Well-positioned shadow transit of Io, early evening tonight (29 Sep)

[Nik271]

The Met Office weather forecast for this evening is good for large parts of UK :-).

Even better for planetary observers - there is a shadow transit of Io, beginning around 8pm and ending about 10pm, perfect timing when Jupiter is high and there is no need to stay up till late. Io itself will be transiting across Jupiter and emerging around 9:15pm.

Also there will be no Moon until 11pm. What could be better

[SuburbanMak]

Thanks for the heads up Nik- I will get the Mak cooling...

 

[stuy]

The jet stream will play havoc sadly I think but if it’s clear here il be out 🤞

[John]

Got my ED120 refractor out and I'm just waiting for Jupiter to clear the trees.

Saturn looks OK at 225x but there is some "shimmer" from atmospherics.

 

[callisto]

7 minutes ago, John said:

Got my ED120 refractor out and I'm just waiting for Jupiter to clear the trees.

Saturn looks OK at 225x but there is some "shimmer" from atmospherics.

 

I was going to set up for this but I have a ikky stomach so I'll have to pass tonight 🤢  😔

[John]

6 minutes ago, callisto said:

I was going to set up for this but I have a ikky stomach so I'll have to pass tonight 🤢  😔

Hope you are feeling better soon

[John]

Fast loosing my clear sky here due to invading clouds.

Io's shadow is well on the disk now but seeing wobbly and now with added cloud cover

[Nik271]

Just came in for a break and a warm drink. Seeing started terrible but slowly improved a bit, can see the NEB and SEB and the tropical zones in moments of stability. Io's shadow is right on the equator, about 1/3 across the disc already. Using modest magnification x150 with Skymax 127  and even that is a struggle, can see Io's shadow only 50% of the time. No sign of Io itself. Will keep looking. 

[Knighty2112]

Seeing was OKish earlier on, but from 8:15 started to go downhill. Shadow of Io very clear in AA 102mm scope with Starbase 6mm EP. Back inside now getting warm as pretty chilly with the wind chill.

[IB20]

Can just see the shadow, slowly crawling across the disc between the EBs. The seeing and transparency are pretty terrible though, getting quite a lot of atmospheric dispersion too.

[Alkaid]

Glad it’s not just me or my scope. The seeing is awful! I get long periods of mushiness, then fleeting views of the shadow transit. The contrast is poor, the shadow is a grey/brown rather than the normal hard black.

[John]

Don't know why I'm bothering just now - I can see Jupiter through the clouds but only just. I guess I'm hoping for a miraculous clear patch !

I had hoped to be teasing out white ovals in the Jovian southern hemisphere but trying to see the planet at all is proving a challenge

[IB20]

There is something spectacular about a Jovian satellite egress after transit. Tonight perhaps it’s that it’s just about the only thing I can make out 😅.

[Pete Presland]

Still waiting for Jupiter to clear the nearby conifers, had a fleeting view of Saturn for about 15mins ealier though 🙂

[IB20]

Not quite sure how this has happened but the seeing has deteriorated even further. Now appears if I’m viewing through a hall of mirrors that’s underwater. I think I shall call it a night, presuming this is jet stream related?

[Franklin]

Terrible seeing tonight over Sheffield.

[John]

Jupiter is currently playing hide and seek in the small clear patches of sky between the cloud cover. When it's visible, the seeing is not too bad now at 180x. Io (clear of the planet) and it's shadow (still on the disk) are looking quite nice, albeit in short bursts !

[Pixies]

Really poor seeing (Jetstream and local rooftops) for a while and I could barely make out the shadow.

And just as the shadow reaches the limb, the seeing improves! Typical! 

Anyway, it's a surprise clear sky (for now) so the dob is out and even with poor seeing and transparency, I'll see what happens.

[John]

98% cloud cover here now - I saw the first and last parts of the Io transit though, which is something.

Scope back in now though - nothing else showing to look at !

Edited September 29, 2021 by John

[PeterStudz]

Surprisingly steady here in Southampton. But plagued by high clouds and iffy seeing. At one point Jupiter completely disappeared, then reappeared about 5 mins later. But I could see the shadow and occasionally seeing would suddenly go good for a few seconds at a time. At the end I could also see Io close to Jupiter plus the shadow which was nice.

