Dusting Off the Planetary Gear
It’s been awhile since I attempted Jupiter and Saturn… years, in fact. But last night was too good to pass up. Jupiter is just past its opposition, and it’s one of its closest approaches to Earth ever. There wasn’t a lot of turbulence in the air late last night, the Great Red Spot was out, and Jupiter was very high in the sky with not much atmosphere to shoot through.
Shooting the planets involves entirely different equipment, software, and techniques from the galaxies and nebulas I normally image. There was a lot to dust off, repair, and update before even starting.
There are better amateur images of Jupiter and Saturn out there (Saturn for sure… it’s a bit too far away now for great results,) but this is my personal best so far! Perhaps next opposition, it’ll be even better.
