noticed while capturing that the GRS is dark on green and very dark on blue!  So this is not an illusion but a real darkening of the GRS.  The SEB is almost while.  This is very distinct visually where the SEB can't be seen.  The Northern SEB is already white! 

The NEB is still very dark and  has pushed north! 

Merry Christmas to all!!!

Jupiter is getting lower in the sky!  Seeing was good at the start of the session but things got bad as Jupiter drops lower into the sky.

Oval BA is again seen in this image.   The white spot following it is still there trying to get to BA.   Note the dark barge at the S3TB.

The SEB is almost white.  The NEB is very dark but it seems like there is no outbreak activity in this region.  Note the dark spots  on the NEBn.  The NNTZ LRS is still prominent.

Just came back from a trip to Hangzhou, China.   Seeing was good this evening.   But deteriorated as Jupiter got lower in the sky.

Oval BA is getting darker.  And the white spot following Oval BA is getting bigger!   Note also another white spot following this white spot!

The SEB is very pale.  Note the white spot at the CM on the first image.

The NEB is very dark.   Note the dark spots on the NEBn.  Note also the dark barge on the NTBn.  The NNTZ LRS is very prominent in this image.

Seeing was again horrible this evening.  I'm leaving for China in 3 days. 

The NEB is very dark.  Note a hint of the red spot on the NEBn.

Another night of poor seeing.  Super Typhoon Nida is affecting the conditions here. 

Oval BA looks dark but other than that nothing much is resolved. 

Seeing is very poor this evening.    The SEB is still fading whilte the NEB is dark.  Note the dark feature on the S3TB.

I had a big scare this evening!  I set up my system early to cool the OTA.  I went back in the house to play with my kids.  It started to RAIN!!!  I had to frantically run outside and cover the scope and mount.   It's a good thing that the AP900 was built like a tank!  I took the electronics in and dried them.  After an hour I was ready to image! 

Seeing was not good this evening.  Jupiter is really getting low. 

The SEB is very  pale now.  Note the 3 dark barges following the GRS.  Note the white spot following Oval BA is getting bigger. It looks like it's about half the size of Oval BA.

 The NEB is still very dark.  Note the dark features on NNTB.

Jupiter is getting lower in the sky.  Seeing was okay this evening but I had to cut short my session when clouds rolled in.

The SEB is very quiet!  It is also very pale now.   Note the SSTB ovals.  The anti-cyclonic oval is not right next to the cyclonic oval  Note the spots of STB material.

The NEB is still very dark and busy.   There are a lot of rift activity and outbreak.  Note the dark red oval on the NEBn.

There is HUGE dark red barge on the NNTB.  The NTB is quiet and fading.

Condition was again perfect this evening.  Lots of things going on in Jupiter!

The annulus ring of Oval BA is getting redder.  Note the tiny red spot above it.  The white spot is pushing the dark feature north!  Will this spot merge with Oval BA?  Note the dark red spot above Oval BA.  There is also an interesting bright banding on the STB following the bright white spot.

The SEB is quiet.  The SED can be seen in the last image.

The NEB is still very busy.  Note the dark spots lining up on the northern edge of the NEB.  

Note the bright spot on the northern edge of the NTB.  It has a dark wake preceding it.   The NNTZ LRS is prominent in this image.  The NNTZ LRS and Oval BA are bright on the Methane Band image.

Condition was good this evening. 

Note the SSTB ovals.   Two of them seem to be on the verge of merging!  The small anti-cyclonic oval is now on the edge of the large cyclonic oval.

The GRS is still separate from the SEB.  The SEB is very pale.  Note the dark red barge.  It now seems to be moving towards the area below the GRS!!!  The SED can be seen at the SEBn preceding the GRS.

The NEB is very busy.  Note  the two red spots and the complex rift system around it.  The two large white ovals on the NEBn are very prominent.

Condition was again excellent this evening. 

Lots of things going on in Jupiter.  The STB has a series of dot like features littered on it's northern edge.

The SEB is still fading.  Note the TWO SEDs that can be see in these images.  One is at around CM2: 20 and the other is at around CM2: 90.

The EZ is very bright in Methane Band.  It is also interesting to note that the SPR is bright in Methane while the NPR is dark.

