"Jupiturn". Jupiter Saturn. This photo is amazeballs

[Roland99]

Just went outside to see “Jupiturn”. Last time they were this close together at night, Genghis Khan was war-mongering and St Francis Assisi was making his first nativity set

Courtesy of

Link to tweet

“Jupiter's moons, left to right, are Callisto, Ganymede, Io, and Europa. A dim star is coincidentally near Ganymede.

Saturn's moons, going counterclockwise from left, are Rhea, Tethys, Dione, and Titan.

This was taken with a 9.25" (that means wide) Celestron telescope with a 2350mm focal length and an ASI 1600mm monochrome camera, with separate filters for clear, red, green, and blue.

I took 50 frames of RGB, at 20ms per frame, and 12 frames of clear at 200 ms.

Jupiter, Saturn, and the five brightest moons are from the RGB. The three dimmer moons of Saturn from the clear, brightness jacked way up.

You can see Jupiter's Great Red Spot.”

[mfcorey1]

1. That is a perfect view!

[Arne]

2. That's the best I've seen.

Great job!!!

[gratuitous]

3. I dunno

Looks just like that comet a few months ago. Skies were overcast then, too.

[dem4decades]

4. Clouds in southern New England.

[Cha]

5. Rt TY! And, Saturn's Rings.. Absolutely

Amazing!

[grumpyduck]

6. Awesome!

Great job, and thanks for sharing.

[mtnsnake]

7. Thank you for that!

I have often looked at Saturn and Jupiter and it's moons. I don't have a telescope, but I have a quality daytime spotting scope which allows me to see the tilt of Saturn and its rings on a real clear night, but what I get to see through my scope is nothing like what you have shown us here. What an amazing shot! Thank you so much for posting this!

[mia]

8. Love this.

Thank you.

[dhill926]

9. fantastic...

getting ready to head out soon to try and see it...

[Native]

10. We have clear skies in Florida! It was amazing.

Of course I'm a complete idiot so I had to use the SkyView app! Lol

[Deuxcents]

26. I have that app, too

I didn’t even think to use it until I read your comments...just came in and Wow! Saturn is just big, bright and beautiful just over the roof of my house. Great app n can’t believe I didn’t think of it..gonna check it out some more. Thanks

[Native]

33. I love that app!

[kst]

11. That's from yesterday. They'll be closer tonight.

Last edited Mon Dec 21, 2020, 09:44 PM - Edit history (1)

The tweet was posted 18 hours ago as I write this. The closest approach is tonight.

It's not dark yet here on the west coast. If the sun is down where you are, go outside (with binoculars or a telescope if you have them) and take a look.

UPDATE: It's dark enough to see them on the west coast. They're visibly closer than they were last night. You'll be able to distinguish them with the naked eye only if you have reasonably good vision.

[roamer65]

14. Glad I pulled out the telescope last night.

Tonite is cold and rainy in MI, as usual for December.

[Towlie]

12. It appears to be rotated from what I actually saw in the southwest sky from South Florida.

 
?

I saw Saturn at the 2:00 position relative to Jupiter, but I see now that apparently that photo was taken last night.

[roamer65]

15. On a SCT telescope, the image is reversed.

He’s using a diagonal to put the image right side up.

[Towlie]

18. Maybe, but I'm also reading that it was taken last night.

 
?

If it was flipped then it would be simple and easy to flip it back with a program like Windows Paint.

[roamer65]

19. Yes. That can be done.

[Cadfael]

13. Beautiful, thank you!

It was cloudy here (as usual) in Illinois.

[spike jones]

16. Looks like they are socially distancing too. n/t

[stillcool]

17. Nice!! We got some one-off...

pics last night, but nothing like that. That's a beauty.

[marybourg]

20. Perfect, clear sky in AZ. Saw moons of Jupiter and Saturns rings with binocs.

[wackadoo wabbit]

42. What strength are your binoculars?

I have a pair of crappy 8x25, and I swear it didn't really look any different with them or without them. I definitely didn't see either rings or moons.

[marybourg]

43. 7 x 50 Bausch & Lomb

[wackadoo wabbit]

59. Thanks for the info

I guess I need to get a wider field of vision?

[marybourg]

61. Do some reading on binocs recommended for

astronomy. I did that many, many years ago and settled on these, which I been very happy with, although they’ve gotten a little heavy for me. I no longer remember the various trade offs.

Now with the internet, the research should be easy. A good astronomy club will also be full of helpful members, even now, by phone or e-mail.

[eppur_se_muova]

45. I got a pair of 15x70s just for stargazing, but we have so much haze I can't see any moons.

I've actually spotted the moons of Jupiter w/nothing but glasses on a very clear night out in an unlit area. (My best corrected vision at the time was 20/10 in one eye, 20/15 in the other). It sucks living in a river valley, as far as stargazing is concerned.

