No difference, moon out or not.

[abumuhannadh]

hi,

i have seen Jupiter with my small refractor (60mm) without moon up in the sky.

last night i saw it with the moon so close to it, and i cant find any difference in the image. with or without the moon, i am able to see the SEB with no other perceivable detail.

i thought the moon will degrade the quality. what am i missing here?

[Doc]

The moon washes deep space objects out such as galaxies. Planets, stars and even globs and planetaries are not that affected by the moon.

[LukeSkywatcher]

You saw the SEB?

I think the image was inverted and you were looking at the NEB. The SEB has gone missing.

[John]

With 60mm of aperture the detail you can see on Jupiter is limited so the NEB and the SEB (if it ever comes back !) plus a couple of other faint bands on a good night will be about the best you can do, even on moonless nights.

The smallest scope I've been able to make out the Great Red Spot is an 80mm and other features such as festoons need more aperture again.

[LukeSkywatcher]

I never saw the GRS with my 90mm scope. I guess i was observing at the wrong times. I'll be concentrating on spotting it (no pun intended) later on in the year with my 130P,when Jupiter is up higher and hopefully by then these damn infernal clouds will have gone.

[abumuhannadh]

You saw the SEB?

I think the image was inverted and you were looking at the NEB. The SEB has gone missing.

OOPS!! my bad!

since it went AWOL, everyone talks about SEB and we kinda forgot to spell NEB

[Talitha]

Paul, the Sky and Telescope site has a really nice GRS calculator that works with the clock in your computer.

I usually check a week at a time and write the do-able ones on my calendar.

[LukeSkywatcher]

Thanks Carol. I guess i should have said that i never saw the GRS with my 90EQ because i have never planned it accordingly. I will be this year.

P.S.~~~no worries Ali. I'm still getting to grips with my up/down/left/right DOB. To be honest IF the SEB was still there, i wouldnt be able to say which was the SEB and which is the NEB

[abumuhannadh]

With 60mm of aperture the detail you can see on Jupiter is limited so the NEB and the SEB (if it ever comes back !) plus a couple of other faint bands on a good night will be about the best you can do, even on moonless nights.

The smallest scope I've been able to make out the Great Red Spot is an 80mm and other features such as festoons need more aperture again.

does the fact that the SEB is now gone and GRS is in a white background make any difference?

[John]

does the fact that the SEB is now gone and GRS is in a white background make any difference?

I don't know to be honest - I'll find out when the GRS is next visible and we have clear skies

[ollypenrice]

I'm not very planetary but I thought the GRS was easier to see without the belt (140mm refractor). A small remaining fragment of the belt was visible just by the GRS.

There were a few of us at the scope, including beginners, and all saw it easily.

Olly

[geoff_k]

My first scope was a 90mm refractor and I never saw the GRS through it.

Even though I have since stepped up quite a bit in aperture (250mm) due to Jupiter pastel shades I haven't always seen it then. Trouble is, getting out when it is visible can often be a problem. I only managed to image my first satellite transit last year after several years of trying.

Geoff