What did you see tonight?

[jjohnson3803]

About 30 minutes lunar this morning with my 72ED before thick fog moved in.  Took me somewhat by surprise since there was no fog forecasted.

 

[lunator]

I had a quick look at Saturn between the clouds. Too many fireworks to continue the session. 

Hopefully quieter in the week.

[paulastro]

1 hour ago, Astro_Dad said:

Having sadly missed the aurora tonight, clearly  visible from local gardens and of course Lime Tree it seems , I was nevertheless inspired to view Jupiter on what is a very clear Bonfire night here. Lovely views of the disc and Galilean moons through my 8” with 150x power using the Baader Zoom. It’s been a while but good to be back out. 👍

Glad to hear you're still looking up Andrew 🙂. Best regards, Paul

[IB20]

Got some nice views of Jupiter tonight, lovely detail particularly on the lower boundary of the NEB. At 9:51pm I started to see a pin prick of light just off the Western edge of Jupiter. After a few minutes, Europa fully revealed itself from the planet’s shadow. 

I think I’ve also nearly sorted push to on my 102ed with my phone and PS Align Pro. Before the clouds rolled in, had a quick find of some targets ending on a really super double star in Mesarthim. 
 

[Zermelo]

I was too slow out of the traps this evening, only getting an hour in before the cloud came, and some light rain forced me in just after 9.  The sky looked very dark and transparent at first, but the seeing here was very average, and there was a light breeze.

Most of the time I spent looking at Jupiter, over in the East.  It was best at around x170, which is 9mm in the Mak. Any more, and it turned mushy. The NEB and SEB showed some detail at their edges, and one further band in each hemisphere was visible. The GRS should have been close to transit, but I couldn't see it. All four Galileans were out. Once again, my cheap Svbony 9-27mm was as good as the 9mm Morpheus.

Uranus was close by, distinctly greenish in the Morpheus, slightly less so in the Svbony.  A few attempts at tight doubles failed with the seeing, though HD9454 (0.9") was definitely elongated at x500 (but very wobbly) in the Svbony 3-8mm.

[Captain Scarlet]

1 hour ago, Zermelo said:

 

Most of the time I spent looking at Jupiter, over in the East.  It was best at around x170, which is 9mm in the Mak. Any more, and it turned mushy. The NEB and SEB showed some detail at their edges, and one further band in each hemisphere was visible. The GRS should have been close to transit, but I couldn't see it. 

I too couldn’t see the GRS in similar otherwise-good-view circumstances the other day when it was apparently just there. I wonder if it’s at a low-contrast period at the moment. 

[Stu]

Just in from the last of a few short sessions this evening. Conditions were  generally pretty good; nice dark and transparent skies, seeing not too bad but there was an unexpected shower when I was having dinner, fortunately I had brought the scope in to change some bits around so that was ok, but strangely the sky appeared clear. Later while I was observing, there were again a few drops out of an apparently clear sky, quite odd.

Anyway, I used both FS-60Q and FC-100DC this evening, generally with binoviewers using 20mm Vixen LVs and 10mm BCOs and a x2.6 GPC. Earlier on I had a look at Saturn, then Jupiter when it got into a better position. GRS was just coming around the limb at that point. I couldn’t see it but could see where it was, if that makes any sense.

Later on I popped out and it was heading towards the other limb. Not in your face but there, along with the following turbulence. I caught the beginning of the shadow transit of Io; shadow well defined and I could see Io against the SEB for a while.

In the 60mm, the shadow transit was just about visible at x78, but very clear at x156. GRS was not really visible in the 60mm, although I’m sure it would have been had I caught it as it transited.

I finished up on M45 with the 22mm Nag in the FS-60Q. This worked much better once I remembered to remove the x2,6 GPC from the diagonal 🤪.

[Ags]

Had a quick peek at Jupiter tonight using the Svbony 3-8 zoom and C6 (operating at f6.3). Best view was at 8mm, lovely detail showing on SEB and NEB, with an Io shadow transit showing clearly, but Io itself was not visible.

I have an observing mystery I hope someone can clear up: the first seconds I look at Jupiter (or any planet) the detail is often incredible. But after looking for a few minutes the detail seems to go away. Any ideas about how I can preserve my acuity?

