Europa shadow transit tonight - 2nd July 2019

[Stu]

Just spotted that there is a moon and shadow transit of Europa tonight. Given the challenges down that low, I suspect the moon itself will be pretty tough, but the shadow transit starts around 8.57pm and finishes just before 11.30pm. On Skysafari the shadow looks small so it may well be pretty tough itself unless seeing conditions are good.

The forecast is poor, but the satellite shows the clouds clearing quite nicely so fingers crossed it will be good.

[Stu]

If you are very lucky with seeing you might catch GRS and the shadow on opposite sides at around 11pm

[paulastro]

Thanks for the heads-up Stu.  I have some clear patches at the moment, so may have a chance.  I'll go out as soon as I can pick it up in my binoculars. 

[John]

Thanks Stu - got Jupiter in the Tak FC-100 just now. Seeing is a bit shakey but the contrast is quite good - just looks like a stream of clear water is washing over the planet now and then. Heat rising from buildings / tarmac in the line of sight I think.

Europa's shadow is clearly visible N of the NEB currently approaching the central meridian of the planet. No sign of the disk of Europa itself but I might have a chance as it nears the limb in around 20 minutes time.

 

[Paul M]

Thank for the invite Stu!

My scope is setup waiting for Jupiter to clear the fence, once it gets dark, if it stays clear, if I stay awake...

 

[John]

Europa itself showing now as it approaches the limb. Couple of festoons showing coming off the NEB. Pretty decent views just now - 180x - 200x working quite nicely.

 

[Littleguy80]

Just popped out with the Equinox 80. The shadow is very clear. Seeing seems quite steady tonight. A hedgehog just came to keep me company. Summer observing at it’s best!

[John]

It's a lovely part of the event when the moon has left Jupiter's disk and is hanging against space but it's shadow is being cast down onto the cloud tops below. You get a sense of viewing 3 dimensionaly even using a single eyepiece. The solar system in action as you watch. It's quite a privilege IMHO

Thanks again Stu

[Littleguy80]

7 minutes ago, John said:

It's a lovely part of the event when the moon has left Jupiter's disk and is hanging against space but it's shadow is being cast down onto the cloud tops below. You get a sense of viewing 3 dimensionaly even using a single eyepiece. The solar system in action as you watch. It's quite a privilege IMHO

Thanks again Stu

Couldn’t agree more, on all accounts! Cheers Stu!

[John]

On top of the Europa transit I'm getting the best detail that I've seen so far this opposition as well

[CraigT82]

Have just come inside from a really pleasurable 30 mins viewing with my 102mm f11. Love Crisp shadow and a great big festoon in the NEB. The SEB looks a bit of a mess these days, not tidy and well defined like the NEB. First time I've actually laid eyes on Jupiter since 2017 I think! Thanks for the heads up Stu! 

[Stu]

Great stuff all. Glad you have seen it because I have been pretty much clouded out when I did spot Jupiter through the gaps the seeing was horrendous so I've packed it in. Could hardly see the belts let alone the shadow, feeling very envious.

@John have you got GRS now?

[Littleguy80]

3 minutes ago, John said:

On top of the Europa transit I'm getting the best detail that I've seen so far this opposition as well

It was looking so good that I got the dob out. Not fully cooled but with a 7mm Ortho I have the shadow, festoons and the GRS coming round the corner too. Awesome!

[Stu]

3 minutes ago, Littleguy80 said:

It was looking so good that I got the dob out. Not fully cooled but with a 7mm Ortho I have the shadow, festoons and the GRS coming round the corner too. Awesome!

Great stuff Neil!

[John]

5 minutes ago, Stu said:

Great stuff all. Glad you have seen it because I have been pretty much clouded out when I did spot Jupiter through the gaps the seeing was horrendous so I've packed it in. Could hardly see the belts let alone the shadow, feeling very envious.

@John have you got GRS now?

Theres no justice Stu as it was your heads up that got us out I reckon - sorry you have missed out

[MarsG76]

That will not be easy from the UK.... good luck spotting  or imaging the transit.

[Stu]

Just now, John said:

Theres no justice Stu as it was your heads up that got us out I reckon - sorry you have missed out

Such is life John, glad so many of you picked it up and the sky was kind. I thought I might be lucky looking at Sat24 but not this time. Tomorrow looks clearer I think, but no transits.....

