Astronomy Day 2

[D:Ream]

Right, second night of astronomy I set out with the objective of seeing the moons of Jupiter. I have some nice 10x50 binoculars and a very basic refractor telescope with a tiny aperture (might even be smaller than the binoculars!). Sadly, I failed. Although I found Jupiter and was able to see it as a disk rather than a point in the sky I had no luck with the moons.

I'm guessing this is a combination of a full moon, slightly hazy conditions? Or am I just being a newbie?

[John]

You should be able to see at least one or two of Jupiters moons with 10x50 binoculars. Holding them steady is the key - either on a tripod or resting on a beanbag or similar. You need to steady the view as much as possible, then the moons will pop into view.

[Capricorn]

Since the post of this is 11:39 I guess that the viewing of Jupiter could have been not too long ago. Jupiter gets low after about 9:00 and it seems everywhere has some mist. The fairly full moon will not help either as it will be throwing light into the haze.

If possible give Jupiter a shot around 7:00 when it is slightly better positioned, although never well positioned at this time.

Should manage the moons in 10x50's, I can in 8x42's. But if one is close then it tends to merge into Jupiter, also one may be behind Jupiter.

[Nexus 6]

I'm guessing this is a combination of a full moon, slightly hazy conditions? Or am I just being a newbie?

Hi D:Ream, you will find that conditions like that will make it more difficult to observe a lot of things, Jupiters moons may be unlikely with 10x50 bins, I think you would make them out in a pair of 15x70's and there are some good deals for that range at the moment.

Here's a link for Stellarium some free software thats really handy, apologies if you already have it

stellarium

[D:Ream]

Thanks for the rapid and helpful responses!

@Capricorn: I did look earlier in the evening although Jupiter was fairly low in the sky at that point. I did check on a website whether or not the moons were theoretically visible.

@Nexus 6 (Alan): Part of the reason for the slow post after looking for Jupiter's moons was due to the fact that I downloaded Stellarium which is amazing! I doubt I'll ever see the Orion nebula that beautifully though... As for new kit, I'm hopefully getting my strictly non-science PhD in a few days which might be a good excuse for a few extravagant purchases.

@jahmanson: I wasn't holding them amazingly still so you may be right.

Weather permitting, I'll try again on Sunday.

[AndyH]

You should be able to see at least one or two of Jupiters moons with 10x50 binoculars. Holding them steady is the key - either on a tripod or resting on a beanbag or similar. You need to steady the view as much as possible, then the moons will pop into view.

Wot he said ! Steadyness is the key. I saw all 4 this evening through my 50mm finder scope.

Andy

[Jimmy Stix]

I downloaded Stellarium which is amazing! I doubt I'll ever see the Orion nebula that beautifully though...

Hi D:Ream

Stellarium is pretty cool isn't it (and the price is right ).

I believe the close up images of DSO's are made up of composite photos with long exposures which is why you get the colour. There are others on here with far, far more knowledge of imaging than me!

That said , I had a smashing look at the Orion Nebula in my Mak the other night. It was a grey fuzzy patch of cloudy light but nonetheless I was picking out some of the nearby stars too. Plus, according to my new copy of TLAO, it's around 1500 light years away! Not far in terms of some things but still far enough to fry my brain. I keep trying to get my wife to grasp what that means in terms of distance but she doesn't quite get as excited as me!

It's things like that which will keep me going out for years to come!

Keep warm and have fun.

[perrin6]

Interesting event tonight (found out using Redshift 4 software): At about 8.05 pm Jupiter's moon Europa will emerge from Jupiter's shadow. It will seem to quickly (over a couple of minutes) appear out of nowhere just to Jupiter's left (East), 1 Jupiter diameter away.

[D:Ream]

I did observe the Orion nebula (M42 ) on Day 1 as a satisfying fuzzy white patch. Early days for me but the idea of long exposure photography appeals as it is a good tool of exploration.

Seeing Europa emerge for Jupiter's shadow sounds amazing but I'm out in London tonight! I'll have to look at that Redshift software. On a tip, I did once see the ISS pass across the sky before disappearing behind the shadow of the earth which was amazing.

[SimonR]

Galileo observed the moons of Jupiter - perhaps the most important observation ever made - using a telescope smaller than your 10x50s. Of course he didn't have to put up with light pollution and the English weather...