Planning to have a peek at Jupiter on Monday night

[Stu]

Haven't managed to have a decent look at Jupiter yet through my OMC200 and really want to given all the great reports that are being posted - can;t wait! Monday night looks clear at the moment so fingers crossed

Need to get my hands on a 13mm Ethos from somewhere - tried one briefly a while ago and it was amazing with my scope, just about perfect magnification. Need to sell some kit to afford it but if anyone is selling one, let me know!

[Talitha]

Can't help you get an Ethos, but i'll keep my fingers crossed for your sky.

[Moonshane]

hi Stu

good luck with Jupiter - not hard to find but the view depends on the seeing, and of course the elevation I have found so the longer you leave it into the night/morning the better.

I can concur with your opinion on the 13mm Ethos. my scopes are 1600 FL so a mag of abut 120x. This eyepiece has given me the sharpest views so far. The 11mm Plossl I bought recently (about 145x) also shows superb detail and is every bit as sharp as the Ethos but obviously with a lot of different characteristics.

and NO I'm not selling it

In fact it was the experience with the 13mm Ethos that convinced me to get another Ethos eventually - probably a 10mm based on the performance of the plossl in terms of magnification. Like you though, I have to sell a few things and save before I can get anything else.

[Stu]

Have been looking at it for a while but only through the binos and my little refractor, wanting to see it at some decent magnification.

My scope is 4000mm f/l so the 13mm Ethos gives just over 300x mag. Saturn looked pretty amazing through it when I used one briefly before - with the scope not cooled down and a mount that was not tracking so would be fantastic with everything set up correctly.

At the moment, I've got a bit of a gap in my eyepieces. A WO 28mm UWAN which is great but doesn't quite give the magnfication and when I barlow it I seem to lose quite alot of quality. Below that I've got a 7mm Nagler which is great with the refractors but too much with the Mak! Hence the desire for the Ethos

[LukeSkywatcher]

On clear nights (not too many of those) i have everything i have pointed at Jupiter. I'm trying to get the best out of it that i can before the the autumn season starts. Sure Jupiter will be there still but i have so many old friends i like to visit with in the autumn/winter that i wont have much time for Jupiter.

As said above..................leave Jupiter til as late as possible (well til it is near zenith). The views are so much better. I've even had cracking views in my 70mm travelscope lately. I'm finding it trickier in my 130P. Could be a mixture of collimation,cooling etc.

[Stu]

Having checked the forecast, I decided to have a go last night instead of Monday and am very glad I did. Decided to go for it big style, everything out including dew heaters which were definitely needed later on.

Was all a bit wobbly to start off with, Jupiter low down obviously but also at that time is it directly over another house. Had a good look at M13 while I waited - really good at high power, practically filling the view with hundreds of tiny stars nicely resolved.

It just got better as the night went on, was quite steady. Scope was cooled down well. Tried a number of different ep's, including a Celestron 12.5mm Ultima Plossl which I've had for years but don;t use much now. Best views I found were with the 28mm UWAN, ie 142x. Anything above this and I just seemed to loose contrast and so the detail was lost.

Had very good views of the GRS which I confess I've never properly seen before. Also some quite nice detail in the NEB, plus the two northern temperate belts. Lots more detail elsewhere in clearer moments.

Stayed out til about 2am when some light cloud moved in and I got cold! The normal delights of packing everything away, bed at 3 and up at 7 for work! Worth it though, very good nights viewing