Jupiter with the Wesley Impact Scar – 3rd August
Hi all
On the night of the 3rd August, what started as typically below average seeing, finally improved as the seeing reached a respectable almost 7/10 and gave some of my best views of Jupiter this year.
I was able to catch the 6th magnitude star 45 Cap in the same field of view as Europa and Io, which was a nice surprise.
Below is my best image from the night – the second last capture of the night. The seeing was improving nicely, but high cloud and then thick cloud brought my night to an end.
Jupiter with Wesley Impact Scar
The Wesley Impact Scar can be seen on the upper left of the planet, just about to rotate off. There’s one more image from earlier in the session, when the impact scar was at mid transit. Continue reading for more.
It really has been a terrible year for high-res imaging. I can’t remember the last time I had a night of over 7/10 seeing – it must have been about July last year, over 12 months ago. The image below is typical of the seeing I’ve had this year – just barely good enough to bother capturing and processing, but ultimately very disappointing.
Jupiter and the Wesley Impact Scar
The images were taken with my usual Planetary Imaging Equipment, captured at 30fps for 40 seconds in each channel.
For the top image (in better seeing), about 650 frames from each channel were stacked for the final result. In the bottom image, about 350-400 were used.
Endless nights out in the cold, losing sleep and waiting for good conditions that never come, is what made me question my commitment to this hobby last year. I sure hope the conditions improve for me soon because those familiar feelings are creeping up on me again.
Just one great night will be enough to keep me going! 
Thanks for reading.
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posted in Astrophotography | 6 Comments
My name is Mike Salway and I'm an amateur astronomer and photographer. I'm the co-founder of 
I had the same experience! Yours is much better than mine. Great catch.
Mike
Thanks Mike – it’s been a frustrating year. I just need one really good night to get me motivated again. Monday night *almost* got me there.
Beautiful images! Thank you for sharing.
Hello Mike, You are going to have to wait until Jupiter is higher in the sky. Before your going to get better images. I too, have been waiting for a steady night. Jupiter was the same last year. Very low in the sky. I live in Michigan. And I never really did get a good steady night of imaging. It’s been pretty much the same this year. Keep the faith! You can’t let a little thing like Atmosphere hold you down. CLEAR SKIES!! Roger
Is the scar still there?
Hi Dan. No, it’s long since gone – probably about 3+ months ago now.