[wulfrun]

No chance here. It looked clear in the main earlier on but there was a haze and light cloud at lower astronomical altitudes. I had a peek at Saturn, which was wobbly and washed out. Jupiter showed me a disk and three moons but almost no detail, barely discernable brown-ish banding being about it. I tried my luck at higher altitude targets and swiftly got clouded out there as well. Oh well, it happens.

I did manage to locate the Owl cluster and got a brief view before the cloud spoiled things, so there's a positive (never seen it before).

[Nik271]

9 hours ago, PeterStudz said:

Surprisingly steady here in Southampton. But plagued by high clouds and iffy seeing. At one point Jupiter completely disappeared, then reappeared about 5 mins later. But I could see the shadow and occasionally seeing would suddenly go good for a few seconds at a time. At the end I could also see Io close to Jupiter plus the shadow which was nice.

This was also my experience in Oxford, every now and then there will be a good steady spell with a view of the shadow, and then back to a mushy orange ball.

The egress of Io was thankfully clear and fun to watch, it took 5-10 munutes. Just before it was the only time I could spot Io against Jupiter, I guess because of the better contrast against the darkened limb.

Shame about the seeing, I think it's the jet wind bringing the new spell of wet and windy weather. 

Edited September 30, 2021 by Nik271

[SuburbanMak]

Seeing was coming & going in Winchester, pulsating over a 2-3s cycle. Transparency great at first but gave way to increasingly large banks of high cloud in which the view became poor. 
 

 I’d put the Mak 127 out early to cool and started with a look at Saturn - Cassini division only visible fleetingly but a nice shadow of the planet on the rings, Titan visible, but even not-the-best views of Saturn I still find thrilling & helped me settle on the BCO 10mm being the best usable view at 150x. 
 

Tuning in for the main event it took me until 10 past 8 to pick up Io’s shadow on the Eastern limb & smack on the equator. 
Watched it fading in and out from dark splodge, easily confused with eye-floaters to sharp full-stop to disappeared-entirely & back again.  

There was a period of better seeing as it crossed the meridian and I was joined by my middle son  who like me took a minute or two to see it but was then suitably impressed. 

Things were mushy & cloud interrupted for a while but we got a break toward the end and really enjoyed watching Io emerge & a sharp intake of breath when we realised we could see both the moon & its shadow on the disc at the same time! 
 

I’d set up the Prinz 60mm f11.8 alongside with a BCO 6mm (118x) to test if this was observable, having been blown away by the clarity of the optics on the moon & gas giants recently. Can’t honestly say that I could pull it out of the popping seeing, may have been a  glimpse early on. It gave a great view of Io emerging however.

 

I stayed out for a while and picked up M15 & M2 - both cracking globulars with M15 in particular showing a tight bright core. The BCO 18mm showed them best with a hint of stardust in averted vision.  Then  nice to back off the magnification (32mm TSO Plossl) and throw them against a backdrop of stars, really gives them the lonely galactic wanderers feel. 
 

Throw in a quick hunt for Neptune (result-maybe, revisit) and the fact that Wednesday night is bell ringing practice at the cathedral and it made for an evening really well spent despite the less than perfect sky. 
 

Thanks again @Nik271 for the nudge! 

 

Edited September 30, 2021 by SuburbanMak

[AlexJ]

Unexpected opportunity from Sheffield, UK. I've been working on the C9.25 f10 setup for 'small' nebula but I caught this post and gave Jupiter a try.

Only my second attempt at Planetary, lots to learn with SharpCap, video capture, stacking and Wavelets!

Jupiter appears between the roofs for me and my scope just clears the Obs wall. 

I've only ever seen a 'mushy' image, I hope that one day better seeing and higher elevations will improve the view

Anyway, here's a very average image Jupiter with the Io shadow transit near its end.

Thanks for the heads-up

 

Edited September 30, 2021 by AlexJ
Embed image :)

[Pixies]

There's a double-transit coming up on 4 October - early evening. Ganymede and Callisto.

https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/advice/skills/jupiter-moons-how-see/