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Observing Jupiter tonight

adarshajoisa

By adarshajoisa
in Observing - Reports

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adarshajoisa

adarshajoisa

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After seeing that there's gonna be a shadow transit and GRS visible, I planned for an observing session tonight. I have the stock eyepieces that came with my Celestron Astromaster 130EQ (both Kellner, apparently), and the quality is less than desirable. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to view anything. At 33x and 65x, I wasn't able to see anything at all. However, with the Celestron XCel-LX 3X barlow that I bought recently, at around 195x, I was able to spot the tiny shadow of Io across Jupiter! This was the first time I've observed a shadow transit, and it was amazing!! Later tonight, I got a chance to see the GRS. Again at 195x. There's a really bad amount of ghosting with my eyepieces, but I was able to spot the GRS after observing for about 10 mins, though it appeared more like a pinkish blotch on the lower cloud belt. I'm thinking of upgrading to better eyepieces soon, so hopefully I'll be able to see much more. I've been trying at Jupiter for weeks now, and this was by far the best visibility I've had. I guess the recent collimation has much to do with the quality I got.  :smiley:

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ghostdance

ghostdance

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I saw Io's transit a couple of weeks ago - my first too. Great experience isn't it? Also, the GRS - only seen that two or three times, another wonderful moment when that little salmony-pink oval hoves into view. To see such things eh? I share your wonder and enthusiasm, as do we all I'm sure :)

And stick with it, more details come with time. I see (or perhaps recognise) more now Jupiter is imprinted on the old memory banks.

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Astromaster130

Astromaster130

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After seeing that there's gonna be a shadow transit and GRS visible, I planned for an observing session tonight. I have the stock eyepieces that came with my Celestron Astromaster 130EQ (both Kellner, apparently), and the quality is less than desirable. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to view anything. At 33x and 65x, I wasn't able to see anything at all. However, with the Celestron XCel-LX 3X barlow that I bought recently, at around 195x, I was able to spot the tiny shadow of Io across Jupiter! This was the first time I've observed a shadow transit, and it was amazing!! Later tonight, I got a chance to see the GRS. Again at 195x. There's a really bad amount of ghosting with my eyepieces, but I was able to spot the GRS after observing for about 10 mins, though it appeared more like a pinkish blotch on the lower cloud belt. I'm thinking of upgrading to better eyepieces soon, so hopefully I'll be able to see much more. I've been trying at Jupiter for weeks now, and this was by far the best visibility I've had. I guess the recent collimation has much to do with the quality I got. :smiley:

Hey, I've got the same scope as you and can I upgraded straight away and the difference is very noticeable! I got the celestron multi coated plossl and they work very well.

When u viewed jupiter did u use a filter or dust cap on with the hole open? :)

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adarshajoisa

adarshajoisa

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Hey, I've got the same scope as you and can I upgraded straight away and the difference is very noticeable! I got the celestron multi coated plossl and they work very well.

When u viewed jupiter did u use a filter or dust cap on with the hole open? :)

I'm still using the stock eyepieces. I really need to upgrade soon. And no, I haven't used a filter or the dustcap. With a barlow, the brightness reduced significantly, but I guess a filter would've helped. I'll try using the dustcap with the hole open tonight and see if it makes any improvement. BTW, which was the eyepiece you got? Was it the Celestron Omni plossl?

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adarshajoisa

adarshajoisa

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Hey, I've got the same scope as you and can I upgraded straight away and the difference is very noticeable! I got the celestron multi coated plossl and they work very well.

When u viewed jupiter did u use a filter or dust cap on with the hole open? :)

I tried using the dustcap with the hole open, but got very bad results. The image looks a bit stretched in the 10 mm EP and with the 20 mm, almost half the field is blacked out. And if I use the barlow with it, the image is way too dim to make out any details at all. I should probably get myself a filter.  :lipsrsealed:

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Astromaster130

Astromaster130

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I tried using the dustcap with the hole open, but got very bad results. The image looks a bit stretched in the 10 mm EP and with the 20 mm, almost half the field is blacked out. And if I use the barlow with it, the image is way too dim to make out any details at all. I should probably get myself a filter. :lipsrsealed:

Oh right,

I seem to get more detail out of using the hole in the dust cap, it takes away some of the glare i find. Maybe I'm doing something wrong I'm not sure!

It just seems easier to view with it on and too bright with it on[emoji28]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Paul73

Paul73

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With Jupiter. Less is often more...

I find that x100 to x150 is the sweet spot. AND time at the eyepiece. Invest 10 minutes just sitting and viewing at 100x and your brain will start to harvest/stack a la Astro imaging software. Loads more detail will drop out.

Jupiter will not give up his secrets to those who have just a "quick squint".

Paul

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John

John

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I tried using the dustcap with the hole open, but got very bad results. The image looks a bit stretched in the 10 mm EP and with the 20 mm, almost half the field is blacked out. And if I use the barlow with it, the image is way too dim to make out any details at all. I should probably get myself a filter.  :lipsrsealed:

The hole in the dust cap reduces the aperture of the scope to around 52mm so Jupiter will look a lot dimmer and even 100x will be too much power.

I'm not convinced about filters either, I don't find one necessary even with my 12" dobsonian.

I think you should observe Jupiter as much as you can with the eyepieces you have. As you get more practiced you will be able to pick out more details. Replacing your stock eyepieces with something like decent plossls will bring an improvement too.  

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adarshajoisa

adarshajoisa

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Did you catch it? It should be doeable if the seeing is ok. Sometimes things are so wobbly you can only catch fleeting glimpses on the belts, let alone a crisp little transit shadow.

Paul

I was able to see the shadow for a few seconds, that's all.  :sad: The seeing wasn't all that great. Maybe next time!  :cool:

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adarshajoisa

adarshajoisa

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With Jupiter. Less is often more...

I find that x100 to x150 is the sweet spot. AND time at the eyepiece. Invest 10 minutes just sitting and viewing at 100x and your brain will start to harvest/stack a la Astro imaging software. Loads more detail will drop out.

Jupiter will not give up his secrets to those who have just a "quick squint".

Paul

Paul, I think you're right! At 200x, the image is a little too blurry - probably works only under perfect seeing. I'll try 100x next time and spend more time looking. My EPs only allow 100x and 200x, no middle ground, I'm afraid! 

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adarshajoisa

adarshajoisa

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I think you should observe Jupiter as much as you can with the eyepieces you have. As you get more practiced you will be able to pick out more details. Replacing your stock eyepieces with something like decent plossls will bring an improvement too.  

Yes, I'm not sure how helpful filters would be either. The problem in India is I'm unable to find any decent EPs. Even a decent plossl needs to be imported, and with the shipping and import taxes, even the cheapest plossl ends up costing 60-80 USD!  :huh: I guess I'll use my stock EPs as long as possible and try to get the most out of them before upgrading. As Paul said, more time observing might help me get more details  :grin:

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adarshajoisa

adarshajoisa

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I observed Jupiter last night. I was easily able to spot the GRS!  :cool: Following John's suggestion, I stuck to 100x: 200x was a little too much. I also let my telescope cool for over an hour (usually I set it up and start observing immediately. I didn't realize how much of a difference cooling could make!). After a few minutes of observing, I was easily able to spot the GRS. I guess the seeing was also pretty good! But at 200x, the image was too blurry to make out any details. Again, thanks, guys, for all the great suggestions!!  :grin:

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