Stereo Jupiter near Opposition
Image Credit & Copyright:
Marco Lorenzi
Jupiter looks sharp in these two
rooftop telescope images.
Both were captured last year on November 17 from Singapore, planet Earth,
about two weeks after
Jupiter's 2023 opposition.
Climbing high in midnight skies the giant planet
was a mere 33.4 light-minutes from Singapore.
That's about 4 astronomical units away.
Jupiter's planet girdling
dark belts and light zones
are visible in remarkable detail, along with the giant world's
whitish oval vortices.
Its signature
Great Red Spot is prominent in the
south.
Jupiter rotates rapidly on its axis once every 10 hours.
So, based on video frames taken only 15 minutes apart,
these images form a stereo pair.
Look at the center of the pair and cross your eyes until
the separate images come together to see the
3D effect.
Of course Jupiter
is now not far from its 2024 opposition.
Planet Earth is set to pass between the
Solar System's ruling gas giant
and the Sun on December 7.