Jupiter ... December 23, 2025
(Click on Picture for larger view)
Added December 24, 2025 ...
I took this animation of Jupiter on the night of December 23, 2025 using the Celestron 11" EdgeHD telescope with a focal length of 2,800mm. The camera was the Player One Uranus C (IMX585) planetary camera with a pixel size of 2.9 microns. Jupiter was 17 days before opposition and was about 397 million miles away. Opposition is when the earth is directly between the sun and the planet giving the best oppurtunity to photograph it.
The animation was produced through the ShapCap Pro software "Live Planetary Stacking" routine. I took a 64 stacked imaged every 2 minutes resulting in this 2-hour 8-minute animation. Jupiter rotates very fast, completing one rotation ever 9h 54mn 29sec.
To photograph the planets, a telescope with a long focal length with a focal ratio f/8 or higher is recommended
The Techy Stuff ... For those who want to know ...
Telescope: Celestron Edge HD at f/10 with a focal length of 2,800mm
Camera: Player One Uranus C (IMX585)
Mount: Celestron CGX
Mount Control: CPWI
Guiding and "Goto", I used Celestron's CPWI with StarSense AutoGuider
Capture software: Sharpcap Pro using Live Stacking
Seeing conditions: 9.5 (Scale of 1-10)
Location: My Backyard Heavenly Garden
Return to Pat Prokop's Heavenly Backyard Astronomy Page