Did I just see 5 moons around Jupiter with my 15 x 70 bins?

[DemosL]

I was observing Jupiter tonight and I saw what appeared to be 3 moons on the left side and 2 on the right side. Is it possible to see 5 moons with 15 x 70 bins? Or, are one of the "moons" a dim star abut the same magnitude as one of the moons?

[Dave In Vermont]

It would have to be a star. From the Google:

The Galilean moons range in brightness from 4.6 to 5.6 magnitude. The next brightest moons are Amalthea (14.1) and Himalia (14.6). Stars of magnitude 14.1 to 14.6 require at least an aperture of 250mm (10-inch) to be visible, and even then they require perfectly dark skies, high magnification, and a trained eye.

So you'd need a quite large scope to spot Amalthea, making for 5.

Enjoy -

Dave

[DemosL]

1 minute ago, Dave In Vermont said:

It would have to be a star. From the Google:

The Galilean moons range in brightness from 4.6 to 5.6 magnitude. The next brightest moons are Amalthea (14.1) and Himalia (14.6). Stars of magnitude 14.1 to 14.6 require at least an aperture of 250mm (10-inch) to be visible, and even then they require perfectly dark skies, high magnification, and a trained eye.

So you'd need a quite large scope to spot Amalthea, making for 5.

Enjoy -

Dave

Thanks Dave. The 3 to the left of Jupiter and the 2 on the right of Jupiter were all on the same plane.

[Dave In Vermont]

Here's a simple program - FREE - you can download to identify the moons you can see. And locate the GRS - Great Red Spot - with a larger instrument:

http://astrosurf.com/rondi/jupiter/

Enjoy!

Dave

[DemosL]

3 minutes ago, Dave In Vermont said:

Here's a simple program - FREE - you can download to identify the moons you can see. And locate the GRS - Great Red Spot - with a larger instrument:

http://astrosurf.com/rondi/jupiter/

Enjoy!

Dave

Thanks Dave.

[Knighty2112]

Here's the view from Skysafari for about 1am UK time. The most likely candidate for the extra star you saw is HD 95848, a 7th magnitude star, or possibly further out in the same binocular FOV even the 4.6 magnitude star x Leonis.

 

[DemosL]

12 hours ago, Knighty2112 said:

Here's the view from Skysafari for about 1am UK time. The most likely candidate for the extra star you saw is HD 95848, a 7th magnitude star, or possibly further out in the same binocular FOV even the 4.6 magnitude star x Leonis.

 

That's exactly what I saw. I didn't count X Leonis, because it was further from Jupiter than I've ever seen any moon. Everything above was in my FOV, however. Thanks.