15th Dec: That Pair Again !

[John]

No chance here this evening due to

Hoping to get another go at them closer to the conjunction itself but the forecast looks rather dodgy. Saturday or Sunday might throw up a chance but I'll have to be on my toes. The 21st itself is not looking good at all.

 

[Tiny Clanger]

12 minutes ago, John said:

No chance here this evening due to

Hoping to get another go at them closer to the conjunction itself but the forecast looks rather dodgy. Saturday or Sunday might throw up a chance but I'll have to be on my toes. The 21st itself is not looking good at all.

 

Shame the between-cloud window was so small and short 

If ( if ! ) the forecast holds true the solstice / conjunction itself will be a soggy wipeout, but Sunday looks like it might be OK.

We shall see .

Or we shall not see ! ☁️

Heather

Edited December 17, 2020 by Tiny Clanger

[markse68]

That was pretty awesome- had a very nice view this evening in between thin whispy clouds and turbulent atmosphere but at times it was sharp enough to see crisp rings of Saturn and all 4 Galilean  moons- Ganymede and Europa forming a tight double! GRS was facing but not enough clarity even with the ADC to make it out but cloud bands evident. All fitted comfortably in the XW20 fov.  Moon looked lovely if a bit bubbly too.

Took the scope to work as forecast had looked good and found and watched them before they were naked eye visible. Had to put the scope on a table to clear the fence and used a ladder. Showed a few colleagues too who also enjoyed the spectacle  Monday’s not looking good but fingers crossed for Sunday.

Mark

Edited December 17, 2020 by markse68

[John]

28 minutes ago, markse68 said:

That was pretty awesome- had a very nice view this evening in between thin whispy clouds and turbulent atmosphere but at times it was sharp enough to see crisp rings of Saturn and all 4 Galilean  moons- Ganymede and Europa forming a tight double! GRS was facing but not enough clarity even with the ADC to make it out but cloud bands evident. All fitted comfortably in the XW20 fov.  Moon looked lovely if a bit bubbly too.

Took the scope to work as forecast had looked good and found and watched them before they were naked eye visible. Had to put the scope on a table to clear the fence and used a ladder. Showed a few colleagues too who also enjoyed the spectacle  Monday’s not looking good but fingers crossed for Sunday.

Mark

Nice photo !

As John Dobson said:

"...the importance of a telescope is not how big it is, it's not how well made it is, it's how many people less fortunate than you got to look through it...."

Difficult this year and I've missed sharing the views.

 

[markse68]

Very true I think too John- it’s always nice to show others things they’ve never seen before especially when they don’t just shrug their shoulders and go meh! 😉

Mark

[Stu]

Nice shot @markse68. Caught them myself again tonight in the Heritage 150p, not the best views but both nicely framed in the Leica zoom at x84 with about 1 degree of sky.

[bish]

 

Great stuff. The closer they get together the worse the weather gets here. Clear in the day and as soon ad I leave work at 5pm clouded out.  Clouded out for the geminids  too. A bit like waiting all year for comet ISON.

 

[Nyctimene]

Spotted the planets this afternoon 16.30 CET with the 80/400 Vixen frac. Views were not the best - still bright and slightly hazy sky, bad seeing, close to my local horizon. With 50x mag, I could make out Jupiter's disc and sometimes the equatorial belts but not the two moons on display. Saturn, 20 arc min ENE, and in the same field of view,was way fainter, but showed the Ring quite well and separated from the planet's disc. Was pleased to have taken a probably last chance before the next rain front.

Must have a look into my logbooks 1981 and 2000...

Stephan

Edited December 19, 2020 by Nyctimene

[John]

It has been a really rotten day here, weather-wise. Rain practically all day and heavier this afternoon and evening. No chance of seeing a glimpse of anything.

Tomorrow looks a little better so there maybe a possibility of a glimpse of the pair.

 

[bish]

Working today and Monday. Pinning my hopes on to tomorrow. Will need to set up the mak in a public place,  but will be able to hide behind the van (assuming its clear!)

[F15Rules]

No chance for me from my back garden, too low down behind trees and the house..

..however, tonight sounds as if it could be clear here early on, so if it is I'm going to try to pop my new to me little Carton 60mm  in the car and drive a out half a mile up the lane to get a much flatter horizon. And I'll take the Vixen 8x32 bins too..wish me luck!🙂

The weather man on TV has just said looking good for Christmas Eve and Christmas night frosty skies! Fingers crossed 🤞☺️!

Dave

[Saganite]

A very welcome Christmas present Dave.......🤞