What did you see tonight?

[Stu]

1 hour ago, Captain Scarlet said:

And what's more, Ganymede had turned into a silhouette: I could see one sharp tiny black shadow, and Ganymede as a slightly less dark but nonetheless distinct disc.

Nice one Magnus. I’ve seen this once before with Callisto. These two have lower albedo than Europa and Io, so they show up as dark against the surface and are easier to see. As you say, they look a little less dark and I found the edges were a little less well defined than a shadow, but possible to confuse them with a casual glance. It’s a shame they transit a  lot less frequently than the inner two.

Heavy rain all evening here unfortunately.

[Mr Spock]

Still clouded out here - and forecast for the next two weeks. Annoyed to be missing out on these transit events. For some reason I find them fascinating to watch.

[paulastro]

I'm delighted your drought of clear skies has come to an end, and thar you had such a great session Captain Scarlet 🙂.  

Edited November 3, 2022 by paulastro

[Simon128D]

9 hours ago, Captain Scarlet said:

Weather here in SW Ireland the last few months has been terrible, and tonight has been my first more-than-a-moment session since the end of August. I've just come in from finally having taken advantage of Jupiter's altitude these days, and although I observed only Jupiter, it's been one of my more memorable sessions. I  had it in my diary as Europa & Ganymede double transit (thanks @Simon128D ) with shadows to follow plus GRS in prime position. I saw it all, though I did have to drag everything back in hurriedly while a violent squall came through.

I had my LZOS 105/650 on SkyTee2, initiually tucked right under my East wall to shelter from the 60kph wind gusts (it calmed right down a little later). The LZOS has a weird finder-mounting bracket, and it was only a few days ago that I got around to sorting it out and attching a finder: my APM 8x50 RACI . It does make navigating a bit easier ! And I also finally attached my slo-mo extensions(after 2 years of ownership), and they too make life so much easier. I mainly used my Ethos 4.7 to give me 138x.

I saw Ganymede and Europa approach and merge with the disc, while simultaneously Io disappeared around the back on the other side. At one stage there were three bright white pimples attached to Jupiter's disc. Once the two moons were in fornt of the planet, they disappeared from view, I couldn't make them out against the bright disc. But the rest of Jupiter was far better than I've ever seen him before, lots of detail and subsidiary bands, and for the first time (for me) the GRS was RED! Amazing. Then the squall came and I rushed everything back inside.

An hour or two later, all was clear again, so I quickly got it out again to see if I could discern any shadows. I could! And what's more, Ganymede had turned into a silhouette: I could see one sharp tiny black shadow, and Ganymede as a slightly less dark but nonetheless distinct disc.

So: double transit, GRS as red, lots of detail, a shadow and a silhouette. A wonderful short double-session.

As I write shortly after packing up, there's now heavy hail drilling against the window. I was lucky!

Cheers, Magnus

 

before the squall:

 

second session after the squall:

Brilliant read, you're excitment is obvious. Glad you got to observe the event. I missed it due to the stormy weather not passing until near 1am. 

It's moments like these is what makes the hobby/way of life, so rewarding and creates the craving for that next thrilling moment at the eyepiece. 

[scarp15]

Just caught the final stage of tonight's Io shadow transit afore the cloud swept in. 

[Captain Scarlet]

12 minutes ago, scarp15 said:

Just caught the final stage of tonight's Io shadow transit afore the cloud swept in. 

Well done. I’d too noticed that was due but no chance for me tonight, solid cloud to South.

Edited November 3, 2022 by Captain Scarlet

[IB20]

Looking at Mars tonight and there’s a clear white Northern polar cap but there’s also a slither of brightening at the Southern polar region too which looks like an icy polar region. I saw similar a few days ago too. Am I seeing both polar caps or is it some kind of Martian atmosphere affect?

[Pixies]

2 hours ago, IB20 said:

Looking at Mars tonight and there’s a clear white Northern polar cap but there’s also a slither of brightening at the Southern polar region too which looks like an icy polar region. I saw similar a few days ago too. Am I seeing both polar caps or is it some kind of Martian atmosphere affect?

You can also get a polar 'hood' which is a cloud of sublimated ice above the pole. Currently it's approaching winter in the south, so there's also mists and frosts there. The north polar cap will start to shrink now too, as it comes into summer.

See: https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/advice/skills/how-to-observe-mars/

I've been observing Mars tonight but the heat rising above local roofs is causing poor seeing and I can't make out much. Hopefully I'll see more as Mars rises and temps settle.

