Astrophoto: Hi-Res Stereo Pair of Jupiter and the GRS

By Nancy Atkinson - March 17, 2015 at 12:12 PM UTC | Planetary Science
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Cross your eyes and take a look at this image. If you're lucky, you will be treated to a wonderfully clear 3-D view of Jupiter and its Great Red Spot, without the aid of a stereoscope. Or -- if you haven't quite mastered the art of viewing stereo pairs -- you might end up with eyestrain.

Prolific astrophotographer

Damian Peach

took these two shots roughly five minutes apart -- which makes them a great candidate for creating a stereo pair.

"Inspired by a suggestion from Dr. Brian May," Peach told Universe Today via email, "this is the first time I've had two excellent quality sets of data so close in time with the GRS right in the centre to attempt this. I completely reprocessed the data for both images to keep a soft natural appearance and to closely match the colour between them as possible."

Peach also said he measured the size of the GRS at 15,500km in width.

Still trying to view this as a 3-D image? Try this suggestion from

Oxford University

:

Hold a finger a short distance in front of your eyes and stare at it. In the background you should see two copies of the stereo pair, giving four views altogether. Move your finger away from you until you see the middle two of the four images come together. You should now see just three images in the background. Try to direct your attention slowly toward the middle image without moving your eyes, and it should gradually come into focus.

See more of Peach's great astrophotography at

his website.

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com