Jump to content

Banner.jpg.b83b14cd4142fe10848741bb2a14c66b.jpg

Whats this on Jupiter?

CowsonConcrete

By CowsonConcrete
in Imaging - Planetary

Recommended Posts

CowsonConcrete

CowsonConcrete

Posted
Posted

Hi,

I realise these aren't the best pictures on Jupiter but just wondered if anyone can tell me what this is on Jupiter.

The pictures were taken at 8.40 on 23rd November from Sheffield and clearly show a moon(?) during transit.

Although on checking various stellarium and different sites I can't see any of the 4 major moons crossing at this time.

Do the minor moons throw a shadow like this or is it something else?

Thank you

Jupiter+with+Transit+a.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites
JamesF

JamesF

Posted
Posted

I'm not totally convinced that isn't something in the optical train. It looks very big for a shadow of one of the minor moons.

Is the above image a single frame or a stack? And if it's a stack do you see the same effect in the same place on all the single frames?

James

Link to comment
Share on other sites
JamesF

JamesF

Posted
Posted

definitely a moon shadow. depending on the angles the moon can cast a shadow from some distance before it's within the confines of the disk. looks likely to be Io I think.

Io would be my favourite if it is a moon shadow, too. It passed in front of Jupiter a little later in the night. Amalthea was actually in front of Jupiter at the right time for this image as far as I can tell, but I'd be surprised if Amalthea created a shadow that large and distinct.

James

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Moonshane

Moonshane

Posted
Posted

looks pretty similar to most of these https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=io+transit&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=bKiwUMzpJJDV4QTUy4GoDA&biw=1024&bih=605&sei=cqiwUIzRDK3T4QTFsIH4Bw and with the out of focus image maybe the shadow is slightly bloated?

may be wrong of course !

Link to comment
Share on other sites
JamesF

JamesF

Posted
Posted

It's entirely possible, Shane. I'm finding it quite difficult to "read" the image. It looks to me as if there's a slightly paler ring around the "shadow" which suggests to me the sort of diffraction ring you get around a dust bunny, but I've got to the point now where I'm not sure that I'm just seeing things because I think they might be there. It could be just that it looks like there's a paler ring because of the change in contrast.

James

Link to comment
Share on other sites
CowsonConcrete

CowsonConcrete

Posted
  • Author
Posted

PB232402.JPGJupiter+with+Transit.jpgAnd I'm back in the room.

I have now included both of the pictures I took with the "dust"/ moon on them. Picture 1 was taken at 8.45pm 23rd 0f November and picture 2 was taken seconds afterwards. I doubt a transit would be so quick but the image is in different places on the viewfinder so I'm, personally, ruling out dust.

Any ideas? and thanks for all your comments yesterday.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
JamesF

JamesF

Posted
Posted

Well, if we said the dark spot is about 1/20th of the diameter of Jupiter that would make it about 2.5 arcseconds in diameter. Someone had best check my maths here, but I think that to be that size an object in a low earth orbit of, say, 1000km would have to be about 12m in diameter. I don't know what the average satellite size is, but 12m diameter is an awful lot bigger than an Iridium satellite, for example.

James

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Stevp

Stevp

Posted
Posted

Hi CowsonConcrete,

I'm afraid i'd have to agree with James about the dust. It seems to me that the dust has stayed put in the optics as Jupiter has moved through the fov. But that is, of course, my humble opinion. Still a good shot of Jupiter though. Was the mount tracking between the two images?

Stevp

Link to comment
Share on other sites
JamesF

JamesF

Posted
Posted

I've found it a nightmare to get my camera sensor completely spotless. Dust really seems to stand out on planetary images when it wouldn't be so obvious with other types of photography. It took me about an hour to get my SPC900 sensor clean to the point where I was happy with it when in "normal" use you'd never even have noticed the slight discolouration caused by the last few awkward specks. I couldn't even see them with a magnifying glass, so I was going through repeated cycles of "clean, plug in to laptop, start SharpCap, get the camera lined up on a suitable backdrop colour, check for discolouration anywhere in the frame, stop SharpCap, unplug the camera" until it was done.

James

Link to comment
Share on other sites
AndyEllis

AndyEllis

Posted
Posted

I think it's a very large alien spaceship slingshotting around jupiter before it's final approach to take over the earth and steal all our brains... slim pickings at my house :)

On a more serious note - I captured a few undiscovered moons in my early days before I got in to the habit of cleaning the cam sensor regularly... I was well known amongst my friends as discovering the first known toroidal moon... :icon_redface:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.