I bet each and every one of you has marveled at the amazingly bright planet Jupiter currently looming high in the evening sky among the stars of Taurus. Dazzling at magnitude –2.8, the king of planets is commanding in its dominance over stars surrounding it.

The amazing planetary imager Don Parker of Coral Gables, Florida, captured Jupiter’s clouds December 19, 2012, with a 16-inch reflector at f/25.7, a DMK 21AU 816.AS CCD camera, and a series of exposures composited to form an RGB image. I take pleasure in sharing this marvelous picture with you here, in case you haven’t recently looked at Jupiter telescopically — or even if you have.