Full Moon :"Washout" of other objects

[AussieBill]

Hello,

I managed to observe Jupiter tonight with my 76 x 350 Dobsonian, 4mm and 20mm eyepieces and 2x Barlow lens.

Couldn't see any moons around Jupiter - would our own full moon have washed them out and made them harder to see ?

Any thumb rules for calculating/estimating the effect of full moon washout compared to almost no moon at all ?

 

Bill

 

[Knighty2112]

You should have been able to see the moons around Jupiter even with the moon out no problem, especially with your 20mm EP quite easily. Not sure why you didn't. I managed to see the moons with a 32mm, 18mm, 14mm, 6mm and 5mm EPS OK. 

[Knighty2112]

You didn't have any kind of filter fitted to your EPs at all did you? 

[Chefgage]

21 hours ago, Knighty2112 said:

You didn't have any kind of filter fitted to your EPs at all did you? 

I have done that once while looking at jupiter with my old small refractor. It was a dark night so i thought i might get a good view of jupiter. I just could not see much at all, no moons and jupiter itself was just a dim disc. It was only about an hour later after coming in did i realise that i had left the moon filter screwed into the eye piece from a previous session!!

[AussieBill]

thanks for the advice Gus ........ Tried again tonight .............. unscrewed the moon filter ............. thanks for the tip ....saw 4 little tiny white specks.

Am quite puzzled ........... although I could see the moons I couldn't see the red spot or the bands. A white disc and 3 tiny white dots and one not quite so tiny.

 

Bill

 

 

[Bart]

The GRS transits the planet every 10 hours and is visible for 2-3 of them, can't quite remember. The bands should be visible up around a magnification of 100 and  probably less. They're always visible as long as you have decent magnification and seeing conditions. Sometimes if there are thermal currents in the atmosphere or clouds/vapour, that aren't immediately visible through the eyepiece, the bands might not be visible clearly. 

[John]

You need to observe the planet for a little longer. The 2 main equatorial bands should show quite easily but the red spot and other bands and details are somewhat harder to discern and require some study of the planet. Over a period of an hour or so the eye adjusts to the brightness and contrast and stars to pick out these more subtle details.