Last night I put on my porch light and black light to see if any moths were in the air. They were not, yet – some have been already, though the conditions that night were not great for them and the temperature lately was not helpful. A chilly north wind kept migrant birds to a minimum, and I only heard a couple of call notes going over. I saw Jupiter shining brightly in the clearing sky. While Connecticut’s light pollution and my inexperience of shooting the night sky make it a little less pretty and a little more difficult (not to mention the moon since I hadn’t planned this!), I snapped this photo with it in the center.
However, I also had the idea to stick my 500mm lens on and take a shot that way as I was wondering how it would come out. I never thought I would be able to see actual details on the planet with cloud patterns clearly visible here.
More shocking was that if you look very carefully you can faintly see what I believe are Ganymede, Io and Europa, three of Jupiter’s Galilean moons. Amazing! Now I may end up with a another nature and outdoors addiction…
Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
