crcooney Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 Ok guys, So I was reading an article in Astronomy magazine about finding and viewing Pluto. According to them, Pluto can be viewed with an 8" scope and great conditions coming up next week to mid July....supposedly. It will be transiting nearly in front of a star (I'll have to find the SAO #, don't have the magazine with me at the moment) making it a little easier to find I'm guessing? I haven't seen any posts about the little fella (didn't look very hard). So who has seen it? I'm imagining a dark shadow about the size of a grain of sand. I have an 8se and I plan driving a little ways to get to high ground and better my chances if future skies cooperate. But not gonna try if it wouldn't be worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarsG76 Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 I think I spotted it in my 8SE a while back.. stars lined up according to starwalk and starmap pro but who knows, might have been a star... still it'll only be a faint point of light. good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paz Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 I've had a look on sky safari and Pluto is in Sagittarius north east of the teapot at the moment, so will be at its best later in the summer. It's apparently magnitude 14.2 or so which sounds quite tough, needing good conditions and enough aperture. It looks like it moves across the sky with enough speed that you could pick it out by its movement over a few nights if you are able to see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave In Vermont Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 You can run off star-maps from, say - Stellarium - to give you star-maps in the proper orientation of where Pluto/Charon are at any given time through your 8" scope. Bring these with you to your scope. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted June 29, 2017 Share Posted June 29, 2017 I've seen a couple of the moons of Uranus with my 12" dob which were close to mag 14. Easier to track their positions than Pluto though. I think you would need to observe the suspect star field, sketch it, then repeat over a few nights to be sure of Pluto. I found very high magnifications helped with the faint moons BTW but you would need to be sure of your target star field to use this with Pluto. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niallk Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 I'd love to confirm Pluto : close to a mag 8.2 star on Tuesday July 11. There's another star south almost collinear to help identify. A similar scenario happens on 2nd Sept: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 That's great info. I've always wanted to see Pluto and this seems like and excellent chance. I would need to get somewhere dark enough to get to Mag 14.2 with the C925 and that could be tricky! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niallk Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 I'm gonna hope for clear weather at the start of Sept Darkness only begins to return here at the end of July: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 I reckon I will struggle, I need mag 20.5 or better skies to get this, and that probably won't happen until later in July. Worth a try though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paz Posted July 3, 2017 Share Posted July 3, 2017 This feels like the start of a 2017 SGL Pluto challenge! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crcooney Posted July 8, 2017 Author Share Posted July 8, 2017 On 6/26/2017 at 18:04, Paz said: It's apparently magnitude 14.2 or so which sounds quite tough, needing good conditions and enough aperture. It looks like it moves across the sky with enough speed that you could pick it out by its movement over a few nights if you are able to see it. That sounds like a good plan if I can even find it. That's gonna be tough to spot, I've had trouble finding mag 9 +. Luckily it stays quite clear here so a few nights might be doable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 I can get down to around mag 14 on point sources with my 12" dob. If and when Pluto is well placed (higher in the sky the better) then I might be in with a chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan potts Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 Don'tlike to pour water on it but with where Pluto is and the fact this is only ever low in the UK I really feel an 8 inch scope is being a bit wishful thinking but I wish you all the best. Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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