[pgc hunter]

Thursday night promised no jet stream and a cold clear still night under high pressure. So I headed out with my 8" for my first look at Jupiter and Saturn of the season.

Saturn was razor sharp at 400x. The striations of the cloud bands on the globe were photographic., colours and all. The C-ring... silhouetted against the globe, like a photo. I didn't make an attempt at Encke, but that view could be cut with a knife. I am fairly certain my aperture is too small for Encke, and I was not very comfortably situated, i.e. the eyepiece was too high for sitting down, and too low for standing so I had to stoop. Those plastic deck chairs just do not cut it anymore. I need a proper adjustable seat. But, I am fairly certain I've never seen Jupiter and Saturn sharper in my life. Had to see it to believe it.

I couldn't wait for Mars as I had to turn in for a 5:40am wake up. And if the moon was up, damn it would've been memorable. Would've been an absolutely mental night of solar system observing if only I had the foresight to call in sick the next day. lol.

Damn. If I was DSO observing, this would've been a 600x plus night on Planetary nebulae.

And the scope that accompanied me on this night. I dunno, but I am suddenly half-tempted to hit up Zambuto or Lockwood for a 10-11" F/7...
The scope was only outside cooling for 90 mins before observing, and the temp was falling quite fast. There are no fans or anything. I was truly surprised at what I was seeing.