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This evening and 3 firsts for me! Venus, Neptune and GRS?

Porl

By Porl
in Observing - Planetary

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Porl

Porl

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Hi Everyone, I've just come in from a great hour session in my new observing location (new garden).

I set my scope up at 3pm to cool off till the sun started to set so I could finally see Venus before it dipped below the holly tree in my back garden.

5pm comes around and Venus is nice and bright and high so I set the scope on it. I was amazed at how bright it is! Hard to make out the phase but its definetly there. I think the seeing is very steady for me as there was no dancing around in the focus.

I kept seeing a star just off to the side of Venus when I re-centred Venus in the eyepiece. I got Google Skymaps out to see if there was anything else for me to aim at and noticed that it said that Neptune was right next to Venus. I couldnt believe it, two planets in the same view!!! :( I focused Venus out and low and behold, a perfect blue planet hiding in the glare to the side of Venus! Focus one way and you get the second closest planet to the Sun, focus the other way and you get the furthest planet out in the solar system! Very cool! :icon_scratch:

I then decided to train the scope on Jupiter as he's nice and high early now. Awesome view as ever! I can never get enough of Jupiter, it always fills me with awe as you really get the size of the planet when comparing it to the moons. I noticed a dark spot in the middle of the northen equitorial band. Im pretty sure from spending some time on the eyepiece that its the shadow of Callisto traversing the planet. Or the nearest moon to the planet in the eyepiece anyway. Also in the southern equitorial band there look suspiciously like a large storm near the edge of the planet. There was definate white cloud ripples trailing or leading it along the band as well. It wasn't red, does the GRS show definate red in the eyepiece?

I came in to check stellarium but it didnt show the GRS for the time i was viewing it though. Is stellarium super accurate for things like the GRS? And moon shadows?

It was a great short session! 3 planets in one hour! loved it! :D

Porl''

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DeejayP999

DeejayP999

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I think I just pinged the GRS too - and the black spot in the NEB. There appeared to be a LOT of turbulence too - streaming away from the GRS (if that's what it was).

I certainly hope it was the GRS. If so, it's my first time ever of seeing it!

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Stu

Stu

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Sounds excellent. No shadow transit at that time. The dark spots on the NEB are called barges. They tend to be oval, and form along the edges of the belt. There have been quite a few around lately.

Shadow transits are very obvious when you see them. Jet black and much more round.

The GRS is not very red at the moment as you've found out! The barges are much darker. There has been a lovely area of turbulence trailing it which is what you picked up.

Sounds like a great evening :-)

Stu

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DeejayP999

DeejayP999

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Sounds excellent. No shadow transit at that time. The dark spots on the NEB are called barges. They tend to be oval, and form along the edges of the belt. There have been quite a few around lately.

Shadow transits are very obvious when you see them. Jet black and much more round.

The GRS is not very red at the moment as you've found out! The barges are much darker. There has been a lovely area of turbulence trailing it which is what you picked up.

Sounds like a great evening :-)

Stu

Thanks for confirming that.

I've seen shadow transits before - exactly as you describe, like a full stop crossing the disc.

"Barges" though? Never seen (or heard) of them before.

So, two "Firsts" in one session for me. Excellent!

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