When best time to view Jupiter ?

[UK1 (Rob)]

I have been up last 3 days between 4-40am to 6-00am to see Jupiter
all I get is a very bright object with very very little or no suface features ..can see the 4 moons ok ..... was using an 8" reflector 2x barlow ..15mm eye piece. What else do i need that might help to see surface features better ... or wait till a differant time of year ? I'm in Melbourne East

[iceman (Mike)]

Hi Rob

Now is the best time, or in the next month or so. Pre-dawn observing can usually be very rewarding with stable temperatures and good seeing.

Unfortunately the whole east coast is suffering poor seeing at the moment, which is probably why you can't see any surface features.

Over the next month it will rise higher before dawn so it should only get better. And hopefully the seeing will improve.

Also don't forget to leave your scope out overnight too, so the mirror is at ambient temperature before you observe. If you bring it out from indoors into cool pre-dawn temperatures, there's likely to be a 5-10deg different between mirror and ambient temperature, causing tube currents and poor local seeing.

[UK1 (Rob)]

Thanks will give it a try I thought It might have been because of the moon being so near ... so with my size scope I should see some surface detail ...
still waiting for my eq6 pro mount to arrive should get better stable viewing just hard getting the usb/serial prolific chip cable (have got the mod) to overide hand set for computer tracking then the photos will come least I got a shot of Saturn through the view finder and a hand held compact digital cameracame up better than i expected

[White Rabbit]

I found that jupiter has a very high surface brightness and the glare can get in the way of any detail. I use a light poloution fillter on on jupiter and it makes a big difference.

[UK1 (Rob)]

Thanks WR

I'll look into it

[iceman (Mike)]

That can work, and Jupiter does seem very bright at first. But I wouldn't necessarily recommend using a filter all the time, as you're potentially robbing yourself of resolution and detail.

Observing Jupiter takes practise and perseverance. The more you observe it, the more you get better at picking out the features, and your eyes will adjust to the brightness so it's not uncomfortable. Using a higher magnification will also cut down the brightness, as long as the seeing can support the extra magnification.

[UK1 (Rob)]

I have a 8" Newtonion 2x Barlow 25, 15, 9mm eye pieces, grey, blue and yellow filters should be able to make up a combination out of these to get a good view ( i hope )

[rmcpb (Rob)]

Recon the 9mm will just about do it for you. On a good night/morning the 15 and barlow will be useable. Just spend some time looking at Jupiter, at first its a white blob then your eyes adjust and you start picking up variations in the image over time. After a while you will wonder why you ever had problems.

Keep trying.

[UK1 (Rob)]

thanks will take all advice on board now just a matter of getting eq6 pro mount going where it should