Jupiter and Uranus.

[oldfruit]

Took the scope out to cool about 8pm last night and left it for about an hour as it was quite cold so wanted to be sure it had cooled enough.

I found Jupiter in the finder and put my 32mm eyepiece(31.25x) in and what a wonderful view. Jupiter and all 4 moons were in the field of view and even at this low magnification i could make out some feature on the disc.

I replaced the 32mm with a 12mm (83x) and the disc was a little blurry at first due to the seeing but i was patient and after watching for a short time i was rewarded with moments of better seeing. The detail on the disc was amazing and even jupiters moons had moments when they were almost pin sharp.

As the seeing had improved slightly i thought i would up the mag some more so put the 12mm eyepiece into my 2x barlow (166x) and slowly focussed and like before there were times when the seeing was a little off but during the moments of better seeing the detail was great. I was able to tease out some of the more subtle markings and bandings on the disc and was glued to the eyepiece waiting for those fleeting glimpses when the seeing improved.

As the view i was getting of Jupiter was good i thought that i would have a go at Uranus as it is close by. Found it in the finder and put a 15mm eyepiece (66x) in and although it was not impressive at this magnification i could see quite clearly that it was not a star. I then put a 10mm (100x) eyepiece in and was sure that i could just make out the tiny disc which had a slight greenish tint to it. I then used the 10mm plus the 2x barlow (200x) and the disc was slightly larger though still quite small but the coulouring was slightly more apparent. No features though but i was just happy that i had found it and could clearly see the disc.

All in all a good session really as the seeing allowed me to tease out that little extra detail on Jupiter and see a clear disc of Uranus. So being cold and up late was not so bad afterall.

Clear skies.

[John]

...As the seeing had improved slightly i thought i would up the mag some more so put the 12mm eyepiece into my 2x barlow (166x) and slowly focussed and like before there were times when the seeing was a little off but during the moments of better seeing the detail was great. I was able to tease out some of the more subtle markings and bandings on the disc and was glued to the eyepiece waiting for those fleeting glimpses when the seeing improved....

Excellent report

The above is the perfect description of what planetary observing is all about - the details will come but you have to work at it and "capture" those fleeting moments of great seeing in your mind.

I'm observing Jupiter under similar conditions tonight with my 4" ED refractor and it's amazing how much detail even moderate aperture scopes can pick up if you spend time at the eyepiece, under decent viewing conditions

[oldfruit]

Thanks for the feedback. I was doing the same again last night, just cannot seem to get enough at the moment plus trying to make as much use of the clear skies as i can.

[gustavo_sanchez]

Took the scope out to cool about 8pm last night and left it for about an hour as it was quite cold so wanted to be sure it had cooled enough.

I found Jupiter in the finder and put my 32mm eyepiece(31.25x) in and what a wonderful view. Jupiter and all 4 moons were in the field of view and even at this low magnification i could make out some feature on the disc.

I replaced the 32mm with a 12mm (83x) and the disc was a little blurry at first due to the seeing but i was patient and after watching for a short time i was rewarded with moments of better seeing. The detail on the disc was amazing and even jupiters moons had moments when they were almost pin sharp.

As the seeing had improved slightly i thought i would up the mag some more so put the 12mm eyepiece into my 2x barlow (166x) and slowly focussed and like before there were times when the seeing was a little off but during the moments of better seeing the detail was great. I was able to tease out some of the more subtle markings and bandings on the disc and was glued to the eyepiece waiting for those fleeting glimpses when the seeing improved.

As the view i was getting of Jupiter was good i thought that i would have a go at Uranus as it is close by. Found it in the finder and put a 15mm eyepiece (66x) in and although it was not impressive at this magnification i could see quite clearly that it was not a star. I then put a 10mm (100x) eyepiece in and was sure that i could just make out the tiny disc which had a slight greenish tint to it. I then used the 10mm plus the 2x barlow (200x) and the disc was slightly larger though still quite small but the coulouring was slightly more apparent. No features though but i was just happy that i had found it and could clearly see the disc.

All in all a good session really as the seeing allowed me to tease out that little extra detail on Jupiter and see a clear disc of Uranus. So being cold and up late was not so bad afterall.

Clear skies.

Very nice! I will try this approach myself.

[Nexus 6]

Nice read.

Good things come to he who waits!

Alan

[Regan]

Think i will try this tonight if the skies are clear,

Cheap Tasco at the ready:D

[Altair40]

Uranus is something else to add to the long line of targets for my 130mm newt. I'd probably just see a greenish star with that but if I knew it was a planet that would be fantasitic.

Might some form of disc be resolvable in my tiny scope anyone?

Especially now when it's close to Jupiter, I might have some hope in heck in finding it...

Nice one...!