Observing planets for the next few years.

[niallk]

6 hours ago, LukeSkywatcher said:

This recent bout of clear weather has me wrecked from 3 nights in a row ?

Quit yer moaning. Next week we are back to rain and cloud.

 Like this

 

Ha ha

[Linda]

17 hours ago, Stu said:

It's not totally disastrous but it's still going to be 2020 before things get significantly better for Mars, and Saturn will take much longer.

 

I hope it's not clouded in those future years. So far Mars and Saturn have been so low in the sky from my 59 degrees north that I haven't been able to see any details on them. I really put my bet on those future years. I'll make sure to have bought a 6mm eyepiece by that time.

[Linda]

12 hours ago, LukeSkywatcher said:

I wouldnt mind even if i could see them so low down. I cant though. I did a guesstimate today of the trees at the end of my garden which block my southern view. They reach up to about 55 degrees. Cutting them down is not an option. Too expensive and i like the privacy they give me from the Uni behind my house. Not sure how far i'd have to travel outside of the garden to get a clear view south. Might have to join Michael on his trip to France or Italy.

Sounds familiar. Behind our trees towards south, there is a hill which is more difficult to cut down. Although one company is trying very hard these days to digg away granite to create room for building new houses.

[Owmuchonomy]

19 hours ago, michael.h.f.wilkinson said:

I'll just take my scope on a summer holiday to southern France, or perhaps Italy: good food, warm nights, good wine, and planets 9-10 deg higher than back home. What's not to like

That is my plan too using the Caravan.  Not sure how 'portable' I can make the C9.25" though. Now Solar, that's easy....

[Stu]

16 hours ago, Dazzyt66 said:

I'm glad I invested in an ST80 - trip to Marrakech last month gave me great views of Saturn and Mars high in the sky - and we usually go every year so I think I may be ok... ☀️☀️?????

Rather excitingly I recently discovered that I can pack my FC100 down small enough to take as carry on baggage! I shall definitely be taking it next time we head south!

[Dazzyt66]

1 hour ago, Stu said:

Rather excitingly I recently discovered that I can pack my FC100 down small enough to take as carry on baggage! I shall definitely be taking it next time we head south!

If you can do it then it's well worth it. Scope, camera and eps in hand luggage, everything else in main - even with my tabletop eq1 (with counterbalance), camera tripod etc. we were well within weight allowance.

The view of Saturn was that good and clear in the ST80 that even Mrs T was impressed... Good job as I woke her up at 4am!!! Lol

[Stu]

56 minutes ago, Dazzyt66 said:

If you can do it then it's well worth it. Scope, camera and eps in hand luggage, everything else in main - even with my tabletop eq1 (with counterbalance), camera tripod etc. we were well within weight allowance.

The view of Saturn was that good and clear in the ST80 that even Mrs T was impressed... Good job as I woke her up at 4am!!! Lol

Yep, I had the Tak FC76 in Samos a while ago and it was great. Would be nice to have a 4" with me so definitely will give it a try

[daveb]

Does this low dec also apply to Jupiter as well?

 

[cotterless45]

Never mind the clouds , I'll be a sprightly 70 before anything planetary is going to clear the oak tree . It'll probably grow up through the ecliptic, doooh.

old Nick.

[John]

38 minutes ago, cotterless45 said:

Never mind the clouds , I'll be a sprightly 70 before anything planetary is going to clear the oak tree . It'll probably grow up through the ecliptic, doooh.

old Nick.

"Woodman, woodman, spare that tree ......."  

"Er, nope, I'm an amateur astronomer !!!!"

[Peco4321]

1 hour ago, daveb said:

Does this low dec also apply to Jupiter as well?

 

Not sure, maybe someone can advise. 

[Pondus]

On ‎03‎.‎06‎.‎2016 at 13:23, Peco4321 said:

On ‎03‎.‎06‎.‎2016 at 11:34, daveb said:

Does this low dec also apply to Jupiter as well?

 

Not sure, maybe someone can advise. 

Yes, the planetary 'dry spell' (for us livin up north) includes Jupiter especially year 2019 and 2020.

 

[ArmyAirForce]

Tonight, Mars reaches a staggering 13° 53' altitude for me, and Saturn is 14° 36'. The Mars opposition in 2018 will be 9° alt for me. It doesn't really matter, because they can't be seen from my obsy anyway as the house blocks anything below 22°.

I still image Mercury, Venus, Uranus and Neptune when I get the chance, and Jupiter is still high enough for at least one more year, but for Saturn and Mars, their altitude in Northern England is too low to get any worth while images for a few years yet.

[LukeSkywatcher]

On 02/06/2016 at 06:53, niallk said:

Ha ha

Hows the rain and cloud working out for you Niall?. You getting your beauty sleep?.

[niallk]

5 hours ago, LukeSkywatcher said:

Hows the rain and cloud working out for you Niall?. You getting your beauty sleep?.

Hahaha!! Very good

With the possibility of clear skies, will be trying to get out again tonight to test a recently acquired EP ... might be humid and hazy though...

[neil phillips]

It is depressing. But we have to make do. I am waiting for a ASI 290. Ouch.  But I have wanted to put some attention on Uranus for years, and also start Lunar imaging again in a big way.

Can get a little detail on Jupiter next year at 30 odd degrees, also a brief spell on Venus. I have health issues so seriously wonder if I will still be firing on all 3 cylinders for Mars at 2020

it doesn't feel like it.

