Tonight

matt · #1 05-05-2007, 06:30 PM

Well... for the first time in many nights the transparency looks quite nice.

Can already make out the Milky Way and both the LMC and SMC.

Fair bit of star twinkle though.

I don't care. I'm set up and ready to have a crack at Jove, commencing 12.30am for some GRS action!!!

nightsky · #2 05-05-2007, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by matt

Well... for the first time in many nights the transparency looks quite nice.

Can already make out the Milky Way and both the LMC and SMC.

Fair bit of star twinkle though.

I don't care. I'm set up and ready to have a crack at Jove, commencing 12.30am for some GRS action!!!

G'Day Matt,
Yip clear as a bell here,might do a bit of viewing myself

if I can convince the visitors to go home early or join me

Cheers
Arthur

jjjnettie (Jeanette) · #3 05-05-2007, 06:40 PM

Good luck with that Matt.
You should stay up for the long haul and catch the Eta Aquarids as well.

ving (David) · #4 05-05-2007, 06:57 PM

i think the jetstream is still lingering tho... i will try tomorrow after thursday nights effort! i focussed jup onteh screen abut could barely see any banding. worst seeing EVER!

matt · #5 05-05-2007, 07:17 PM

Yeah. The seeing might let us down, Ving.

Will have to wait and see how things look in about 6 hours.

You never know. We might get a little break.

Dennis · #6 05-05-2007, 08:03 PM

Good luck chaps - I hope Jove puts on a good show for you and I look forward to seeing the fruits of you astro labours!

Cheers

Dennis

iceman (Mike) · #7 05-05-2007, 09:10 PM

I'm too tried to try tonight.. I did try last night, seeing was terrible for the ganymede shadow transit. I was back in bed before midnght.

matt · #8 05-05-2007, 09:12 PM

Yeah. I tried too, Mike.

Twas rubbish

Rodstar (Rod) · #9 05-05-2007, 09:58 PM

Well I have just come inside after a great session with my ED80.

Even with such feeble aperture, I was able to crank up the power to about 180x and have razor sharp lunar images.

Jupiter showed detailed banding, GRS, good colour etc. Not bad for 3 inches. I have to say, the views tonight are the best I have ever seen through the ED80.

Naked eye, there was a bit of a twinkle, but very minor, and star colours were far more evident than usual.

Very much worth getting out and imaging, those into that sort of thing. It looks like a superb night of transparency on the NSW Central Coast.

matt · #10 05-05-2007, 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rodstar

GRS, good colour etc.

I think you'll find it (the GRS) doesn't come into view for another hour and a half.

The ED80 might be good, but it's not good enough to see the GRS before it begins its transit

Rodstar (Rod) · #11 06-05-2007, 10:30 AM

I wonder what it was then, Matt?

Matt, I was observing Jupiter at about 9.30pm EST. It was fairly low at that time on the ENE horizon. I have checked AStronomy 2007, and you are quite right that the GRS was not due to transit until about 11.30pm, and there were no moon transits until after midnight. There was definitely a darker patch observable at the latitude that I would expect to see the GRS. I guess the small size of the image through the ED80 played some tricks on me!!?

matt · #12 06-05-2007, 10:56 AM

Don't know, Rod?

If you have a look at the image I posted from around that time (Solar System forum) you can see the south tropical disturbance is fairly close to Red Jnr.

Combined, and with the aperture you were using, they may have presented as a single feature which looked deceptively like the GRS?

Was it near the limb like my image when you were looking through the ED80?

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...ad.php?t=19931

Rodstar (Rod) · #13 06-05-2007, 11:27 AM

That may well be it. Some great images, Matt, BTW!