I had decent seeing and very good transparency for this Jupiter observation/sketch.

I used my 6" Skywatcher refractor.

GRS showed detail and the SEB rift following was very bright, long and well defined. I spent most of my sketch time sussing this out. GRS color was articulate but a pale pastel-like rust color

NEB had lots of marbling and 3 light areas noted. One in the NEBn on the preceding side. The other 2 straddle the CM equidistantly near NEBs.

Festoons were the graceful blurry kind with dark bar-like appearance at their bases on the NEBs

The SPR appeared somewhat calm.

I used my usual 4H and 2B pencils, trusty eraser shield, and blend with my fingers. The darkest areas were very lightly gone over with an 8B pencil.

Sys I: 276.31 SyS II: 92.38

Study: Jupiter
Date: 05/09/05
Time: : 9:45pm EDST
Instrument: 150mm Semi-APO Refractor
Seeing: 7+/10p
Magnification: 254x unfiltered
Filtration: 280x Sirius Optics "Neb 1"

Finally had decent seeing for Jupiter observing.

SEB and NEB show major disturbances. Very dark and large festoon at CM on NEBs. Just following this festoon is a rather large oval disturbance.

Rippling throughout the NEB and attaching to NEB rift. The rifting of the NEB seemed to have festoon-like features and appeared to be associated with NEBs festoons. Hopefully I can follow this as it evolves.

I believe I was observing an Io transit with Io possibly being on the NEBn just preceding the shadow by about 3 shadow diameters. It looks like a small bay in the sketch.

Sys I 133.93, Sys II 170.23

Study: Jupiter
Date: 04/10/05
Time: : 10:45pm EDST
Instrument: 150mm Semi-APO Refractor
Seeing: 6+/10p
Magnification: 224x
Filtration: Sirius Optics "J"

Of note is what seems to be the continued darkening of the GRS. Additionally, the attached 2 little dark rift features on its following edge made it look like a bird's head.

There was also an obvious oval in the STB just following the GRS.

Festoons are appearing more subdued recently as compared to the previous months during this apparition, but there are also a lot subtle apparently disconnected features throughout the EZ and EZn.

The NEB still has a continuous dark rift running through it. It appears to be gradually moving more towards the preceding side in this sketch and has overtaken the GRS.

Lastly, there was a very subtle segment where the NTb used to be just preceding the CM.

I usually use a NEB-1 filter while observing Jupiter that shows an intensely green tinted image. This time I used my new NPC filter recently acquired from Sirius Optics. While taming Jupiter's brightness, it still shows its natural colors though they're a little bit more saturated. I was quite enamored by that.

Study: Jupiter
Date: 02/27/04
Time: : 10:00pm ET
Instrument: 244mm Newtonian Reflector
Seeing: 8/10p
Magnification: 289x
Filtration: Sirius Optics NPC

COMMENTS

Study: Jupiter
Date: 02/08/04
Time: : am/pm
Instrument: 150mm Semi-APO Refractor / 244mm Newtonian Reflector
Seeing: X/10p
Magnification: x
Filtration:

COMMENTS

Study: Jupiter
Date: 02/01/04
Time: : am/pm
Instrument: 150mm Semi-APO Refractor / 244mm Newtonian Reflector
Seeing: X/10p
Magnification: x
Filtration:

The sky had cleared as the sun set in the cloudy, rainy Northeast. In this sketch I was able to catch Jupiter while it was still light out. At this point I was just happy to get some telescope time between clouds.

I kind of like how the GRS is just peeking around the limb.

Study: Jupiter
Date: 05/30/03
Time: : 8:10pm EDST
Instrument: 150mm Semi-APO Refractor
Seeing: 6/10p
Magnification: 255x
Filtration:

I had some relatively good conditions for high powered Jupiter observing. Needless to say, it was really nice that to be out without hat, gloves, arctic approved parka and other accessories one needs to ward off exposure.

This one has the GRS and its associated rift. I have to admit that this sketch was more of a struggle than most of the others I've done due to the higher magnification.

Still, it was worth it to better suss out the rift following the GRS. I was also stumped for a little while regarding the shape of the GRS Hollow. It just didn't appear "round", but looked rather diamond shaped.

There also seems to be some scanning/upload artifacts that does not appear on my actual drawing but appears in the initial post thread. It also does not appear on my computer monitor when I view the sketch in my JPEG file.

Study: Jupiter
Date: 03/24/03
Time: : 8:35pm EST
Instrument: 150mm Semi-APO Refractor
Seeing: 8/10p
Magnification: 292x
Filtration: Sirius Optic Variable Filter (Nebula Version)

I was blessed very stable seeing conditions which aided high magnification viewing of Jupiter at 292x.

Most folks would consider this the boring side of Jupiter, but there were many interesting featurespresented tonight. I am not very good at calculating S1 and S2 timings, but I believe S1-94* and S2-237*

The StB was sloped. I noticed an oval on its southern edge. Additionally, there were light areas in some southern zones though I can't say for sure that these were ovals.

The SEB showed a southward pointing festoon-like feature just preceding the CM.

The NEB showed a festoon with a ribbon-like loop near the preceding limb. The most interesting feature is the bay on the northern edge of the NEB near the following limb. It looks like its associated with the dark barge just preceding it. This bay was noticeably brighter than the adjacent light zone that lies between the NEB and what's left of the NtB.

I think I should say that I have noticed one comparison that is somewhat interesting regarding sketching in the golden age of earth based planetary imaging. When I see those great CCD images, I notice that many of the features contained in them are of a size, proportionally, that seems to indicate that they can be resolved by my scope and seen visually.

I guess it is just a sensitivity to lower level color/contrast that may set these two methods apart. My subjective opinion on this is that the human/eye sensitivity is "questioned" by the brain as far as being able to ascertain if you are sure or not of its visual input information.

Study: Jupiter
Date: 03/03/03
Time: : 10:00pm EST
Instrument: 150mm Semi-APO Refractor
Seeing: 8+/10p
Magnification: 292x
Filtration: Sirius Optic Variable Filter (Nebula Version)

Jupiter was fantastic. A lot of festoon features as well as a marbled NEB. The NEBs presented 6 dark spots. The NPR appeared darker than it was my last couple of times out. A white oval also was seen in the STZ. The equator had very pronounced streaking.

This years apparition has proved to be very interesting indeed.

Study: Jupiter
Date: 02/05/03
Time: : 11:05pm EST
Instrument: 150mm Semi-APO Refractor / 244mm Newtonian Reflector
Seeing: 7+/10p
Magnification: 240x
Filtration: Sirius Optic Variable Filter (Nebula Version)

COMMENTS

Study: Jupiter
Date: 12/21/02
Time: : am/pm
Instrument: 150mm Semi-APO Refractor / 244mm Newtonian Reflector
Seeing: X/10p
Magnification: x
Filtration:

COMMENTS

Study: Jupiter
Date: 12/04/02
Time: : am/pm
Instrument: 150mm Semi-APO Refractor / 244mm Newtonian Reflector
Seeing: X/10p
Magnification: x
Filtration:

COMMENTS

Study: Jupiter
Date: 11/20/02
Time: : am/pm
Instrument: 150mm Semi-APO Refractor / 244mm Newtonian Reflector
Seeing: X/10p
Magnification: x
Filtration: