JUPITER 2011/2012 SEASON

By Christopher Go

A new season of Jupiter!  The SEB has revived from the outbreak which started last November.

All images were taken using a Celestron C11 or C14 (after July 2011)  mounted on an AP900GTO mount.  A  Point Grey Research Flea3 cameras was used.  RGB is done using a Homeyer Motorized filter wheel.  Methane band images are done using a Custom Scientific Methane Band filter (889nm  18nm bandpass) provided to me by the University of California at Berkeley.  UV images are done using a Astrodon UV filter.   Amplification is done using an Astrophysics Convertible Barlow working at 2.5X.

Image acquisition was done using  Torsten Edelmann's Firecapture 2.1 software.  All images are NORTH UP!   The Flea3 is controlled by a Thinkpad T520 through a Firewire B adapter.  Processing was done using AutoStakkert and Registax.

These images were taken at Banilad,  Cebu City, Philippines. 

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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November-December 2011

Seeing was poor this evening. This will probably be my last image of Jupiter for this season. 

The GRS is rising.  The SEB is very dark while the NEB is still narrow. 

Seeing is a little better this evening but I had to image Jupiter at twilight!  Also in my second image, I was effectively using only half of my aperture because Jupiter is low in our roof.

Oval BA can be seen just past the CM.  It is still very red but contrast is very low.  BA is very prominent in Methane Band. The SEB is still dark but it has a lot of activity at the area of the wake of the GRS.

The NEB is narrow and the Northern Temperate area looks quiet.

Condition was very poor this evening.  Seeing was unstable and transparency was poor because of clouds.

The GRS is just past the CM.  The dark halo around it  is still prominent.     Io's shadow can be seen preceding the GRS.   The SEB is very red while the NEB is still narrow.

Seeing was very unstable this evening.  Transparency wasn't great.

The SEB is very red.  Note the bright feature on the SEB at the CM on the first image.  What is this feature?  Is this the South Equatorial Disturbance.

The NEB is narrow.    In methane band, the NEBs is very bright!

It's the leap day of the year.  Unfortunately, I  caught a virus and have a fever.  But I just have to image Jupiter on this special day.   Seeing wasn't great and transparency was poor.  Jupiter is getting lower and lower each day.

The GRS is rising on these images.  It is still surrounded by a dark ring.  The SEB preceding the GRS is very red.   Note the small dark spot following the GRS.

The NEB is very narrow.

I only have a few weeks more of Jupiter imaging.  Jupiter is getting lower and closer to our roof.  I am able to get some decent images because of the my high speed Flea3 and the Winjupos derotation!  Jupiter averaged 45 deg when  took these images.

The GRS is setting in this image.  While Oval BA can been seen rising on the Methane Band image. Oval BA is difficult to see in visible light.  The wake of the GRS is very complex.  The NEB is still very narrow.

The sky was clear today. That also means that my roof was very hot!  Seeing was bad!

The SEB is still dark red and very complex.  The NEB is narrow.  Nothing exciting here.

I'm leaving for Manila tomorrow and will be back on Sunday.

Transparency was poor this evening and seeing is unstable.  It's tough to image Jupiter now as it gets lower and lower.

The GRS can be seen in this image.  The dark ring is still there.  The area following the GRS is still very busy.  The NEB is narrow.  Note the dark features on the NNTB.

The past weeks have been terrible.  Raining everyday.  I was able to get clearing today.  Jupiter is getting lower now as it moves towards the sun.  Seeing was unstable.

Europa can be seen transiting Jupiter on the STrZ.  The STrZ is reddish in color while the northern edge of the STrZ is dark.  The SEB is red and very active.  In contrast, the NEB is very narrow and what's left of the NEB seems to be losing color!  Note that even the dark ovals on the NEB seem to be losing color.  The dark red center and the lighter red edge shows some contrast on the oval.

