Jupiter and The Moon

[Scotty85]

Hi guys just wanted to share with you all last night was my first night to see jupiter unfortunately wasn't the best viewing conditions but still able to make a couple of cloud bands. My wife is not big into astronomy but i think after seeing jupiter she has been converted. Its amazing that an object 588,000,000 kms away can make such an impact on you.

Thanks again for the help with the scope...

Saturn is next:)

[geolindon]

g day Scott, what fun!! tho pause a while at Jupiter 'cos at this conjunction it is edge on to us and the 4 Galilean moons (which are about the same size as our moon but with different geology) can be seen to "mutually interact" as well as the usual; cross in front of/behind Jupiter, cast shadows on J, and with orbital periods from a few days to a coupla weeks their positions change daily. AND we can see this stuff even in poor seeing and between clouds :)

[Scotty85]

I can't stop looking so I will keep looking at jupiter to see the moons Im planning and early rise tomorrow morning to look at Saturn pending the cloud cover from the fires

[Regulus]

Glad to hear you're having some fun Scott.
Wait until your wife see's Saturn. You may find there are two people in the house with 'the bug'.
If you can get her to see the moon with high magnification when it is just a fingernail in the sky, that might spark a bit more interest. People who have never looked up before are awed by the moon through a telescope. It's quite fun introducing them to it :-)

Trev

[OzStarGazer]

Ah, I still remember the first time I saw Jupiter (about a year ago). It was small, but I was sooo excited to see its bands and its moons. The first time you see a planet is like your first love. Unforgettable.

[Scotty85]

I had a good look at saturn yesterday morning what an awe inspiring sight i have see many pictures if it but its nothing like seeing if for yourself. Just out of curiosity are you able to see andromeda galaxy clearly through a celsetron 4se?

[RobF]

Hi Scott

You're probably better off with 7x50 or 10x50 binocs for Andromeda.
The whole thing is about 4 times the size of the full moon.
The bright central core would probably appear as a big hazy smudge at lower power in your 4SE.

This time of the year other bright(er) galaxies you might see from a nice dark location include M104 (Sombrero) or some of the Leo or Virgo galaxies.