APOD: Jupiter Near Opposition (2011 Oct 22)

[jldauvergne]

I wonder if the pros are doing what the amateur planetary imagers have been doing - take LOTS of short photos, use software to choose the best, then average the best to reduce noise. I imagine that a well-funded highly sensitive professional grade camera would beat the pants off of the webcams amateurs use for sensitivity and resolution, and thus we see images this good from the ground. Is there more info on the process used for this image somewhere?

On another subject, what is it about the Pic du Midi site that makes one want to change careers and go work there?

-Noel

This image was made with a Basler Scount camera (it's quite classical 18fpt with an ICX 285 inside), and processed with registax 6 that give very good results on Jupiter, and photoshop/fits liberator for the color.

We should use in the next few months a more professional camera.

[jldauvergne]

The most impressive image of the run for me is this one :

Click to view full size image

This one puch the limits from the ground over

[montylc2001]

Mr. Colas, as per my previous post have you gentlemen thought of masking Io to get an image of a eruption plume?

[neufer]

Mr. Colas, as per my previous post have you gentlemen thought of masking Io to get an image of a eruption plume?

Plumes are most easily (...exclusively ) seen with back-lighting.

Mr. Colas is in no position to get back-lighting on Io.

[jldauvergne]

Yes but may be we could try with a narrow band filter, it's a little bit like lonnking for HII proeminences around the sun. We have not tried yet, but we are thinkind about it

[just me]

Can someone explain how Jupiter at opposition can be at its "almost annual closest approach to planet Earth"?
It seems more likely to me that Jupiter is closest to Earth when they are both on the same side of the sun.
J S E -> Distance is JS + SE
S E J -> Distance = SJ - SE.

(Neglecting eccentricities in orbits, which would would make things vary year to year, but on average, it still seems
opposition would be the most distant case).

[Chris Peterson]

Can someone explain how Jupiter at opposition can be at its "almost annual closest approach to planet Earth"?
It seems more likely to me that Jupiter is closest to Earth when they are both on the same side of the sun.

Jupiter and Earth are on the same side of the Sun. That's what it means to be in opposition. Right now, The Sun, Earth, and Jupiter are in line, with the Earth in the middle. We see Jupiter rise at sunset, cross the meridian at midnight, and set at dawn.

Click to view full size image

[just me]

Thanks, Chris,
I mis-interpreted the article's phrase "opposite the Sun in planet Earth's sky," concentrating on the "opposite the Sun" part and not really processing what he meant by "in plant Earth's sky".

[Fred the Cat]

http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php? ... 05#p160712

And the road to it must be quite the drive