While imaging Jupiter on the morning of the 2nd May 2009, you can imagine my shock and surprise when a massive bug, at least 3 times the size of the Earth, invaded and started attacking Jupiter!
Click the image below to watch the shocking event unfold!
Continue reading for my expert analysis, and for the final chapter on this dramatic story. Did the bug wipe out Jupiter, or did the Jovians repel the 6-legged invader?
Things were looking grim for the Jovians, as the creature traversed the gas giant, consuming white spots and feeding on the power generated by Jupiter’s criss-crossing jetstreams.
Suddenly the castaway inhabitants of the volanic moon Io caused an eruption in their secret underground super-volcano, sending a stream of particles towards Jupiter and causing massive aurora-spots - blinding the creature and sending it spinning out in the deep, dark cold reaches of the outer solar system.
Ok, enough with the story. I’m not feeling very creative 
This bug, obviously on the primary or secondary mirror of my 12″ Newtonian telescope, strolled through the field of view while I was recording a red channel avi in typical poor seeing on the morning of the 2nd May.
The seeing did improve though, and to prove that Jupiter is still in-tact, here’s the image that I captured about an hour later
Jupiter, Oval BA and Europa's Shadow
Maybe the dark spot is a dropping left behind? No, it’s Europa’s shadow
Thanks for looking.
Great video, but I think the bug couldn’t have been on the optics of your scope as it’s almost in focus. Dust on the optics should be completely defocused, for example. It was probably either on the sensor itself, or more likely on a filter within the system.
There may be others where that came from!
Robin
Thanks for commenting, Robin. And you’re quite right – the bug is probably in my filter wheel or in the camera itself, walking across the CCD from time to time.
Did you manually dump those ‘bad’ frames???
Hi Mike
The seeing wasn’t good enough in that run to process into a final image, so the bug frames weren’t used at all
This is exactly what the government wants us to believe! A giant bug? Hah! In 2012 it will be giant arachnids (not an insect!) on a comet being blocked by Planet-X during the conjunction of the special force from the galaxy center and Oprah’s rear end.
It’s true! I read it on the Internet!
Rob K.