[wackadoo wabbit]

60. You must have been in a VERY dark skies area to see Jupiter's moons with nothing but your glasses!

I live in a Dark Skies City and go up to a very dark trailhead to stargaze (my neighbors feel that they just must keep their outside lights on all night), and even with my crappy binoculars I still couldn't see Jupiter's moons. I'm quite impressed!

[bcool]

21. Nice shot!

We got a similar view through our 8" reflector, except the atmosphere was jumpy here in St. Louis so things were a tad blurry.

Saturn always amazes me...it looks so unreal - like a little painting in the sky

[ybbor]

22. So sweet!

Thx!

[cate94]

23. Clouds in IL

I appreciate seeing this, even if not in person!

[BobTheSubgenius]

24. I wonder what Genghis Khan thought of this.

Probably didn't pay much attention.

[roamer65]

29. He probably thought it was a celestial harbinger of military victory.

That’s how our species thought back then.

[Karadeniz]

25. Without the DU contributors, I'd have been completely oblivious to this! Thanks so much!!!

[AllaN01Bear]

27. heavly tinted windows and wide eaves spoilt the view . i live in a upstairs apt.

lovely shot .

[GeoWilliam750]

28. Excellent photo

[JohnnyRingo]

30. Now I don't have to go out in the cold...

look up at the winter overcast, and see two dots. or at least see where two dots should be.
Thanks to your great Cosmotography skills.

Did I just coin a word for what you do?

Thanx for posting.

[Bev54]

31. Beautiful

Bloody socked in and snowing here, we are not going to get the opportunity.

[Fla Dem]

32. Definitely needed a telescope to see this fantastic event.

Thanks for sharing so we all could see it.

[roamer65]

34. If you can live to the year 2874, you can see them even closer together.

[BigmanPigman]

35. Reminds me of "Jupiter and Saturn...."

Astronomy Domine by Pink Floyd

[mtnsnake]

56. I will always regret never seeing them in concert.

The closest I came was when my wife and I saw Australian Pink Floyd a few years ago. They were awesome, although I would love to have seen the real ones.

[BigmanPigman]

57. I have seen Pink Floyd without Roger (the other 3 members)

and also The Wall and In the Flesh tours with only Roger and they were all fantastic. The Wall can't be described very well. It was more than a concert, it was a theatrical experience and the sights and sounds were incredible. The best show I have ever seen!

[mtnsnake]

58. that must have been amazing, something you never forget

Even without Roger, I'm glad you got to see such fantastic concerts with the other members.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

36. Over $4K in gear he used to get that shot. Follow-up tweet.....

Link to tweet

Text:

JRehling @JRehling

They will be about this close tomorrow night, too, and you can see Jupiter without a telescope, shortly after sunset. Saturn will be a little above it.

Science is real. Education is what elevates us above the beasts. Celebrate it and enjoy the beauty.

That's around $4,500 in telescope and camera he's using to get that shot.


Thanks for posting, Roland99. Very nice photo......

[Roland99]

39. Gave me goosebumps when I saw that photo

[cbdo2007]

37. It was awesome...my family sat out and watched in my scope for over an hour.

[ellie]

38. Beautiful!

[KPN]

40. Amazing, wondrous and mystifying. Thanks!

[StarryNite]

41. Just came in a few minutes ago after viewing it with our telescope for about an hour.

It was wonderful to have such a beautiful celestial distraction to everything horrible that's going on in 2020.

[ismnotwasm]

44. Clicked on thread because "Amazeballs"

Stayed for pictures

[calimary]

46. Extraordinary!!!

THANK YOU for these, Roland99!

Couldn't see anything where we are. It's clouded over - when it's not raining, that is.

[electric_blue68]

47. Great photo catch! All clouds in NYC, so ...

I'm glad I didn't even try to go out.

Not only can you see the Great Read Spot but a
whole wide band of reddish brown clouds!

Check out Space.com Lowell Observatory (and another Observatory near Flagstaff AZ video stream - on they might leave it up for a bit.

At first the sky was deeper but not deep blue Jupiter, and Saturn rightward, and down. Then it went purple and finally black. As it did that Saturn took on it's golden glow! (swoon)

They adjusted the viewing bc to show Saturn - Jupiter was washed out. So they readjusted it to show more of Jupiter.
It was a cool feed! 👏👏 🙂

They said you'll be able to see them easily (not quite as close) for the next 2 weeks. A bit more 1-2 days past the 2 wks .After that - TOO Dangerous bc of the sun.

[kentuck]

48. That is an amazing photo!

I saved it and blew it up somewhat larger and it is breathtaking!

[housecat]

49. Wow just wow. Thank you

[RussBLib]

50. On my Sky Map app...

Jupiter appears right on top of Saturn, making it look like Jupiter has rings, when in reality, of course, they are still millions of miles apart.

[chwaliszewski]

51. Celestial!

[Nitram]

52. Great photo! We missed it because it was cloudy.

[BlueWavePsych]

53. Wow!

[The Wielding Truth]

54. Thank you. Its quite a wonder! Here we are in this miraculous universe.

[MustLoveBeagles]

55. Great photo