Still at least The moon and Uranus are going to get a good camera, and many years experience teasing its detail away soon. I actually feel upbeat in some ways. Because the situation is forcing me to return to lunar imaging. And I do not intend to go out of astronomy with out one last effort. Stay tuned folks in the coming months, I hope to be getting some lunar work done that will surprise. Time to refine some techniques.

 

I think its great how so many people love astronomy so much, appreciating our place on this world, and around us, right now. A brief flicker in time.  

 

[cloudsweeper]

On 01/06/2016 at 15:59, John said:

I guess we need to gently feed this information in to anyone coming new to the hobby, based around our latitude and intending to concentrate on the planets initially - ie: it's worth taking an interest in a wider range of astro targets to get the most from the hobby over the next 4 years

 

Too late, John!  Saturn and a couple of moons is great - but no other detail.  As for Mars - just slight hints of albedo.

Luckily there's a lot more out there to enjoy, of course - including clusters, which I find are an absolute delight!

Doug.

[iPeace]

Look up there. That pattern of stars. It is roughly the shape of a swan. Pretty neat. Now look at it through your binoculars. Yes, wow indeed. Now look at it through your scope. Yes. I'll just leave you to it.

[BeerMe]

Well, ain't this a downer of a thread.  I've been desperate to see Saturn and thought once we got to the winter months it would be high in the sky again. 

I guess this changes things a lot and I'm going to have to spend my stargazing nights seeking out only DSOs.  I'm also going to have to completely rethink which extra equipment to buy now as I had decided I was going to go for a Barlow and a nice 7-8mm.

I think I'll have to make a real effort to get along to a star party or 2 and get some face to face advice on looking for the deep sky stuff.  I try studying charts and using my planisphere but even though I know I'm in the vicinity, I've yet to see anything resembling a galaxy.  It's frustrating, and one of the reasons I was going down the planetary viewing route with EPs. 

[Stu]

42 minutes ago, BeerMe said:

Well, ain't this a downer of a thread.  I've been desperate to see Saturn and thought once we got to the winter months it would be high in the sky again. 

I guess this changes things a lot and I'm going to have to spend my stargazing nights seeking out only DSOs.  I'm also going to have to completely rethink which extra equipment to buy now as I had decided I was going to go for a Barlow and a nice 7-8mm.

I think I'll have to make a real effort to get along to a star party or 2 and get some face to face advice on looking for the deep sky stuff.  I try studying charts and using my planisphere but even though I know I'm in the vicinity, I've yet to see anything resembling a galaxy.  It's frustrating, and one of the reasons I was going down the planetary viewing route with EPs. 

Don't be too down, and don't forget that we are at a time when there is no astronomical darkness. Galaxies will be a significant challenge, needing dark skies to get the best out of them, or even see them at all!

The planets are still possible, just low down and the views aren't as good as they can be, but it's still possible to see detail on Mars, Saturn you will see the rings, separation between the rings and planet, and possibly the Cassini division of conditions are good. Jupiter is also well worth looking at still, even in twilight the views can be amazing.

I would concentrate on planets and brighter objects like doubles or globs until Astro darkness returns. Late July and August can be lovely times to observe, the Milky Way overhead, Cygnus riding high, lovely stuff.

[Peco4321]

Not too down really, just need to think about going to dark sites with good low horizon views. The moon gives plenty to see each month, I've just ordered some filters and a 6mm EP so will be looking forward to what planetary views I can still get this year. 

[BeerMe]

So all is not quite lost yet?

It's strange going through the start of summer, wishing it would hurry up to the long nights again!  Hopefully the weather turns soon and we get some clear skies so I can get out camping with it ?

[Stu]

2 minutes ago, BeerMe said:

So all is not quite lost yet?

It's strange going through the start of summer, wishing it would hurry up to the long nights again!  Hopefully the weather turns soon and we get some clear skies so I can get out camping with it ?

No, never lost. Delayed a little but always something to look at.

Getting your scope somewhere dark in late summer is a great idea and something I really enjoy each year. Nice warm (ish) evenings sitting out under the stars, watching meteors and satellites and the Milky Way is great!

[John]

On 10/06/2016 at 07:51, cloudsweeper said:

Too late, John!  Saturn and a couple of moons is great - but no other detail.  As for Mars - just slight hints of albedo.

Luckily there's a lot more out there to enjoy, of course - including clusters, which I find are an absolute delight!

Doug.

Yes there are lots of other lovely sights to enjoy.

But I'm getting good details on Mars with my 4" and 4.7" refractors over the past few nights so all is not lost there either !

Can't get my 12" dob down low enough to see the red planet though but I suspect that the fracs are doing a better job of cutting through all that atmosphere than the dob would anyway

[cloudsweeper]

6 hours ago, John said:

Yes there are lots of other lovely sights to enjoy.

But I'm getting good details on Mars with my 4" and 4.7" refractors over the past few nights so all is not lost there either !

Can't get my 12" dob down low enough to see the red planet though but I suspect that the fracs are doing a better job of cutting through all that atmosphere than the dob would anyway

I've had my 4.7" frac a week now, and so far only seen a few "practice trees" and a few sunspots.  I'm keen to see Mars etc. through it to compare the views with those from my SCT and my MCT before that.  

Yesterday evening, the sky was clear, so I set up.  When I ventured out after 11pm - total cloud!  

You need patience to see detail on Mars, but you need even more patience to see him at all!  I'll get there.

Doug.