Jupiter and the Moon shine through steady skies

Here are a few pictures of the Moon and Jupiter that I captured on Friday night/Saturday morning under some great seeing conditions – in fact the best seeing conditions I’ve seen all year. All of the images were taken with an 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, an Imaging Source DMK21AU618.AS CCD camera and a 2x Barlow lens. To create the colour Jupiter image I also used a set of Astronomik RGB filters and a 3x Barlow lens (I used the 3x Barlow for the Atlas/Hercules shot too).

Jupiter and the Great Red Spot. Credit: Will Gater

The rille network within crater/walled plain Posidonius. Credit: Will Gater

The walled plain Janssen and the crater Fabricius (top). Credit: Will Gater

Long shadows on the floor of the walled plain Cleomedes. Credit: Will Gater

Crater Messier (left) and Dorsa Geikie (centre). Credit: Will Gater

Crater Gutenberg (upper left). Credit: Will Gater

Vallis Rheita and crater Rheita. Credit: Will Gater

Crater Copernicus lit from above. Credit: Will Gater

Craters Atlas (right) & Hercules (left). Credit: Will Gater

Sinus Concordiae & Rima Cauchy. Credit: Will Gater