This one’s tricky: try to photograph Jupiter during its daytime meeting with the Moon
There’s no denying that the occultation or close pass (depending on your location) event with the Moon and Jupiter on 17 May will be hard to observe as it takes place during daylight hours. However, given clear skies, Jupiter can definitely be seen in a blue sky, either using binoculars or through a telescope. Your challenge this month is to go one further and try to photograph the planet.
A daylight sky will greatly reduce contrast in the visible spectrum, but as long as you can locate Jupiter, switching to an infrared pass filter combined with an infrared-sensitive camera should make it possible to improve the view. If you don’t have such equipment, don’t worry. It’s still possible to get an unfiltered shot of the planet using a DSLR, but you may need to work a bit harder to separate its dim, low-contrast disc from the sky.
The event on 17 May will have the benefit of the Moon being nearby, but even this may be challenging. With a waning crescent phase at 7% illumination, the Moon too will appear quite indistinct against the blue sky.
There are various ways to locate the Moon. The easiest is to catch it earlier as it rises in darker skies. This is around 04:30 BST (03:30 UT) from the centre of the UK. Using a polar-aligned equatorial telescope mount, you’ll need to set the drive to its lunar rate, then centre the view on the Moon’s disc. If you’re unsure about the precision of the polar alignment, you’ll need to schedule in periodic checks.
Another method is to estimate where the Moon will be at a set time and try to locate it that way. At 11:24 BST (10:24 UT), the Moon will appear at an altitude around 47° due south. This should give you enough information to get into the general area. As ever, take great care when looking as the Sun will be up and relatively close by. Observing from safely inside the shadow of a building so the Sun can’t be seen is a good strategy to keep safe.
Once you have managed to locate the Moon, Jupiter should be a lot easier to find. Just be prepared for its disc to be extremely low in contrast, almost a ghost of its nighttime self. Use the Moon as your focus target, taking care to focus as accurately as possible. The sky can be bright, but don’t allow it to overexpose or you won’t be able to recover the planet. Once taken, adjust the levels of the image using your favourite image-editing program, darkening the sky with the mid-point slider and tweaking to bring out weak Jupiter at its best.