New 200P reveals Ganymede transit!

[CumbrianGadgey]

Hi,

I have a 130 F& Skywatcher explorer but today, amidst lashing rain and wind I collected a Skywatcher explorer 200P from a member of SGL.

Whilst making curry for myself and my daughter the skies cleared. Curry was put on hold and the new 'monster' was taken out.

Barely allowing it to cool, I stuck in a BST starguider 25mm and locked onto Jupiter. I yelled at my daughter to fetch the 5mm EP and slotted that in. I focused and couldn't believe what I was seeing. I had no idea that Ganymede was transiting. With the old scope, I could not have resolved the shadow. With this one at x200, there it was...a plain black circle about a fifth of the way across Jupiter's disc. Ganymede itself was close to the disc at the time.

My daughter saw it and I had to phone nephilim in my excitement, to tell him.

That is just the most marvellous confirmation of the new scope's ability and how lucky am I for the sky to clear and let me watch it. I'm going back out for another peek.

See you shortly!

P.S. I'm so excited I'm only guessing that it's Ganymede. You have my apologies if I'm wrong!

[nephilim]

Really glad your happy with the scope mate, nice to have met you today.

Steve

[CumbrianGadgey]

Posting my own reply...dumb, I know but I can't help it.

A website said that the transit ended at 21:30. It ended before that, unless I'm very much mistaken. I looked at 21:10 and couldn't see the shadow. Ganymede was much further out by then. (I'm still not sure if it was Ganymede, I haven't checked yet).

It all makes me wonder at just how lucky I've been. My daughter and I danced a jig around her desk in the middle of the living-room to celebrate. If you can imagine a pretty girl with long, flowing locks and hazel-brown eyes, together with a short man with an enormous dark beard, dreadlocks down the middle of his back, bouncing gaily and with wide dark brown eyes, that was us.

I explained to my 9 year old (when I was lucid enough to do so), that she was very lucky to see a transit of a moon so clearly at over 460 million miles and she was suitably awestricken.

Lovely.

How fortunate are we to be able to witness such sights?

[CumbrianGadgey]

Really glad your happy with the scope mate, nice to have met you today.

Steve

Sorry, mate,

I didn't see the post that you made. I am really excited. All the best to you and your family, cats, chinchilla, rats and fish. My daughter had a whale of a time looking at all of your menagerie while we were doing the 'boring' stuff! You made her day. i can only wish you and your pets etc, the very best.

It was lovely to meet you all. I talked about it in the car on the way back (when I could get a word in, edgeways) and the thing that struck me was that you are the very sort of people that I am comfortable with, so much so that I probably talked incessantly. Thanks for the scope and your kind help. Thanks also for a great day.

Mark

[astronymonkey]

Hi Mark,

great to hear you saw the shadow transit.

I too had an 200p out in the garden watching it, its amazing how much detail these scopes can resolve.

Before watching Jupiter I also spent 30 mins looking at the Supernova in M82 to measure/estimate its magnitude......maybe that could be your next target.

cheets

[CumbrianGadgey]

Hi Mark,

great to hear you saw the shadow transit.

I too had an 200p out in the garden watching it, its amazing how much detail these scopes can resolve.

Before watching Jupiter I also spent 30 mins looking at the Supernova in M82 to measure/estimate its magnitude......maybe that could be your next target.

cheets

If only. I'm so flighty, I can't do the serious astronomy stuff. I just flit about the sky in a random fashion. I could have seen loads of galaxies but i wouldn't know what they were. Mind you, I really would like to look at a supernova! M82? I'll look it up. Thanks.

[CumbrianGadgey]

Hi Mark,

great to hear you saw the shadow transit.

I too had an 200p out in the garden watching it, its amazing how much detail these scopes can resolve.

Before watching Jupiter I also spent 30 mins looking at the Supernova in M82 to measure/estimate its magnitude......maybe that could be your next target.

cheets

Okay, here's where I've got. I am looking from the bottom left star of the big dipper through the top right about the same distance but to me, a bit to the north. I can see two galaxies. One is face on and fairly circular, the other (more northern) one is a wild streak across the sky. If this is where the supernova is, I can't get it clearly. I tried x40 and x 65 with BST starguiders. If the northerly one is a galaxy, it seems to streak out in a strange fashion. You're the man. What am I looking at? I think i need to tweak the collimation on my scope a bit, by the way.

