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.

I was out observing on 2-3 Jan. I did various sketches of both planets and DSOs. All were done through a Celestron 8 SCT with a diagonal, so North up and proceeding to the left. 1. Jupiter at about 19.30 UT, 156X. There was so much detail visible, it was quite overwhelming. Festoons from the NEB into the equatorial zone and more ovals in the NEB itself. The sketch really doesn't do justice to how much I could see. 2. Jupiter at about 22.10 UT. The black patch that was on the following edge of the NEB is now transitting the meridian, and shows a massive festoon emerging from it. Also, I could see Io against the SEB on the following edge of the planet. 3. Jupiter on the evening of 3rd January, about 18.50. More black patches and festoons on the Southern edge of the NEB. Also an unusual gash in the SEB. I think this could be the SEB outbreak seen before Christmas? It started as a bright white oval, but seemed to be extending last time I saw it. 4. Back to the evening of 2nd Jan. Mars 200X and orange filter at about 21.40UT. That's it for the planets. I'll do a separate post with some DSO sketches.

Excellent report and sketches! Thursday was a night to remember. Observing is a skill, and like any other you get better at it the more you practice. And, yes, that does mean you then push yourself to see fainter. I've had similar experiences. And I'm glad to say that I'm starting to get back the skills I used to have.

Just to let you know, my other half has gone through the list and collected all the songs we had in mp3 format (plus a few others he says should have been included) and is now playing them. Thankyou...I think!😄

Yep! Saw it. Is it a development of the SEB "outbreak" from last year? That seemed to be elongating last time I saw it.

Not a repeat of last night, but I did manage to get out again. I had intended a short late afternoon/early evening session on the moon and Venus, but ended up demonstrating the Celestron to some curious neighbours. Showed them Venus, the Moon, Jupiter and Saturn. After dinner I went out again and did a sketch of Jupiter and located something labelled on Stellarium as the "Poor Man's Double Cluster"- 2 very poor clusters, not very exciting. But I was still shattered after last night and conditions were not that great, so I went in.

Ah. That makes sense. I'll still see what I can see next time the sky cooperates.

It must be a sign of how badly the cold was affecting me. I didn't even think of looking for the HorseHead! Next time I get the chance I'll try.

A night to remember! Stephen James O'Meara has written a number of observing guides. They seem to be very popular, and I've seen out of print ones being offered for silly prices. The guides are written as objects visible with a 4" refractor, but O'Meara is an exceptionly skilled visual observer, and his main observing site is on a mountain in Hawaii, where he enjoys some of the best skies in the world. It is also rather further South than the UK! Seeing some of the objects and details he records is challenging, to put it mildly, even with a larger scope. I've had his book on the Messier objects for some years and like it because it does push me to look for the details in the "faint fuzzies". I had Hidden Treasures (which covers 109 objects not in Messier or Caldwell) for Christmas, and I'm enjoying dipping in to it. Unfortunately, some of the objects are too far South to be seen from the UK, but on last nights evidence I am going to find it useful as well. He writes in quite a chatty style and tends to go off on flights of fancy about some of the objects, as well as including a lot of scientific and historical information. He compares seeking the objects in "Hidden Treasures" to pirates hunting for treasure, even including sources of information on pirates in the bibliography! Reading "Hidden Treasures" I've realised that many of the stranger names for objects in "Stellarium" seem to come from him! More seriously the book also includes a fascinating biography of Caroline Herschel, a lady I knew of, but knew little about. So, in summary, I like both books I have, but they may not be to everyone's taste

Set up the Celestron at about 4.30 for the much anticipated clear night. Looked at the cresent moon and did a quick sketch of an interesting looking crater with shadows across its floor (will identify it later). Then turned to Jupiter and got my first decent look at the GRS. Both my memory and my old observing logs confirm that it has shrunk considerably since 20 years ago, but it is still quite clear. After dinner I got out again by 7.20, and returned to Jupiter. It was spectacularly detailed, with many spots and festoons and general activity. Mars was still behind a tree, so I next I visited an old friend, the Crab Nebula. This gave me an indication of how transparent the sky was, as I could see hints of detail and filaments in the overall glow. Encouraged, I struck out for something I hadn't seen before - Hind's Variable Nebula, and found it as a fan shaped glow spreading out from the illuminating star. Whilst I was looking at this my husband came out, so I targetted Mars, not confident he would even see the nebula. The view of Mars was one of the best I've ever had. Peter said he could see the pole cap and hints of detail on the disc. He knows enough to be impressed by what he could see. After he went in I spent a long time studying the planet, and sketching. Again, I need to identify the features. I then returned to Jupiter to watch the start of the transit. A different, but equally active part of the disc was on view - again lots of spots and festoons. I took a break to warm up and returned to the scope at about 11.15. The sky was gorgeous, the Milky Way clear over head. I even fancied I could see the Auriga Messier clusters with the naked eye, but they may just have been random condensations in the Milky Way glow. It was also now very cold. I spent the next hour studying M42. It is beautiful. I know and appreciate the spectacular images taken by professionals and amateurs alike, but there is something wonderful about the ethereal, delicate beauty seen through the eyepiece. This is why I'm primarily a visual observer. I also tried for some of the "Hidden Treasures" from O'Meara's book., NGC1981 ("Coal Car"cluster) was obvious, 1977 less so. I could see the stars, and think I saw hints of nebulosity. NGC1999 (13th Pearl- where does O'Meara get these names from?) was obviously non stellar even at 51X - a reflection nebular cleverly disguised as a PN. I finally decided to push my luck and try for NGC 2024, The Flame Nebula. I'm honestly not sure if I saw anything or not. I think it was probably just "averted imagination"! I was really cold by now. I had had no problems with dew, but ice was forming around me and my breath kept steaming up the eyepiece. I decided to call it a night at bout 1.30, but what a night it had been! I did quite a lot of sketching. I will hopefully go over these in the next couple of days and produce some drawings worth sharing. Thanks for reading, Janet

It's nearly 2AM and I've finally been driven in by the cold. A spectacular night! Jupiter and Mars followed some DSOs: M1, Hind's variable nebula, the inevitable M42, then the Running Man and others from O'Meara's Hidden Treasures (I had the book for Christmas). Would have loved to stay out longer, but I am just too cold. Frost is forming on everything around me and my tablet has closed down because it's too cold as well!