Seeing was variable this evening but I was able to get some good images.  I use Autostakkert to process these images instead of Registax.  Sharpening was done with Registax Wavelets.

The GRS is setting in these images.  The wake of the GRS is very complex.  Oval BA is rising.  The red ring is prominent.  The NEB is narrow.

It was very tough to image this evening.  It was partially cloudy and I had to image between breaks in the clouds.  Seeing was very unstable.

The GRS is rising in these images.  The SEB preceding the GRS is very red with dark markings on it.    This contrasts with the yellow-orange color of the GRS.    The halo around the GRS is dark .  There is also a layer of dark material on the SEBs.

The NEB is narrow and the red ovals north of it are very prominent.

Seeing was variable this evening .  There was also some thin clouds that affected transparency.

The SEB is still very complex.   The NEB is narrow.  Note the bright spot in methane band at the NNTZ. This is the NNTZ LRS.

I finally had good seeing this evening.  I used  derotation in processing these images. My session was cut short because of clouds.

The GRS is close to the CM.  The dark ring inside the GRS is well resolved.  The area around the GRS is still dark.  The wake is very complex.  The outbreak following the GRS is bright in Methane Band.  The area preceding the GRS is very dark red.

Note the south temperate white ovals going all the way to the south polar region (SPR)!

The NEB is narrow while the dark red ovals north of the NEB are very prominent.  There are also white ovals resolved at the north temperate region.   Some of these are bright in Methane band as seen in the image below.

Seeing was variable this evening.  But I was able to get two very good image. I did not use derotation because the result wasn't as good as a single image.

One thing apparent is that Oval BA is approaching the GRS!!  Conjunction should occur between June to August this year depending on how fast Oval BA will move towards the GRS.

Oval BA's ring is apparent and has an orange hue now.    The wake of the GRS is very complex.  The embedded in the wake has grown a lot since my image in Jan 22.  This outbreak area is  bright in methane band.  This outbreak pushes gas towards the GRS creating the wake.

The NEB is still narrow.  The north temperate zone is very quiet.

Transparency was very poor this evening.  I was only able to salvage one image.

Jupiter is still the same.  The SEB is complex and wide while the NEB is narrow.  Nothing special in this region.

Seeing was good when I started imaging but deteriorated as Jupiter went over our hot roof.

The GRS is setting.  The area preceding the GRS is very red.  While the area following the GRS is very turbulent.   Note the bright outbreak spot following the GRS.  The dark ring is still surrounding the GRS.

The NEB is narrow.

Condition was very unstable this evening. 

NNTZ LRS is prominent in Methane band but is hard to see in visible light.  The NEB is still narrow.  While the SEB is very active.

Condition was good this evening.  But I only had a short window before clouds rolled in and cut short my session.

Oval BA can be seen in these images.  It is very bright in Methane Band but it's red ring is very faint.  The SSTB oval southwest of BA is also bright in Methane Band.

 The SEB is very complex and dark.  While the NEB is narrow.  The north temperate region is very pale.

Seeing was much better this evening.  It was clear today.

The GRS is rising in these images.  The SEB is very dark with a lot of activity on it's north and south bounderies.

The NEB is very narrow.

It had been cloudy here for the last few days.  Tonight was mostly cloudy and I transparency was poor and variable!!

Ganymede and Europa could be seen on the southwest.  The SEB is still very dark and active while the NEB is very narrow now!

It was partially cloudy this evening.  I had to image between clouds and seeing was very variable.

The NEB is very dark.  The NEB is a bit wider here.  Note the large white spot north of the dark oval on the NEBn.

Condition was very poor this evening.  Seeing very unstable.

It's the usual active SEB and the narrow and quiet NEB.  The bright spot in Methane Band is the NNTZ LRS.

It was mostly cloudy this evening.  Seeing and transparency was very poor.

The GRS is rising in this image.  The SEB is dark.  The NEB still narrow with the dark ovals getting bigger!