I got a new Amstrad telescope last Christmas. It’s brilliant! Opens up your eyes to a whole universe you never knew existed. Here’s a photo of Jupiter I took with it from our back-garden. This photo taken shortly after periapsis shows in breathtaking close-up the intense weather systems that form swirling coloured bands high in the atmosphere of this gas giant planet. Just rotated into view slightly beneath the equatorial belt you can see the fabled Great Red Spot which shows at about 22° S latitude.
The second image is of the frigid Jovian ice moon, Europa, with Jupiter in the background. Hard to imagine that under all that ice may lurk the nearest extra-terrestial life.
