This is one of the better quality frames from the webcam. The 3x Barlow was used.
687 frames were captured in an AVI file at 2 frames per second.
The original AVI can be found here if you want to have a go yourself. Be warned, it is a 15.5MB download and expands to a 620MB AVI
The AVI file is loaded into Registax and each frame is manually checked for quality, 51 of the 687 frames were selected for use. The software, with human assistance, aligns the images and combines them into a single image. This helps enhance detail and increase signal to noise ratio.
The output of Registax is seen here.
The image is loaded into Photoshop and the gamma curve for the green channel is boosted to compensate for the CCD's purple tinge.
In this stage the photoshop user is free to work whatever magic they see fit. This image has undergone a long winded version of unsharp mask followed by a vigorous tugging of the gamma curves to bring out the detail in the dark cloud bands.
Although not an essential step, we like to compare our images with other sources such as skymap and Project Pluto. Fortunately our observations agree!
Click the image to enlarge.
Here is the another image of Jupiter taken about 15 minutes beforehand. In this image Europa is more obvious beside the disc of Jupiter and Io is definitely visible.
Click the image to enlarge.