The Planets from France .....

[dweller25]

Well after some iffy weather we have finally had a clear spell today in Normandy.

Started the evening off with a look at Saturn around 22:30 - we have excellent views looking Westwards and managed to find it in the 8" Dobsonian in Twilight. I could easily see the shadow of the planet on the rings and just managed to glimpse parts of the Cassini division. I could also just make out a partial band on the planet. Not bad for just 15' high.

Then it went dark - and I do mean dark. Milky way went from horizon to horizon with easily visible dark lanes. There were so many stars the sky looked unfamiliar !

Managed to see the Triffid Nebula (first time ever), the Ring Nebula and the great cluster in Hercules.

Next up was a search for a very low Uranus - finally found at 1:45 local time. Another first for me. It was VERY small and dim, no surface detail but easily resolved into a disk at x240.

Finally - Jupiter has risen - it's now 3:15am and it's around 20' high - unfortunately there is a lot of moisture in the atmosphere causing a halo effect. But I can see that Jupiter now has two equatorial belts - one slightly wider and less orange than the other - will post a drawing when I get home.

Time for my warm bed

[virtualpilot45]

Apparently the rest of France bash Normandy for rubbish weather but on a trip a couple of months ago we had near perfect skies! Seems you managed to find quite a few DSOs in one go, and that more southern latitude means a couple more messiers viewable in the south Too many stars or not, finding Jupiter shouldn't be too much of a challenge Have a great night, and clear skies!

[dweller25]

Thanks James - I cannot believe the number of stars I can see compared to at home - the price you pay for living close to Manchester !

[DarkerSky]

Sounds like a fabulous night, David. There is nothing quite like a really dark sky.