Jupiter through the Esprit 100

[Jarvo]

Ok so I need to quantify that upfront. I bought the Esprit specifically because the big boys were too far south for the next few years and wanted to turn my attention to astrophotography. 

The Esprit is billed as an astrograph but I think it is a very capable bit of kit for visual use (the Moon looks fab and my Retinas are healing nicely). 

Anyway I wanted to see how big a disk was created so I fired up the Esprit with an 8mm Radian giving me a whopping 68x Power. 

And guess what I was pleasantly surprised by the size of the disk which may well make my 150 Mak even more redundant when Jupiter and Saturn return. 

As for detail well the observatory’s lower frame means the lowest declination is slightly higher than where Jupiter is. This means that when I defocus I literally have a sliver of light to work with. No belts or Red spots but I could just make out the Galilean Satellites. 

So whilst is sit envious of Mr Astrovanis extraordinary images I will remain crouched for another couple of years until Jupiter peeps over my observatory door again. 

And we’ve got a decent Mars opposition next year haven’t we?

Thanks for looking. 

Jarvo