Hazy with good seeing. Jupiter is back! :-)

[Size9Hex]

Hope others are getting a chance to get out at the moment. It has been lousy here for much of the last few weeks. The sky didn't exactly exactly clear last night, but the blanket of cloud was definitely thinner than it has been! With the scope out, the evening revealed itself to be stable enough for some nice high power views.

Venus was barely visible to the naked eye, but the 10" grabbed hold and pulled it through the murk. Illuminated at 8.9%, it was a beautiful, elegant, thin, alien crescent. Just stunning. It has been brilliant watching it evolve over the last month or two and I wonder when the last view will be with it hurtling back quickly towards the sun now.

Later in the evening, the sky was somewhat clearer. Best view of the moon for some time. It took 250x well. At 500x, the impression of flying past was sensational although no extra detail was seen. The highlights at 250x were to be found around the shores of Mare Humorum - the concentric crater Vitello, fractured Gassendi and various rilles and rupes.

Despite the good seeing, Jupiter was a bit low for a really good view and it lacked the sharp snap of the very best nights. It was fantastic to see it again properly for the first time this year. 250x seemed a little much, but it took 180x. It improved as it climbed higher, with enough time for a sketch before the clouds arrived just as the show was getting going. I struggled to pin down any crisp detail, but it was pleasant enough just comparing the colours and shades.

 

[John]

Great drawing Paul !

I've observed it a couple of times so far but I've not had a good long session on Jupiter so far this year.

Dropping back on the magnification is often the best way to firm up the details on the giant planet, unless the seeing conditions are really good.

 

[laudropb]

Very nice report and sketch. Only managed a very short view of Venus last night before it started to rain. It was worth it though. A beautiful thin crescent.

[JOC]

A sketch?   That's almost good enough to be a photo!  Lovely piece of work.  Laudropb I saw that lovely crescent from Venus too - it was wonderful!

[Size9Hex]

Thanks for the kind words chaps. Venus really has been spectacular hasn't it (particularly considering it's all but featureless)! Glad you had a chance to see it too. @John thanks, those are good tips. It felt like a juggling act last night - low enough power to not wash out the detail, but high enough to catch it when it did pop into clarity for a moment. Not sure those two requirements quite met in the middle last night (at least not as low in the sky as Jupiter was), but a nice view nonetheless! :-)

[Moonshane]

Great sketch, captures the high power visual really nicely. I tend to agree with John that less is often more the Jupiter.

I have only looked at Jupiter once this year so far 

 

[scarp15]

Good sketch Paul in conveying the subtleties in the features, good session and first strike of the season at Jupiter. There have been some prolonged periods of clear skies here lately (though not any more), nice to take advantage simply eyeballing Venus, the moon, Orion and for a bit more, impulsive binocular observing. 

[Ruud]

That's a fine sketch, Paul. Very beautiful.

Thanks for the sketch and the report!

[cloudsweeper]

Great report and excellent drawing, Paul!

I've had three good views of Jupiter recently, and noted interesting dispositions of his moons.  I like how you see their pattern change in say 30 minutes!

Venus has indeed been beautiful for a "simple" target.

Doug.

[Size9Hex]

59 minutes ago, cloudsweeper said:

Great report and excellent drawing, Paul!

I've had three good views of Jupiter recently, and noted interesting dispositions of his moons.  I like how you see their pattern change in say 30 minutes!

Venus has indeed been beautiful for a "simple" target.

Doug.

Yep, it's brilliant seeing the mechanics at work on Jupiter's moons. Cant think of anything else that's quite as dynamic in the sky especially as the transit or eclipse. Seeing lunar peaks slowly emerge into the sunlight is one of my favourites too though. Venus is looking like a scene from a sci-if film at the moment!

[Vero]

Great drawing. I actually thought it to be a photo!

[Alan White]

Wonderful sketch, as others have said almost photographic.

Interesting th at your sky was good enough to see more than cloud, was wall to wall cloud yesterday for me.

No views of Jupiter for me yet ?

[Size9Hex]

2 hours ago, Alan White said:

Wonderful sketch, as others have said almost photographic.

Interesting th at your sky was good enough to see more than cloud, was wall to wall cloud yesterday for me.

No views of Jupiter for me yet ?

Thanks Alan, kind words indeed.  I hope you get a good view yourself soon. The wall to wall clouds returned with reinforcements just as Jupiter was getting good and haven't shifted since! Jupiter should be well placed for a fair while yet, with opposition on April 7th, so hopefully we'll all get some more opportunities!