[paulastro]

Stu, thanks again, just got in from observing with my 120ED, binoviewer with 16.8 Orthos giving x215.  Out from 10.08 pm to 11.23 pm.  Seeing rather tremulous and some cloud coming across but did have some nice views at times ,in better moments.  Best earlier on, but I just managed to see the GRS coming on the other side to the shadow before I came on.  At times of bad seeing the shadow wasn't visible, but it was there much of the time.

As John said, it's always nice to see a shadow transit, it does make the view so much more 3-D looking.  Also did see some nice detail, if the seeing had cooperated more it would have been very good indeed.

No hedgehog for me, tonight though I did get some midges and a couple of bats flying around.

Thanks again Stu, but very sorry you didn't get a decent view yourself.  Hopefully we can provide you with a useful heads-up at some time that you can make good use of.

 

[geoflewis]

1 hour ago, Littleguy80 said:

It was looking so good that I got the dob out. Not fully cooled but with a 7mm Ortho I have the shadow, festoons and the GRS coming round the corner too. Awesome!

Hi Neil when did it clear out for you? I kept checking the sky here earlier and was clouded out through 10:30, so I gave up. Just saw your post, so looked outside and it's clear - damn, looks like I missed out on a good session 😭. Geof

[Littleguy80]

8 hours ago, geoflewis said:

Hi Neil when did it clear out for you? I kept checking the sky here earlier and was clouded out through 10:30, so I gave up. Just saw your post, so looked outside and it's clear - damn, looks like I missed out on a good session 😭. Geof

Sorry to hear that, Geof. It wasn’t far past 10:30 that I went out. I only intended a few minutes to spot the shadow and possibly the GRS. Stayed out until 12:30 though it was mostly clouded out at 12:15 or so. Tomorrow night looks good though. Fingers crossed for that  

Edited July 3, 2019 by Littleguy80

[Littleguy80]

1 hour ago, Stu said:

Great stuff Neil!

Thanks Stu. Was an excellent unexpected session this evening. Jupiter and the transit was superb. Got Cassini Division on Saturn. Also picked up M4, M80 and M8 before the cloud arrived.

Thanks again for posting. I really enjoy these threads where a few members are observing an event all together. It’s like a virtual star party  

[Paul M]

Just in from a two hour session

Nice clear sky here since lunch time and the forecast was for it to stay clear and it did. I set up the 10in Newt early on and by the time I went out observing Jupiter was clear of the obstacles and I found Europa already clear of the disk. Very unsteady seeing with Jupiter really boiling at times but it improved steadily . 

My 6mm TMB planetary gave me 200x which was optimal for the conditions. I tried 300x with the 4mm TMB but it wasn't too good. Anyway, Europa's shadow popped into plain view as and when the seeing allowed. Better than I anticipated for the circumstances.

Disappointed that the GRS didn't reveal itself to me. Plenty of other disk features could be seen.

I later tried for Ceres, not far from Jupiter but I hadn't bothered setting up the mount. Polar alignment was probably not within 5 degrees and I didn't star align. Tracking was still near enough to follow Jupiter with some adjustments but no chance of a GOTO working. I tried star hopping but the sky was just too bright. Probably too bright to see Ceres anyway!  

[Cosmic Geoff]

I got out just in time with my CPC800 setup + ASI224MC. The seeing low down was bad, and got worse as the session progressed. With a zoom eyepiece (about x200) I could not make out any moon or shadow.  On the screen Jupiter at times looked like an egg in a blender - the worst seeing I have encountered here.  I packed up wondering why I had bothered to upgrade the mount and camera for this year.😕

Reviewing the image videos this morning I find that the first processed images show the shadow clearly, and also the moon emerging as a pimple on the planet's limb.  Most of the following ones show the progress of moon and shadow, and the last at near midnight shows a GRS creeping into view.  

[Grotemobile]

10 hours ago, Stu said:

Great stuff all. Glad you have seen it because I have been pretty much clouded out when I did spot Jupiter through the gaps the seeing was horrendous so I've packed it in. Could hardly see the belts let alone the shadow, feeling very envious.

@John have you got GRS now?

Same here in Peacehaven ,Sussex. No detail @ all.

[John]

Last nights seeing conditions showed me the best views of Jupiter I've had this opposition by far - quite like "the old days" in fact

During the better moments the structure of the 2 main equatorial belts was intricate, especially in the SEB which seems to be split into two parts for much of its diameter. 2 clear festoons were seen and one of those was an extensive loop down into the eq zone.

At points I was getting 6-7 cloud bands.

Not trying to rub salt into the wounds of those who were clouded out though or those for whom the seeing was not cooperating (honestly )

I'm fired up over planetary observing more after last night though !