Busy little sky in Feb

[PSALM19.1 (Shaun)]

Ok, so on Feb 21, starting at around 8:15 PM and ending in the wee hours of Saturday 22, you can see Mars, Saturn, Jupiter the Moon and M42 (among other DSO's) - pretty cool: also, Mars is getting bigger so will be pretty decent on that night; Saturn also is becoming better viewing by then; Jupiter will still be hanging in there as a decent object and the Moon, well, it's the moon....

Question also: can you see Jupiter rotating in an 8" scope?

Bye!

[Camelopardalis (Dunk)]

With decent seeing, you can see the features of Jupiter in much less

The size of Mars varies quite considerably around opposition - try to view as close as possible. Jupiter and Saturn are big enough to good results so long as they're at decent altitude.

[mental4astro (Alexander)]

With a full rotation of Jupiter taking less than 10hrs, during a winter's night you would be able to see a full rotation take place. Now, if you are expecting to see it spin like a top right before your eyes, no. Its movement will still be relatively slow to see in a short space. But, if you are patient, and have a feature like the GRS, over the space of an hour you will begin to notice the shift in position of the GRS. This I have noticed with my 5" SCT, so in an 8" this won't be a problem.

There have been some enterprising IIS members who have put in the hard yards to produce a time lapse film of a rotating Jupiter and Saturn during a whole winter's night session.

Shadow transits move fast across the disk too. These can be quite fascinating to view as they approach the limb of the planet and are about to 'fall off' the planet. There are various programs that give the dates and times for these shadow transits too. All the transits I've seen however, have been just from chance viewing and nothing to do with following up from tables and programs - I'm happy to just let luck and chance coincide for me,

Mental.

[Quoll (Bill)]

According to “Astronomy 2014 Australia”, on January 21st at 2.00am EST and midnight WST Callisto’s shadow will be in transit across Jupiter. These times may not be exact for best viewing. Also daylight saving?

I’ve yet to see the shadow of one of the moons on the planet so I hope I can see it in my 8” DOB.

[OzStarGazer]

I can't wait to see Mars and Saturn! Jupiter is already an old buddy.
Saturn should be easy to find. Very close to the moon. It should be visible at about 3am from my balcony...

[Allan]

The first decent telescope I got when I was young was a 4.5" newt. I saw lots of detail on Jupiter with that. One of my favourite events were watching moon transits. I would spend hours looking at stuff, but regularly check back to Jupiter to see how the transits were progressing. An 8" is plenty big enough to enjoy a lot of what Jupiter shows. The moon shadows look like little discs which I think is pretty cool.

[Allan]

Originally Posted by Quoll

According to “Astronomy 2014 Australia”, on January 21st at 2.00am EST and midnight WST Callisto’s shadow will be in transit across Jupiter. These times may not be exact for best viewing. Also daylight saving?

I’ve yet to see the shadow of one of the moons on the planet so I hope I can see it in my 8” DOB.

Bill, from Perth Io will start a transit at 3:03am tomorrow morning, and again at 9:32pm on Friday night. Being the closest of the big moons Io only takes a little over 2 hours to complete a transit. So using higher power you can almost see the shadow moving across Jupiter.

[PSALM19.1 (Shaun)]

Thanks all....I think to see a shadow transit through my 8" Dob would require a trip to a nice dark field somewhere...there's no way I can catch that much detail from my place....I can certainly get a good view of the larger bands but the fainter ones are barely detectable...I did catch the Great Red Spot a couple of times - very small, but it was there....(at 200X Orion Edge On Planetary)

[Quoll (Bill)]

Originally Posted by Allan

Bill, from Perth Io will start a transit at 3:03am tomorrow morning, and again at 9:32pm on Friday night. Being the closest of the big moons Io only takes a little over 2 hours to complete a transit. So using higher power you can almost see the shadow moving across Jupiter.

Thanks for that Allan. I hope to be watching on Friday night.

I saw Io disappear behind Jupiter a week or so ago, quite impressive. I find Jupiter so bright it may be hard to actually see Io as it transits but hopefully the shadow will stand out. That’s why Callisto seems a better proposition as it is much larger than Io. I'm still using the EPs that came with the scope so I may be battling to see detail using high mag.


