Jupiter and GRS - 14th Oct 2022

[Stu]

Had a session last night on Jupiter with my 8” f8 dob. The seeing was a bit sketchy, but still GRS was nicely placed and some good detail to be had. I think my mirror needs a clean though, looked pretty grubby when I checked it afterwards although may just have been dewed up.

Anyway, I started with my Leica Zoom and was enjoying the ability to vary the mag. It gives me x90 to x180 which is an excellent range for a number of different objects. Noting that it seemed beast around mid zoom and a little higher, I went to grab some fix focal length eyepieces to see how they fared, namely 7mm and 10mm XW and 12.5mm Morpheus. The 7 was too much for the conditions (x228), but both 10mm XW (x160) and 12.5mm Morpheus (x128) gave excellent views. The edge correction of the Morpheus which I have criticised in my refractors, seems much better in this scope. Nice and tight virtually to the edge, but with some colour separation (if that’s the right expression) when viewing planets right at the edge.

I’ve had much better views of Jupiter, but it was still good to see GRS, and when the seeing allowed, the clear separation to the SEB. There was not too much fine detail to be seen, but I did pick up a couple of the bright zones in the polar regions. If anything, I preferred the view through the Morpheus (😬😱🤣) as the fainter detail, particularly the bright zones in the polar regions, had better contrast at the lower mag.

I grabbed the observing seat after a while which certainly helped getting a steadier view, as the scope is quite prone to vibration. I also need to dig out my EQ platform as that improves things further still.

I upgraded the focuser to a Moonlight some time ago, and really enjoyed having the fine focus available to me. It actually reduces vibrations in itself as you only use a very  light touch with it.

So, far from an epic session, but good to be out there, and nice to use this scope again after quite a while.

[sorrimen]

Great report. Is that a sliding counterweight? Looks like a very good idea haven’t come across one before!

[Stu]

9 minutes ago, sorrimen said:

Great report. Is that a sliding counterweight? Looks like a very good idea haven’t come across one before!

Thank you. Yes, it’s a Vixen bar and clamp, with a weight (which I can vary if needed). I can easily slide the weight up and down as needed to balance the scope, it works well.

[Les Ewan]

Saw the GRS last night (4 Nov) and is not only prominant but a beautiful orange colour. It looks a completely differant feature to how it looked in July when I noted it as pale. Jupiter is full of surprises!