[Pixies]

Just back in. Once the seeing settled, I could make out the same as @IB20 observed. A North polar cap showing white - not quite the tight white dot as I saw 2 years ago, but a much larger area. Not many albedo features visible on the surface except for a darker band running across the south (Mare Sirenum, I think), and 'beneath' that a wide area of whiteness across and surrounding the south polar region.

Using the Vixen A105M and 6mm SLV

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

I set up the Celestron AVX mount on my observing area at 5pm straight after work, came in for tea, then went to bed.

Rising at 11pm after a coffee around midnight off I popped outside to a dew soaked garden and obvious dense atmospheric moisture which around these parts also has the effect of intensifying the city light pollution, thus brightening the sky. Sod that I thought. Instead I quickly dismantled the mount and chucked out the AZ5 & Altair Ascent 102ED outside the conservatory door.

Mars was terrible, like it had been dropped into a glass of water! So I had a slow tour of the brighter dsos; the Auriga clusters, Pleiades, Hyades, the Orion Nebula and back in for a hot chocolate.

By approx. 0330 the temperature started to drop and seeing improved enough as Mars crossed the meridian to observe the same Martian features as IB20 and Pixies.

I sat back for a while just taking in the dubious delights of a naked eye urban sky and was actually rewarded with a nice meteor. Starting to feel the cold, I finished off with Sirius the Scintillating Blue Kaleidoscope of Wonder. No pup for me. 🙄

Edited November 4, 2022 by ScouseSpaceCadet

[IB20]

6 hours ago, Pixies said:

You can also get a polar 'hood' which is a cloud of sublimated ice above the pole. Currently it's approaching winter in the south, so there's also mists and frosts there. The north polar cap will start to shrink now too, as it comes into summer.

See: https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/advice/skills/how-to-observe-mars/

I've been observing Mars tonight but the heat rising above local roofs is causing poor seeing and I can't make out much. Hopefully I'll see more as Mars rises and temps settle.

That’s awesome, thanks. Yes I was getting rooftop turbulence and some pretty wild atmospheric dispersion on Mars, it was fairly low in the East but occasionally the image broke through. Roll on opposition!

[josefk]

Notwithstanding the conditions that sounds really nice @ScouseSpaceCadet.

It was similarly damp here last night with the atmospheric damp and the lower lying mist lit up radiantly (and actually very beautifully) by the moon. Nevertheless it was good for a few doubles and some are Astro League list doubles so sketched too! 

Astro League - 94 Aquarii, 1 Camelopardalis, 6 Trianguli, Lambda Arietis.

"in the area" - HR 890, 59 Andromedae, HD 13746.

All at low magnification (<70x), all pretty in their own way and all near bigger land marks for easy finding.  

[SzabiB]

Great observing session last night.

My local astro club's chat group came alive late afternoon, forecast was promising. While I was still sitting on a conference call, I was texting my wife already about going up to the observatory tonight (great family program, the hound has a good exercise, wife is happy, everyone happy). 

I set up around 18:30 and it was the time for the 127 MAK to shine himself. Clear sky, Jupiter, Moon and Saturn all visible with the naked eye. I planned only planetary so I just done a quick 1 star alignment... on the moon. It worked out for the AZ GTi, any target I picked from these 3, was in the view field of the 25mm eyepiece.

 

Started with Saturn. Amazing views, even it was low. Finally very good view of the rings. I even seen one of the moon (still trying to figure it out, which one). I was switching between 125X and 185X magnification and worked very well.  After a while of peeping at Saturn and impressing wife multiple time, I moved to Jupiter. 

Good old Jupiter. Clearest picture I ever seen during my short astro carrier. I started to understand, why the MAK called planet killer. I could see the bands clearly for a good few seconds periods. 

Finally I moved to the moon. And here the problems started. It was impossible to fit it in the 25mm eyepieces view filed and was super bright. Luckily one of the club member landed me a 32mm super plossl. 

At the end I gave a go for Mars, but due on the wrong place (top of a settlement) I didn't manage to get much of it.

Around 9 o'clock we started to pack up and had a good chat with two of the other club members. Both of them are in the hobby long time ago and I seriously need to start to take notes of the useful advices. Me and wife also had a go with a few other telescopes, we got some amazing view of Saturn on one of the club member's Celestron refractor, which costs peanuts and supposed to be a guide scope, also tried a wide field Baader Morpheus eyepiece and I was massively impressed.  

[Stu1smartcookie]

Under the surgeons knife yesterday , and of course missed a fairly clear night last night , pleased that a lot of people were able to take advantage though . 

