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Jupiter is the largest planet, 318 times the mass of the Earth and over 11 times its diameter. Jupiter lies 5.2 AU from the Sun, and has an orbital period of nearly 12 years. A consequence of this is that we see Jupiter pass into a new zodiacal constellation about every year.
Jupiter is a gas giant: its density is only 25% that of the Earth because instead of being rocky, it is composed largely of hydrogen and helium. The bands we see in its stormy atmosphere are composed of many other gases.
Jupiter, UT 2004.03.13 06:05.
Imaged with a Logitech Quickcam 4000 on a 300mm LX200 operating at f/20.
Stack of 54 frames made at 1/10 second each. Io is just resolved as a
disk, and shows its characteristic yellow color. Mouse over the image
for a more highly processed version made from a stack of 199 frames. Click
here for a 39 frame image made
a few minutes later. It is much more heavily processed, which does bring
out some additional detail, but is less aesthetic, in my opinion.
Jupiter, UT 2004.01.12 07:20. Imaged with a Logitech Quickcam 4000 on a 300mm LX200 operating at f/20. Stack of 40 frames made at 1/25 second each. Io's shadow on the cloud tops is seen at the lower right.
Jupiter. Imaged with an Astrovid 2000 on a 300mm LX200 operating at f/20. This image was made about an hour after sunrise. Stack of 20 frames.
Double shadow transit, UT 2003.01.09 03:48. Imaged with an ST8i on a 300mm LX200. The shadows of Io and Ganymede are visible on the disk of the planet, and Callisto is visible in the lower right.
Collision with comet Shoemaker-Levy 9. UT 1994.07.22 04:23:30. This image was made right at the moment the V fragment collided with the planet, at or just behind the limb in the upper right. The flash is not visible, but the effects of impacts with earlier fragments is visible as a large, dark spot at the top right. Imaged with an ST6 on a 200mm SCT.
