Jupiter Opposes Sun - 2022 SEP 26 - Closest & Brightest since 1963

[CentaurZ]

Bright giant planet Jupiter will appear in opposition from the Sun on 2022 SEP 26. It will be its closest to Earth and brightest since 1963 at magnitude -2.9.

Photos and descriptions of Jupiter along with its four great Galilean satellites during its current apparition would be welcome additions to this thread.

 

[scarp15]

Good session observing Jupiter during this opposition. Started late around 11.30pm, still observing whilst Jupiter culminates south. We had rain and hail earlier, followed by sustained clear skies, just using my 85mm refractor and have been able to push the mag up to 171x although the 5mm and 7mm DeLite are favouring best. Trust that others are enjoying this occasion to. 

[allworlds]

Had a look myself tonight, second try in the opposition. Two bands clear. The one is more contrasty and "crisp" and closer to the equator, the other a bit "fuzzy" and lower contrast and more offset. And I felt at times like the zone between then was slightly darker than the rest of the planet. No luck spotting the GRS despite my efforts. (I've not idea how prominent it is right now). Clouds came in and out and the seeing sometimes went to pot but still managed to get some viewing.

Heritage 76. Best views were with a 6 mm "UWA" eyepiece, I think one of those TMB/BST clones, with a Barlow element screwed in. So I think giving about 75x? The Barlow in its usual holder for 100x was empty magnification. But the big thing was putting a 60 mm aperture stop on the front, it really cut out the haze around objects at high power (which I assume is from the spherical abberation). If you have one of these 3-inch mini-Dobs it's well worth trying an aperture stop for lunar and planetary work.

I also impulse bought a cheap filter set. The only one that helped was the 82A light blue, I couldn't objectively see any more but it just seemed a touch better for contrast. Alas I can't stack the filter and the Barlow element so I was stuck holding it over the eyepiece.

If this page is accurate, https://skyandtelescope.org/observing/interactive-sky-watching-tools/transit-times-of-jupiters-great-red-spot/ , then on the night of the 1st/2nd October the GRS should transit about the same time Jupiter is at its highest. Clouds permitting I might have another go then.

[lunator]

I had a good view of Jupiter last night. Started with the ST80 and as the seeing was finally good I decided to get the 8" dob out. 

I took the mag up to x240 using the 5mm ortho. The GRS was clearly visible. Several belts were visible. The NEB had a very distinctive darkening to the south of belt. 

Cheers

Ian

 

[Louis D]

I was out tonight between 1am and 2:30am with my 90mm f/6.6 TS-Optics Photoline FPL-53 Triplet APO.  Jupiter was nearly 60 degrees above the horizon for me, and the atmosphere was super calm and clear thanks to a front that moved through Texas Monday morning.  I used my Arcturus binoviewer with Meade 140 2x Barlow element to reach focus and boost magnification by about 3x.  I used a pair of Svbony 20mm UWAs (68 degrees) all night for about 90x.  The image seemed plenty big and bright, and contrast was right at the acceptable limit, so I didn't increase magnification.

The Ganymede transit shadow was very clear, although I couldn't make out the moon against the face of Jupiter.  It was super neat watching the moon emerge like a pimple off of Jupiter's limb.  I thought I was seeing things until I realized what was happening.  Being just past opposition, Ganymede and its shadow weren't separated by very much.  I then watched it completely separate from Jupiter.  Next, I watched its shadow slide off the edge of Jupiter.  All the while, I had a nice view of the GRS.  Toward the end, the NEB had a noticeable darkening toward its center.

I tried a multitude of filters to see if any improved the view.  The best was a generic green filter over my dominant eye held above the eyepiece.  It really helped bring out the GRS and NEB shading.  Orange was the second best followed by magenta.  Those helped with contrast in their own ways without overly darkening things.  Blue was too dark, red obliterated all detail, and both light yellow and dark yellow (an actual #12 from OPT) were too subtle.  A moon & skyglow filter did almost nothing for me.

Here's the 6 piece set from China via ebay I was using most of the time.  Its green filter was more useful than my green Meade interference filter tonight.  It wasn't as saturated or dark as the Meade.  I don't know if it's actually a #56 or not, but I suspect it's lighter.  I highly recommend this ebay set, especially for the price.  Where else are you going to find a reasonably priced magenta filter?

Edited September 28, 2022 by Louis D