Tonight is looking crystal clear but , alas , im not able to lift anything remmotely weighty for a couple of weeks , maybe my little sharpstar on an AZ4 peeping out the east facing upstairs window will work ?... got to be better than watching tv .

 

Edited November 4, 2022 by Stu1smartcookie

[Ian McCallum]

I tried out my new Sky-Watcher Startravel 120 OTA, yesterday evening.  I did a quick view on the lunar disk, to judge what the CA was like.  It wasn't too bad, but more noticeable than on my Evostar 120 OTA.  The Baader Contrast Booster certainly helped, but didn't totally remove the CA - this is what I expected anyway.  The filter removes the bulk of CA and the difference is far more pronounced on the longer Evostar 120, as you'd expect.

[Epick Crom]

14 minutes ago, Stu1smartcookie said:

Under the surgeons knife yesterday , and of course missed a fairly clear night last night , pleased that a lot of people were able to take advantage though . 

Tonight is looking crystal clear but , alas , im not abpe to lift anything remmotely weighty for a couple of weeks , maybe my little sharpstar on an AZ4 peeping out the east facing upstairs window will work ?... got to be better than watching tv .

 

Wishing you a speedy recovery Stu👍

[Stu1smartcookie]

20 minutes ago, Epick Crom said:

Wishing you a speedy recovery Stu👍

many many thanks ... cant believe im back at work only 24 hrs after but its better to moan here than to myself back at home , anyway the way things go with me , i should have ensured clear skies for everyone for the next week 🤣

[Stu1smartcookie]

41 minutes ago, Ian McCallum said:

I tried out my new Sky-Watcher Startravel 120 OTA, yesterday evening. 

i am getting the itch to get another ST120 , and posts like yours are only encouraging me , Ian .. which is both bad for the wallet and for marital relations ... still its only a short scope ... may be able to hide it away  . Of course i would like the evostar too... omg . where does it all end ?

 

[paulastro]

1 hour ago, Stu1smartcookie said:

Under the surgeons knife yesterday , and of course missed a fairly clear night last night , pleased that a lot of people were able to take advantage though . 

Tonight is looking crystal clear but , alas , im not able to lift anything remmotely weighty for a couple of weeks , maybe my little sharpstar on an AZ4 peeping out the east facing upstairs window will work ?... got to be better than watching tv .

 

I hope your recovery is as quick as it can be Stu, and you're back at the eyepiece before too long.  Take care of yourself.

 

[Stu1smartcookie]

1 minute ago, paulastro said:

I hope your recovery is as quick as it can be Stu, and you're back at the eyepiece before too long.  Take care of yourself.

 

Many thanks Paul ... it really is surprising how much one misses the simple joy of looking through an EP ... hence the set up in the bedroom plan for tonight ... need to enlist Elena to set everything up though lol 

[Astro_Dad]

1 hour ago, Stu1smartcookie said:

Under the surgeons knife yesterday , and of course missed a fairly clear night last night , pleased that a lot of people were able to take advantage though .

All the very best Stu - wishing you a speedy recovery and a return to the eyepiece very soon. You won’t be spending your time researching future ‘scope purchases at all will you  ?!😊

[allworlds]

Turned out to be clear enough at 11pm. My Mak is at the menders so I was out with the little Heritage 76. Moon first, looked nice at 50x. Jupiter was meh - this really really isn't a planetary scope. So then I used it for what it is good at, widefield, panning across the sky looking at nothing in particular. And soon enough I find a fuzzy, I supposed it to be a cluster but it wouldn't resolve, well of course it wouldn't because it was M31! Then on up into the Milky Way starfields overhead. Only about half an hour overall but half an hour is better than none.

[Stu1smartcookie]

12 minutes ago, Astro_Dad said:

You won’t be spending your time researching future ‘scope purchases at all will you  ?!😊

lol , Andy ... i'm doing just that , sitting here at work 🤣

[paulastro]

2 hours ago, Stu1smartcookie said:

Many thanks Paul ... it really is surprising how much one misses the simple joy of looking through an EP ... hence the set up in the bedroom plan for tonight ... need to enlist Elena to set everything up though lol 

When I had my hip replaced 13 years ago, my youngest daughter, who was then nine, would get my telescope set up outside by the back door for me.  She would then keep a look out so as to warn me if she saw my wife getting off the bus when she came home so we could quickly put it away.

Alas I am scheduled to have my other hip replaced next May, and I'm not so sure she will be so willing to help this time 😏.

[Ian McCallum]

4 hours ago, Stu1smartcookie said:

 where does it all end ?

 

Divorce courts?🤔😂