The Dead Zone

[yeti monster]

This morning was the clearest for many days. I was out with the 20x50s after checking HA for Jupiter rising in the growing dawn.

Haze was minimal, thin and about 5 degrees elevation max.

Still I could not find Jupiter, who would have been at about the same altitude as Crux was last night and I found that and the Jewel box despite the terrible seeing.

This is getting so frustrating.

Plan for tomorrow, to be out around 03:00 to attempt a comet between Virgo and Libra (forget the name just now) after the nasty, bright moon has gorn away.

Then, if conditions are favourable, lie in wait for Jupiter, once again, trying for a darker start to the hunt.

Surely Jupiter should be faily bright and conspicuous, given it current position?

[gliderpilot]

Good luck with the hunting. And keep the reports coming, YM, ey certainly make for some fascinating reading.

Clear skies and stay safe,

Mark

[yeti monster]

Dead zone? Tonight the entire sky seems like a dead zone. At 20:00 hrs o'clock pm Venus was a faint smudge at about 20 degrees elavation, pathetic! The heat of the day has filled the air with moisture and rendered just about everything below 40-45 degrees invisible and everything above that is fuzzy and vague. Add to that the light relecting all over the place and I'm sure that you'll get the picture........

Now my dilemma is, do I get up extra early to try to catch Jupiter and the BIG 4 moons in a nice line up and a possible go at Uranus before the sky starts to get light? Or shall I try to ignore the bait and wait until the moon has diminished more to give me a better chance?

I dunno............

[DarkerSky]

Jupiter is still a toughie at the moment...but you might just be able to use the moon to your advantage! Looking at Stellarium Jupiter appears to be on a diagonal line roughly midway between the moon and the lightest part of the sky at 5am BST shortly before sunrise tomorrow morning...

might be worth a go?

[yeti monster]

Ever the optimist, I set my alarm for 03:45 and dragged my **** out of bed. A quick look towards the east from the helideck confirmed that the mist was still here, the moon being a fuzzy smudge, much as Venus was last night. So back to bed for a couple of hours. Maybe tomorrow????