Shaun, see this post by Allan, it's post No 12 http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...d.php?t=116432

You seem pleased with your Orion edge on planetary Shaun. I've been considering one of them as a replacement for the EPs that came with my scope. Difficult decisions to make

Clear skies

Bill

[JJDOBBER79 (Jas)]

Hey psalm. I regularly watch the moon transits on Jupiter with my 6inch dob. I watched Ganymede 2 or 3 nights ago and I have seen io transit several times. You will not need dark skies as I observe this with my backyard light pollution and you do not need super expensive eps as I am using the ones that came with the scope. You will only see the shadow which will be a small black dot. I have never seen the moons you will need a bigger scope for this I suspect. Get the "jupiters moons" ap. it will tell you exactly when the transits happen . And it's FREE. It's an awesome sight. Every time I've tried to observe this i have succeeded so you will have great views with an 8". Good luck

[PSALM19.1 (Shaun)]

Thanks guys! Yes, maybe I need to look more closely at shadow transits...I haven't taken into account the specific times that I need to be looking...dah!

Yes, Bill, the Orion Edge On (6mm) is a very good ep for $130 or so bucks! Crisp, sharp views of moon and planets and not too bad on DSO's as well (though maybe too powerful)...there is no blueish discoloration at the edge of planets either. It is vastly superior to my Bintel 9mm and is, in most cases, the only ep I need! Happy viewing!

[Camelopardalis (Dunk)]

+1 no dark sky necessary! Jupiter is so bright it would be a waste of time if you can catch a view from home.

With the transit, the shadow will be very obvious as a dark spot - take a look at my image in the Beginners Imaging section - most likely the most obvious feature of all. Catching the transiting moon itself can be a bit more tricky because of Jupiter's brightness, but it is doable. Just look near the dark spot the transiting moon is also fun to watch as it approaches and leaves Jupiter's disc...watch the shadow carefully too

[mental4astro (Alexander)]

Me 3, for not needing a dark sky for ANYTHING to do with Jupiter!

In fact, no dark sky is necessary for any of the major planets or our Moon. Oh, and should I mention the Sun too, . From my home in Sydney, I've counted on one occasion 6 of Saturn's moons using an 8" dob. For this reason, I keep the majority of my observing from home just to the Moon and planets - helps keep me sain too when the neighbours keep their backyard flood lights on.

[OzStarGazer]

I was able to see Mars last night (for the first time, so it was exciting), but Saturn was hidden behind trees and by the time it came out the sky was too bright...

[PSALM19.1 (Shaun)]

So...what are you guys saying?...I don't need dark skies to see planets... My next goal will certainly be a moon transit, will check those times!

Incidentally, the Moon was awesome last night in a 32mm EP...a stunner

[PSALM19.1 (Shaun)]

Mr OzStarGazer...it is really cool to look at planets for the first time...I caught Mars as well this morning at dawn...my 8" Dob didn't have time to cool down though so was little more than a small shiny ball...of course, Mars is one planet that will gain alot of size over the next few months, so I'm sure even an 8" scope will pick up some detail....and Saturn, I would have to say that it is my favourite thing to look at (although, I am fond of the Moon...Sir Patrick Moore said: "Once a Moon man, always a Moon man" - guess he might have been right!

[OzStarGazer]

Oh, I watched it at about 3:30 in the morning. I didn't see many details (hardly any). I have a 5" baby dob, but just the thought that I was watching Mars was exciting! An orange filter did help a bit with clarity.

[OzStarGazer]

I LOVE the moon too, Shaun. I even bought a moon globe.
I do look forward to Saturn. Maybe I will go to the beach to watch it because at the moment it seems to come out of the trees in my neighbour's backyard (in front of my balcony) when the sun is already up.

[Camelopardalis (Dunk)]

Last opposition, I could see dark shapes and the polar cap in a 6" scope, so all you need is a night of decent seeing. The great thing about Mars is the day is slightly longer than ours so if you get the chance to see it on successive nights you can see different faces

According to sky safari, Mars is only 6.8" now but will be 15.1" at opposition. Not the best, but as it'll be huh in the sky I hope we still get to see some good stuff. Only a shame we don't pass each other by more often IMO.

[JJDOBBER79 (Jas)]

hi Dunk, so when would you suggest mars will be at its biggest (closest). I too have a 6 inch so hard to see detail. Also what time can I expect to see it.