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Sirius and The Pup under a Moon lit sky
Got up at 3.30am this morning to catch a Europa occultation re-appearance at 4.10am.
With the Moon at approx 96% illumination, it was a time for bright object viewing only in the short period before the sky started to lighten at about 4.30am. I thought why not try for the Pup as a quick check on Rigel showed the seeing conditions were very good and Sirius was still at a reasonable elevation. Converted my VixenNA140SS to "bright object mode" by stopping down the aperture to 120mm and adding a Baader Semi APO filter. I have found this combination almost completely removes any residual chromatic aberration, even at high magnifications on bright objects.
Tried for about 20 minutes but could not spot the Pup.
I then turned my attention to Jupiter and waited for the Europa occultation reappearance. The best viewing was at 160X (LVW5) and I was able to detect and watch the small bright disc gradually emerge from Jupiter’s limb and then separate itself. A bonus was the GRS, easily seen as it emerged from the limb almost adjacent to Europa’s re-appearance point. Why chase this event? Well it is one of the last events I need to tick off to complete a small project to observe all eleven possible events for each of the four moons.
I then returned to Sirius and the Pup. The seeing was now at it’s best with Sirius showing a tight airy disk and a series of very sharp diffraction rings. I found the Pup after a further ten minutes and of course, once I had found it there it remained in full view as a distinct sharp pin prick of light. This observation was at 228X (LVW3.5). The Pup was visible at 160X, but 100X failed.
I then turned my attention to the bright Moon with some brief time left before the first hints of the morning twilight could be seen. The best views were at 160X and I spent time immersed in exploring the detail in the broadly curving terminator.
I then sat back, listening to the growing chorus of birds welcoming the new day and watching the sun rise over the Derwent River in front of me.
A good start to the day.
Steve.
Last edited by Tinderboxsky; 16-12-2016 at 06:16 PM.
Reason: Additional information
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