[Saganite]

What a beautiful sky above my home !

Both my scopes in the  dome are now aligned thanks to Rowan's  Altitude adjuster plate which I fitted yesterday, and I am enjoying being able to use both while sitting comfortably.  I have been following Jupiter since 9pm, catching the GRS  and currently watching the transit of Io.  The seeing is not great but 92x in the 6" and 110x in the 4" have both shown lovely views.  Along the way I had a not so wonderful view of Neptune, but a very nice image of a grey green Uranus. Star tests have been good so as the night wears on, I can leave Jupiter for breaks and double star fun.  There is also the feast of Orion to look forward to later.  Split Mintaka, low as it is , but it is hardly difficult.  A cup of tea now, I think, and back to my cosy seat.  

 

[PeterStudz]

Nice on and off session with Jupiter tonight with my 200p Dob from my back garden in Southampton.

For once (it’s been a while) the seeing was decent and I watched the GRS  transit. Colour contrast noticeably good. Best with a 7mm for approximately x170. I could see the shape of the GRS clearly defined plus several areas of turbulence following behind, looking like white swirls. Details in the SEB and especially the NEB which looked more undulating than it has been. Also an interesting and obvious “bite” out of the lower edge of the NEB. I could also make out banding in the southern polar region.  My daughter came out for a look and was suitable impressed. But a school night so she couldn’t stay out long.

Went inside for a break as Io was nearing the limb. Went out again in time for the shadow transit of Io. I could just make out Io itself on the edge of the SEB. The shadow itself really obvious and well defined. Seeing improved slightly, maybe because Jupiter was now higher in the sky. I watched the shadow transit for ages. I do find these mesmerising.

The sky for me was very clear for my Bortle 7 location and Orion was especially tempting, but work tomorrow.

[Saganite]

The seeing has not improved for me, so the doubles I particularly wanted will have to wait for another time, however I have bagged 14 Messiers since  the end of the Io transit, so I will content myself with that.  The Moon is looking good so that will round things off very nicely.

[Stu]

6 hours ago, PeterStudz said:

Nice on and off session with Jupiter tonight with my 200p Dob from my back garden in Southampton.

For once (it’s been a while) the seeing was decent and I watched the GRS  transit. Colour contrast noticeably good. Best with a 7mm for approximately x170. I could see the shape of the GRS clearly defined plus several areas of turbulence following behind, looking like white swirls. Details in the SEB and especially the NEB which looked more undulating than it has been. Also an interesting and obvious “bite” out of the lower edge of the NEB. I could also make out banding in the southern polar region.  My daughter came out for a look and was suitable impressed. But a school night so she couldn’t stay out long.

Went inside for a break as Io was nearing the limb. Went out again in time for the shadow transit of Io. I could just make out Io itself on the edge of the SEB. The shadow itself really obvious and well defined. Seeing improved slightly, maybe because Jupiter was now higher in the sky. I watched the shadow transit for ages. I do find these mesmerising.

The sky for me was very clear for my Bortle 7 location and Orion was especially tempting, but work tomorrow.

Good stuff Peter, sounds like we saw similar features though I was only using a 4” so sure you saw more detail. I’ve been following the ‘bite’ out of the NEB; it shows on some of the images posted as a couple of white oval type features, though I’m not sure exactly how they would be classified. They show well in this post from Geof.

 

[RobertI]

Similar story for me last night, caught the very beginning of the Io transit, both shadow and moon clearly visible on the limb. Seeing was good, and through my 102EDR with binoviewers (approx 170x) the other three moons showed up clearly as tiny discs. As others have mentioned, the GRS was not easy to see nearing the other limb, it should have been easy as seeing was good, but it just wasn’t.

Spent the rest of the session viewing some DSOs around Auriga and getting some early glimpses of Orion and M42.

A new object for me tonight, the open cluster NGC1893 embedded in the nebula IC410, the latter only visible with a UHC filter. The nebula wasn’t bright, but was eventually clearly seen, and to my eye resembled the Pacman in shape. To me this is a brighter object than its more famous neighbour, the Flaming Star nebula. There is also a lovely double 14 Aurigae nearby.

[Franklin]

Two clear nights in a row, what's going on?