The NEB continues to be dark and busy. There is an interesting dark band on the northern edge of the NTB.  Note the dark red barge at the NNTB.

Condition was excellent this evening. 

Oval BA's annulus ring is well resolved.  It is very faint now but you can still see the orange ring.  It is interesting to note the the southern temperate region has gone pale.  You can really see the contrast between both hemispheres.

The SEB is very pale.  So the fading continues with not start of the revival.

The NEB is still very busy with a lot of rifts resolved.  Note the dark ovals lining up on the NEBn.   A hint of the  NNTZ LRS's annular ring can be seen in these images.

It was mostly cloudy today.   I almost gave up on this evening but there was some clearing at around 8pm which is 2 hours after I normally image.  I went ahead and set up my system and was stunned to see that seeing was excellent.  Sadly transparency was poor.

Here is an excellent vuew of the GRS.  The GRS is clearly detached from the SEB.  The SEB has really become very pale.

The NEB is very busy.  Note that the dark red oval on the NEB on the left side seem to be compressed by the outbreak.  Note also another dark red oval right next to the NEBn  white oval on the center right!  Will they merge?

It was mostly cloudy today.  I had a 15 minute break in the clouds.  I was able to cool my OTA today for an hour so seeing was excellent!  But transparency was very variable.

The red annulus ring on Oval BA is very faint now.  Note the dark feature above Oval BA.  The white spot  is still there but separated from Oval BA by a dark feature.   The STB has basically faded!

The NEB is still very busy.  There are a lot of dark barges on the NEBn.  The NNTZ LRS is very prominent because of it's orange color.  There is a hint of an annulus ring on this feature like Oval BA.

I was cloudy this afternoon but it cleared during early evening.  I wasn't able to cool my OTA so my images are a bit spotty at times.

The GRS can be seen in these images.  Note the dark wake like feature above the GRS.  The 3 dark red barges can be seen on the SEBs.  Note that the SEB is already light pink.

The NEB continues to be very busy!  There are a lot of outbreak/rift activity!  The NEB white ovals are very prominent.   The EZ also looks a bit disturbed.

Seeing and excellent this evening.  I had to cut my session short because clouds rolled in.

The SEB looks quiet here.  An SED can be seen and the EZ looks very disturbed.

The NEB is very busy.  Note the dark red spot and the red oval on the NTrZ.

The NNTZ LRS is still orange and very prominent.    Note the dark bar on the NTB.

Seeing and Transparency was excellent this evening.  I spent about an hour cooling my OTA with a CAT Cooler fan. 

The GRS is turning light orange.   The GRS is detached from the SEB! The SEB is very pale now.   The dark cyclonic oval following the GRS is moving towards the GRS.   The STB is basically gone now except for the wake like feature above the GRS.

The NEB is very busy.  Note the the red ovals.  One is below the GRS while a larger one is to it's left.   Also, note the small round oval at the NEBn/NTrZ which is has a dark wake.   Will these red ovals be stable at the NEB?  The white NEBn ovals are still there.

The NTB looks pale and quiet.  Note the dark red barge at the NNTB.  One can also see hints of light patches close to the North Polar region.

Seeing and Transparency was good this evening!  I was able to cool my telescope earlier so my images are better now.

Oval BA 's annular ring is very light now.  The STB has basically faded and the "wake" of Oval BA is gone because of the white oval next to it.  The dark oval between Oval BA and the small white oval is interesting as it is preventing the two from merging!  Similar dark ovals existed separating the 3 great ovals that formed BA.  When the dark ovals moved the 3 Great Ovals merged to form BA (P. Marcus) .  Will the same thing happen now with this dark oval being pushed away allowing the merger of BA and the small white oval?

Note the dark bar above BA.  Is this feature a coincidence or is it the effect of the white oval pushing towards BA?

The SEB looks very quiet.  Whille the NEB is in CHAOS!   The NEB has evolved into a complex belt with rifts and dark ovals.   Note the red oval at the NTrZ.

The NTB looks very quiet while the NNTZ LRS has in interesting orange hue.   The northern hemisphere seems to be quiet at this region. 

Lastly note, Io as it transit Jupiter disk.  It looks very 3D!