[floppygoose]

Hi Mark,

great to hear you saw the shadow transit.

I too had an 200p out in the garden watching it, its amazing how much detail these scopes can resolve.

Before watching Jupiter I also spent 30 mins looking at the Supernova in M82 to measure/estimate its magnitude......maybe that could be your next target.

cheets

Nice to hear some people had luck with M82 tonight. By the time I had setup and let the scope cool, the clouds had returned and it was useless. Oh well I guess this happened about 12 million years ago, so another day or two shouldn't make much difference   

Phil

[astronymonkey]

Okay, here's where I've got. I am looking from the bottom left star of the big dipper through the top right about the same distance but to me, a bit to the north. I can see two galaxies. One is face on and fairly circular, the other (more northern) one is a wild streak across the sky. If this is where the supernova is, I can't get it clearly. I tried x40 and x 65 with BST starguiders. If the northerly one is a galaxy, it seems to streak out in a strange fashion. You're the man. What am I lookin at? I think i need to tweak the collimation on my scope a bit, by the way.

of the two galaxies, the long cigar shaped streak is the one in question.

toward one end, in the haze if the galaxy there is a faint star.....thats the supernova. There is a brighter star just to the side of the galaxy, but its the one in the galaxy itself that you are after.

cheers

[itmo]

contact the seller of the telescope and tell him that the telescope has a "broken pixel" and it is interfering with your view of jupiter 

[nephilim]

contact the seller of the telescope and tell him that the telescope has a "broken pixel" and it is interfering with your view of jupiter 

@ itmo, as I'm the seller of said scope, the 'broken pixel' ploy wont work .....................Nice try though.

[CumbrianGadgey]

of the two galaxies, the long cigar shaped streak is the one in question.

toward one end, in the haze if the galaxy there is a faint star.....thats the supernova. There is a brighter star just to the side of the galaxy, but its the one in the galaxy itself that you are after.

cheers

Darn it! So close and yet so far. I nearly got it but after I went back out the sky was getting hazy. I cursed and stomped around a bit but had to call it a day. At least i know where to look next time. Thanks for this. I'd dearly love to see a supernova.

When I finally had to call it a day, i was wondering why my favourite TV programmes weren't on and also why my fingers were painful...then I looked at the clock and realised I'd been out there for four hours!

I've heard that we are going to get a cold snap. Great! I hate the gas bills but at least I may get to see more.

[CumbrianGadgey]

contact the seller of the telescope and tell him that the telescope has a "broken pixel" and it is interfering with your view of jupiter 

Nice one. Except that it's a member of SGL and he wouldn't believe me! Mind you, I also don't want to upset him because he is in with my plan of inserting valves and circuit-breakers in the gas & electricity supply lines, so that we can turn off everybody's heating and lighting a few days before clear skies. This way we can get good seeing without light pollution or the nasty disturbances caused by heat rising from those stupid houses everyone keeps building. This plan may not be entirely legal, so I'd ask you to keep it to yourself.

[Crebles]

Nice one. Except that it's a member of SGL and he wouldn't believe me! Mind you, I also don't want to upset him because he is in with my plan of inserting valves and circuit-breakers in the gas & electricity supply lines, so that we can turn off everybody's heating and lighting a few days before clear skies. This way we can get good seeing without light pollution or the nasty disturbances caused by heat rising from those stupid houses everyone keeps building. This plan may not be entirely legal, so I'd ask you to keep it to yourself.

Brilliant plan. I'm in. Lets just keep it to the few thousand people posting here hey?

We could start with the lady whose garden backs onto mine. The one who screeches at her kids and planted all those massive Leylandi. The lady who's clearly scared of the dark, and has the need to shower at 12midnight whenever there's no cloud....   

[CumbrianGadgey]

Brilliant plan. I'm in. Lets just keep it to the few thousand people posting here hey?

We could start with the lady whose garden backs onto mine. The one who screeches at her kids and planted all those massive Leylandi. The lady who's clearly scared of the dark, and has the need to shower at 12midnight whenever there's no cloud....   

Yes, I agree. I'm pleased you are as secretive as I am. Those people who install 15 megawatt 'security' lights that turn on when so much as a slug creeps past need to be dealt with, too.

Maybe you could design a special hat for the lady concerned, which has a low-powered red light dangling in front of her eyes, so that she is reassured and does not feel the need to flood the entire country with blinding light?