Jupiter 5th April

[kerrylewis]

I missed the good seeing on April 4th as we seemed to be one of the areas that was clouded out - fascinating to read the reports though, and see the images from what was obviously a very good night.

However, I was  observing last night in a clear spell of around 4 hours. Although the conditions were not as good a they apparently were on the previous night, there was lots of detail visible especially in the NEB where I noted some similar features to those seen on 31st March but which seemed to have changed shape a little since. I'll try to produce more detailed report later. 

I have not yet seen any other reports or images from last night. Was anyone else observing? It would be good to compare notes. 

[iPeace]

Yes, I was out for a spell of Jove before the clouds rolled in. Conditions were a bit blurry and planetary detail was sparse for me, but the moons were nicely situated with Io and Europa in formation on one side. The NEB did show some interesting looking brownish smudge, but that's the best I could do .

Nice to get out again without having to wear traditional Eskimo attire.

[chiltonstar]

I was out for an hour or so - Jupiter was interesting with a lot of belt detail, particularly NEB, even though there were no events. I was able to take my 180 Mak up to x250 and still keep good contrast.

Chris

[tony4563]

Same here.

After recollimating the 12" Dob and pointing to Jupiter, it was a little bit of a let down following the previous nights excellent viewing.

The seeing was so so here, and of course no GRS or transits to see. Still nice to look at though.

 

[Grotemobile]

22 minutes ago, tony4563 said:

Same here.

After recollimating the 12" Dob and pointing to Jupiter, it was a little bit of a let down following the previous nights excellent viewing.

The seeing was so so here, and of course no GRS or transits to see. Still nice to look at though.

 

How would U say your Dob performs, say to your Mak 180 scope Tony.  @ the moment I

have got a C8 scope & thinking of buying a Mead 12" scope.  Is it worth it. I live in a town.

[baggywrinkle]

I had a look at Jupiter last night and from my area I had good seeing. I used my 9.25 SCT and an 18.2 and a 11mm TV Delite.

Very good detail in the North and South Eq bands plus some detail in the very south too. Europa and Ganymede were so close I first though there was a problem with the scope, but they were very finely separated.

I now have the 9.25 in a ROR obsy on a proper pier and the difference this makes is phenomenal. The pier is rock solid and no wobbles now on the AVX head at higher magnifications. Plus I have set the mount to a Wake Up mode so I did not have to align again as it has not been moved. So though there was only an hour of clear sky I was able to make full use of it.

I am a happy bunny.

[laudropb]

I only had about 30 minutes observing before the clouds rolled in. The seeing was not great and very little detail showed.

[tony4563]

3 hours ago, Grotemobile said:

How would U say your Dob performs, say to your Mak 180 scope Tony.  @ the moment I

have got a C8 scope & thinking of buying a Mead 12" scope.  Is it worth it. I live in a town.

As you can see from my profile Steve, I have the largest aperture Dob that I can safely handle on my own, the largest aperture Mak that I can put on an AZ4 mount, and the largest aperture ED refractor that I can afford.

Its all about the aperture. More aperture = Brighter objects and more details.

I'm certain you would see more with a 12" Dob compared to the C8 ( which itself is a fine scope )

However, its not as clear cut as that. I've had nights where the Mak or Refractor has performed better that the Dob and vice versa. Its all about the seeing conditions and which scope cuts through the atmosphere better at that time.

I own all three and use the best scope on what the night has to offer.

The greater aperture of the 12"Dob will help you see more brightness and detail in clusters and nebulae. Galaxies will still be very faint smudges (if that) especially from your Town location. Get to a dark site and it's a different story. That however starts the problem of portability. The 12" is quite a big scope to move around and get in the car. If you are planning on sometimes going to a dark site, then maybe a 10" Dob may be more practical for transport?  Have a look at the Revelation 10" or 12" Dobsonians. HIGHLY recommended for the money

Would it be worth it?  A definete "Yes" from me. On most nights, its an awesome, practical scope, be it widefield views, nebulas or planetary work that floats your boat. 

 

 

 

[stevie1980]

hi everyone,i hope im ok to chime in here,  i was out on the 4th and 5th of this month and the 4th gave me this pic of jupiter which is my profile pic. im a complete newbee and im using a simple skywatcher skyliner 150p dob with no motor,pure manual,and i got my first half decent clip of jupiter using my zwo asi120mc . i know its no great picture but for my first time i think its a fair effort for just a 10 second clip and using registax.

on the 5th it was clear where i am but could not get close to the results that i got on the 4th.  i find it rather confusing as it looked just as good as the day before but i could not get close to the results i got the day before. 

steve