Sharpening up Jupiter

New image-correction technique delivers sharpest whole-planet ground-based picture ever

This animation shows the record two-hour observation of Jupiter, taken using a superior technique to remove atmospheric blur, which has produced the sharpest whole-planet picture ever taken from the ground. The images were recorded in the infrared with the Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics Demonstrator (MAD) prototype instrument mounted on ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT). They reveal changes in Jupiter's smog-like haze, probably in response to a planet-wide upheaval more than a year ago. Only one filter, centred around 2 microns, is used in this movie. A false colour table has been used to highlight enhanced haze in this monochromatic image sequence. The sky quality was rapidly varying ("seeing") during the observations, leading to clearly visible fluctuations of the correction performance with time.

Credit:

ESO/F. Marchis, M. Wong, E. Marchetti, P. Amico, S. Tordo

Over de video

Id:eso0833a
Publicatiedatum:2 oktober 2008
Gerelateerde berichten:eso0833
Duur:11 s
Frame rate:30 fps

Over het object

Naam:Jupiter
Type: Solar System
Solar System : Planet : Type : Gas Giant
Categorie:Solar System

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