Cracking seeing tonight - GRS heading into view

[Stu]

Just been out with the Tak for quite a while trying out a few different bits of kit. Cutting to the chase, the GRS is heading onto the disk now and the seeing here is excellent. Plenty of high haze around means that the transparency is poor, but that's often the case; steadier conditions with poor transparency and vice versa.

Using the Leica zoom and Zeiss abbé Barlow, I was using up to x200 but as is often the case, around x180 was lovely. Even as the GRS was coming onto the disk I could see the separation from the SEB, which was itself divided down the middle ahead of the GRS by a lighter zone.

Both Northern and Southern Temperate belts and zones clearly visible, plus a probable festoon off the NEB. Very steady views with all this detail visible most of the time. Moons are nice crisp tiny disks too.

EDIT I meant to add that I picked up Jupiter well before it was dark and was getting surprisingly good detail and contrast even then.

[Piero]

Even here the sky seems very good. Just a light wind from the South but very very modest. 

Feel unwell though... so Jupiter from the window tonight for me and GRS from your reports..!

[FenlandPaul]

Enjoy the night Stu.  I popped out for half an hour just after dusk to show Jupiter to my father in law.  Seeing here was pretty poor, althougfh a shower came through 20 minnutes before I set up so it may have been settling still.  Jupiter was still for a while and then wobbled all over the place.  

Get well soon, Piero!

Paul

[dweller25]

Stu - I have been out observing Jupiter since 8pm with an Intes 7" Mak and got great seeing as you did. Just saw the GRS coming onto the main disk - very Orange tonight. I saw exactly the same features you highlighted. There was definitely a festoon on the NEB.

[Stu]

Thanks all, and Piero get well soon!

dweller (sorry don't know/remember your name!), the seeing really is steady and as you say GRS very colourful. There is also a dark barge (or similar) on the NEB directly above the GRS, the festoon seemed ahead of it to me.

[Owmuchonomy]

It is stunning here. GRS two tone with darker 'eye' dark spots in NEB directly above GRS. SEB splits easily and two ot maybe three swirls following GRS pop out brightly. Using 14mm ES 82' with 2x powermate at 2.35 Metres. WOW never known it this good.

[Stu]

Had to pack in now as the cloud has come over. I caught the GRS as it transited and the seeing remained amazing throughout, just one spell of perhaps 30 seconds where it went mushy, perhaps a vapour trail.

As Owmuchonomy says, several bright ovals in the turbulence following GRS, and a very strong dark 'eyebrow' ahead of it, then the white separation. Not sure what the dark spot in the NEB is above the GRS? A Barge?

Fabulous and unexpected session, incredible what you can see with a decent 4" scope!!

[Owmuchonomy]

I have swapped the 14mm for my 24mm and that is a better option I think. So just under 200x is optimum at the moment.

[Stu]

Just now, Owmuchonomy said:

I have swapped the 14mm for my 24mm and that is a better option I think. So just under 200x is optimum at the moment.

Which scope are you using?

[Owmuchonomy]

SCT 9.25 with 2x powermate and two ES EPs alternating.

[laudropb]

Glad someone is getting good views. Rained here pretty well non-stop for last 3 days.

[g30rg313]

Glad you all got good views of Jupiter.  I've just got home from work and no chance of observing anything for me.  It's been "tipping down" all night.  Wanted to try my new EP out too sigh oh well 

[Stu]

1 minute ago, g30rg313 said:

Glad you all got good views of Jupiter.  I've just got home from work and no chance of observing anything for me.  It's been "tipping down" all night.  Wanted to try my new EP out too sigh oh well 

Sorry to hear about the rain for you, sure you will get a chance soon. The views tonight have certainly rivaled the best I've seen, really clear detail on show plus GRS putting on a great performance!

[John]

Nice reports folks, from those who have clear skies and could get out with a scope

I can't observe myself tonight but it sounds as if Jupiter is giving a great show.

 

[tony4563]

What a great night's viewing. Jupiter was certainly the star of the show tonight thanks to the excellent seeing.

Views through the ED120 at  x180 were stunning. The best I've seen in this scope so far.  Very crisp and contrasty, with bags of detail visible. The GRS was a lovely brick red and the swirls and festoons in the bands were amazing. Another barge above the GRS clearly seen

I was interested to try my other scopes out tonight on Jupiter in comparison, seeing as the conditions were so good. The Mak 180 delivered fantastic views. Very similar to the refractor but with a tiny bit (and I mean tiny bit) less contrast. It did however pick up "waves" of good and not so good seeing, whereas the refractor was perfect pretty much all the time. Its a great scope and is certainly worthy of being called " A poor man's 7" APO " Its been a fab purchase and never regretted buying it for a minute.

The 12" Dob actually gave pretty poor views, which I couldn't understand. I've recently flocked it top to bottom and collimated it just a few days ago, but the planet lacked contrast and detail. A quick test with the laser showed the red dot miles away from the centre dot on the primary. I roughly fiddled with the Bobs Knobs to centre the laser and the views were much better. However, it soon lost collimation again so I gave up. I'm thinking maybe the secondry screw has loosened. Whatever it is, it needs sorting.

Ah well, that's a job for the next rainy day.

 

 

[Stu]

Nice info Tony. It is interesting to see the differences between different scopes and apertures. In some ways I wish I had got my 8" newt out last night, but the views with the frac were so stable and contrasty that I wonder whether it would have been better or not.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I had a look (apart from imaging) first with the Delos 14mm (145x) in my C8, and later even with the 2x TeleXtender (290x). The latter was a bit over the top, but only a bit. Lovely detail spotted, including that lovely thin white line surrounding the GRS.

[Stu]

16 hours ago, Stu said:

Thanks all, and Piero get well soon!

dweller (sorry don't know/remember your name!), the seeing really is steady and as you say GRS very colourful. There is also a dark barge (or similar) on the NEB directly above the GRS, the festoon seemed ahead of it to me.

As Michael has kindly pointed out on another thread, it is in fact not a barge in the NEB above the GRS but just a particularly dense swirl in the turbulence along the bottom of the NEB

[dweller25]

Stu - I also saw the dark brown feature in the NEB - at first I thought it might have been an artifact from the recent collision but it was too large for that.

[John]

1 hour ago, dweller25 said:

Stu - I also saw the dark brown feature in the NEB - at first I thought it might have been an artifact from the recent collision but it was too large for that.

I wonder if this was the same feature that I reported here ?:

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/266791-jupiter-looking-vinteresting-31-03-16/

 

[dweller25]

54 minutes ago, John said:

I wonder if this was the same feature that I reported here ?:

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/266791-jupiter-looking-vinteresting-31-03-16/

 

Not sure John....

I think the CM1 of your feature (assuming 2100UT/2200BST on the 31st March) was around 287'

The CM1 of last nights feature at 1930UT/2030BST on the 4th April was 146'

[Stu]

11 hours ago, dweller25 said:

Not sure John....

I think the CM1 of your feature (assuming 2100UT/2200BST on the 31st March) was around 287'

The CM1 of last nights feature at 1930UT/2030BST on the 4th April was 146'

That's interesting info, where do you find it out? CM1 relates to one of different speed zones of rotation of the atmosphere I assume?

[dweller25]

10 hours ago, Stu said:

That's interesting info, where do you find it out? CM1 relates to one of different speed zones of rotation of the atmosphere I assume?

Yes, I got the info from Winjupos - free software

[johnfosteruk]

I'm moving to Surrey. 2 Hours I was out on Monday and the seeing was terrible. Barely any detail at all.

Not disheartened though, fingers crossed for clear skies this weekend