Trillion

I got out a little before 4 and saw the beginning of the shadow transit. Both the shadow and Europa itself were visible, Europa very bright even against a light zone on Jupiter. Stayed out to see Europa emerge. Then in for dinner and out again to catch the very end of the shadow transit, then more time on Jupiter, the Moon and what I always think of as the classic Mars, with Syrtis Major centre stage. But now I'm freezing cold, the telescope is covered in ice, and my other half has tempted me back inside with mulled wine. Yes, a good evening, but wine, mulled or not, is good too!

I'm not expecting to see that either. Even if it stays clear I suspect the cold will have forced me in before then! Still, fingers crossed for the Europa transit.

Sky clear here at the moment, and though the forecasts disagree (as usual) it looks likely to be clear here for the early evening at least. So I'll be setting up shortly. And thanks from me too for the heads up on the transit!

Got out briefly after eating this evening. Saw the GRS on Jupiter, but seeing was getting worse. Stuck at it for a while, but to very little purpose, so came in. My other half has kindly provided hot soup. Will hope for better skies tomorrow. (Metcheck website suggests the jetstream will have moved off by then.)

I've just set up the Celestron and had a quick look at the moon. Seeing isn't great, but I've caught the Jura Mountains appearing to stick out from the lunar surface as their tops are in sunlight and bases still in shadow. Come in now to cook and eat. Will go out again later if it stays clear.

This is looking really good. Looking forward to seeing the final result.

Really good sketch! And welcome.

This was a book that was on my parent's shelves and was probably the first astronomy book I ever read! And no, I'm not that old - it was archaic when I read it! It does , however , explain why I am never satisfied with my sketches. This is one of the plates. This is a drawing!

Gave up on the transit at about 19:30. Seeing was very poor, and Saturn was over houses. It just looked like a wobbly blob, I could only see Titan intermittently. I spent some time looking at the moon, then Jupiter and finally Mars. Seeing generally poor, so I came in at about 21.00UT

That's pretty much the way it is with me. Saturn's still in view, but getting lower. If anything the seeing is getting worse. I'll keep trying for a bit, but I'm not hopeful.

Same here. Come in to eat now, will try again afterwards.

203mm Celestron up and running. Pointing at Saturn. But the seeing is awful. I've left it to cool down. Will check again shortly.

Clear here at the moment (unlike last night), so I will be setting up the Celestron shortly. Fingers crossed that I see something of the transit tonight. But yes, the jetstream could be a problem...

Semi-clear here. After dinner I'm off to St Neots Astronomical Society. If it stays clear we'll be observing. I've loaded the Vixen and Seestar into my car, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

I was out observing on 2-3 Jan. As well as the planet sketches I've posted separately I spent some time on DSOs. 1. M1. The Crab Nebula. It really was a superbly clear transparent sky here. Whilst waiting for Mars to get clear of a tree I visited an old friend- M1- and was amazed that I could see hints of detail in it. It's always difficult with an object where you are so familiar with images, but i really think I could see the beginings of filaments and structure. I've exaggerated the contrast in the sketch, but I'm almost sure it was not just imagination. Crab Nebula, 156X Astonomik UHC-E filter. 2. M42/M43 What can I say? I spent an hour trying to trace the nebulosity in the region (FOV of 40mm, 51X, eyepiece), and I haven't begun to do justice to what I could see. It is just so incredibly beautiful. Central region of M2 51X with UHC-E filter sketched between 23.15ut on the 2ndJan and 00.15UT on the 3rd. 3. After M42 I used the Goto to point at NGC1977. It took me quite a long time staring at the view and gently moving the telescope to and fro before I was reasonably certain I could see some nebulosity around the stars. I've drawn what I thought I saw, but it seemed very faint. Possibly the cold was really starting to affect me! NGC1977 (Running Man). 51X UHC-E filter 00.40UT- 01.10UT 3rd January. 4. NGC 1999. Named "The 13th Pearl" in O'Meara's "Hidden Treasures". A curious object. It is small and bright but obviously non-stellar even at 51X. It is actually (according to O'Meara) a reflection nebula, but does a very good impression of being a PN! NGC1999 156X 01.15-01.20UT Jan 3rd 2025 After that I was too cold to do anything else, ice was forming everywhere and my tablet had stopped working, so I went in.