The lawn, where I observe from, is absolutely saturated from the previous wet weather and this excess moisture caused my scope to become heavily dewed within an hour or so. I started with the 81 and swapped for the 102 when my dew heaters gave up the ghost.

Great views of Saturn earlier, followed by Jupiter later including the Io transit and a collection of Messier objects and double stars in between. Nice to see Orion gaining some altitude, just hope this clear spell continues.

[Bugdozer]

We had a look at Jupiter just as the GRS was coming onto the disc, it did seem tricky to see last night compared to Friday when I last looked. Annoyingly the clouds covered the sky later so no chance of watching Io's transit.

We did manage to get a good view of Saturn around 7.30pm when Titan and Rhea made almost a perfect straight line to the west of the planet. I did my best to try and spot Dione too but it was lost in the glare. Even daughter's keen teenage eyes couldn't see it. I did see some definite cloud banding on Saturn itself, with the northern pole being noticeably darker than the equatorial region. I had just cleaned my 9.7mm eyepiece and I think that made a bit of a difference to clarity.

We had a quick look at Neptune too, but with my small scope there wasn't really any disc to be seen, although with higher magnification there was definitely less twinkle than the surrounding stars.

[SwiMatt]

33 minutes ago, Franklin said:

Two clear nights in a row, what's going on?

Keep it classy please...

Those of us who have been seeing only clouds for a month could start feeling offended by such bragging 😛

[wesdon1]

On 05/11/2023 at 21:43, lunator said:

I had a quick look at Saturn between the clouds. Too many fireworks to continue the session. 

Hopefully quieter in the week.

@lunator I was trying to get some 90 sec videos of Saturn and Jupiter last night but the damn fireworks locally by my home, combined with a lot of smoke/haze, made it too difficult to get decent video data. I don't want to be a kill-joy but those damn fireworks get on my nerves! Thanks goodness it only happens for a few days once a year! 🤨

[IB20]

Very quick session with the 76mm last night as was expecting an Io shadow transit but SkySafari had turned light time off, probably when the clocks went back 😩 so I was a good 30 odd mins ahead. 

Still some nice views of Jupiter, seeing not quite there as the previous night. A very noticeable dark brown festoon/barge was trailing the GRS however, sort of cigar shaped and was much larger than barges I’ve seen before.
 

 

[lunator]

1 hour ago, wesdon1 said:

@lunator I was trying to get some 90 sec videos of Saturn and Jupiter last night but the damn fireworks locally by my home, combined with a lot of smoke/haze, made it too difficult to get decent video data. I don't want to be a kill-joy but those damn fireworks get on my nerves! Thanks goodness it only happens for a few days once a year! 🤨

Unfortunately round here it s full crash bang wallop from the end of October to Christmas. Hopefully once I have moved it will be better. How you do get a chance to video Saturn and Jupiter 😄

[John]

Saturn looks good just now 🙂

Even at 300x (ED120 refractor).

[IB20]

Out with the 15x binoculars tonight. M45 and Melotte 20 look superb; the double cluster despite its location at zenith is absolutely beautiful. Excellent transparency tonight! I need to do more binocular sessions.

[lunator]

The conditions are pretty good tonight. The transparency is very good. I got a decent view of M110 which isn't a frequent occurrence. Jupiter also showed great detail and I am sure Ganymede appeared as a disk. I hadn't really seen this before. I'll write up a full report tomorrow.

Cheers

Ian

[Franklin]

Another clear sky. Seeing very good as Saturn looked etched earlier with CD visible at the edges plus shadow of the globe on the rings. Titan and Dione visible but unable to see Rhea because of the glare. Jupiter was looking good with plenty of belt detail and Io was just beginning to be occulted when I observed, back out in a bit to hopefully see the re-emergence due about 9.40pm I think. M31, double-cluster, M33(in vain) light pollution, M45, M15 outer regions resolved at 125x, not bad for a 3".

SD81S, LVW22, SSW10, SSW5, HR3.4

[John]

3 hours ago, John said:

Saturn looks good just now 🙂

Even at 300x (ED120 refractor).

Well it did look good ...... for about 30 minutes 

[Franklin]

Clouded out here now and storms are heading in again tomorrow, nice while it lasted.