The forecast was promising last night, good seeing and transparency... Unfortunately it was neither. I looked at Jupiter for a while; no transits etc. and the view was soft. I settled on which eyepiece to use for the ST80 finder, a 20mm super-wide. I tried for some doubles, but had trouble hopping even with 80mm due to the marine haze being lit up by the nearly full moon. In any case the view was poor:
Hld 20 / 5 Lib: Orange star, can't see the 10th mag. B. The moon interferes, and it is close to Jupiter too so it is lost in glare.
14H 45M 57.78S -15° 27' 34.4" P.A. 249 SEP 4.7 MAG 6.48,10.10 SP K1III DIST. 444.44 PC (1449.76 L.Y.)
BU 106 / Mu Lib: Easy, white & off white, 1 delta mag, ~3" [AB seen; 3 other pairings too faint]
14H 49M 19.09S -14° 08' 56.3" P.A. 6.4 SEP 1.95 MAG 5.61,6.62 SP A1PSRCREU DIST. 72.94 PC (237.93 L.Y.)
I thought if I aimed higher and away from the moon I'd have better luck, so I pointed to Izar -- but it too was flaring and fuzzy. So I called it a night.
The moon was behind the meridian tree, about 1 degree north of Saturn -- had a look in binoculars before closing up. Too bad for the marine haze and my telescope location, it would have made a nicer sight.
Wednesday, July 25, 2018
Monday, July 23, 2018
jupiter surprise
I had low expectations for observing last night. Transparency was compromised with marine mist and seeing was middling. I used Big Blue with my just installed ST80 finder and a cleaned-up observatory.
Jupiter was first up, using 277x, just to align the ST80. But I saw there was a shadow transit in progress, about 80% across, and a bright spot on the opposite side's limb on the NEB which was another moon just starting its ingress. Looking it up in my ephemeris I found it was Europa's shadow and Io just staring it's journey across. I watched until I could not see Io anymore, lost in the planet's light, and until Europa's shadow tangented the limb, looking like a poorly done hole-punch. The view at this point was soft, but fun to see the dark spot slip into the dark.
Scanned the moon's terminator for a while (binoviewers at low power), then it was too quickly time for bed.
Jupiter was first up, using 277x, just to align the ST80. But I saw there was a shadow transit in progress, about 80% across, and a bright spot on the opposite side's limb on the NEB which was another moon just starting its ingress. Looking it up in my ephemeris I found it was Europa's shadow and Io just staring it's journey across. I watched until I could not see Io anymore, lost in the planet's light, and until Europa's shadow tangented the limb, looking like a poorly done hole-punch. The view at this point was soft, but fun to see the dark spot slip into the dark.
Scanned the moon's terminator for a while (binoviewers at low power), then it was too quickly time for bed.
Friday, July 20, 2018
fun even in poor seeing
Seeing was very poor last night but I did have an
interesting observation: Jupiter’s Galelean moons were in an unusual
configuration. They were all to the
eastern side, and arranged in an offset / widely-spread trapezium. Actually the pair closest to the planet was,
at 9:30pm, about equidistant from the planet, while the outer pair was
staggered. I don’t recall ever seeing
them all on one side. I used the
apodizing mask and was able to see some better detail, like the barges in the
NEB and the still turbulent festoons. No
GRS.
I spent some time on the moon, but the seeing was so wavy, like looking at the bottom of a pool, that I began to feel slightly nauseous. I did however locate the Apollo 11 landing site, including craters Armstrong, Collins, and Aldrin – so that’s a first.
Back to Jupiter, and this time (around 10:00) the northern moon of the nearer pair had moved outward, and the outer pair had moved closer together. I watched for 20 minutes more, but the moons didn’t seem to move – I think they had reached the edges of their orbit and were travelling away from us, so still moving but the movement not perceptible since they weren’t moving laterally in front of us.
[I spent some time capturing some images from S&T's Jupiter moon simulator today, taking one hour apart snaps starting from 7:20pm PST 7/19/18. In fact the inner pair is Callisto, moving out, and Io, moving toward Jupiter. The outer pair is Europa, moving out, and Ganymede, moving inward. But I definitely observed the line up and the movement in just those few minutes.]
I spent some time on the moon, but the seeing was so wavy, like looking at the bottom of a pool, that I began to feel slightly nauseous. I did however locate the Apollo 11 landing site, including craters Armstrong, Collins, and Aldrin – so that’s a first.
Back to Jupiter, and this time (around 10:00) the northern moon of the nearer pair had moved outward, and the outer pair had moved closer together. I watched for 20 minutes more, but the moons didn’t seem to move – I think they had reached the edges of their orbit and were travelling away from us, so still moving but the movement not perceptible since they weren’t moving laterally in front of us.
[I spent some time capturing some images from S&T's Jupiter moon simulator today, taking one hour apart snaps starting from 7:20pm PST 7/19/18. In fact the inner pair is Callisto, moving out, and Io, moving toward Jupiter. The outer pair is Europa, moving out, and Ganymede, moving inward. But I definitely observed the line up and the movement in just those few minutes.]
Tuesday, July 17, 2018
catching up
Trying to catch up on some recent observing:
Last week I went to Stanford to support the Tech Trek science camp star party. I brought my 10-inch travel scope. It was 90% cloudy and we thought there would not be anything to look at, but a gap opened and we could see Jupiter and Saturn, which satisfied the crowd. I could see some doubles in Scorpio. Just as I finished packing up lightning flashed in the west, and a few moments later it started raining – lucky I was all dry. There’s another star party for this week’s set of campers tonight; luckily it will be clear.
Saturday night I went with Bob to his property in Willow Springs. The forecast was variable, with possibly cloudiness – fortunately it turned out to be a very good night, even if transparency wasn’t perfect. We arrived at sundown and I helped clear some weeds from around the containers. I brought my 10-inch Springsonian and spent the time scanning the Milky Way star fields and its dark nebula. It was really amazing to see the transitions from bright star field to less bright areas screened with some dust and finally full on defined dark nebula. The scope is perfect for it; I only regret not bringing binoviewers since I think it would have really made for dramatic scenes. I swept up many globular clusters, especially near the horizon. I also looked at M101, M51, and M31 one right after the other using the same low 37x magnification – and was amazed at the difference in scale – M51 especially appeared very small compared to M101, and M31 of course extended well beyond the field. Usually I’d up the magnification on the smaller galaxies to have a “better” view but it was really cool to see them offset like that. We drove home around 2am and really next time I need to sleep over, I don’t like driving tired like that.
Sunday night I had some time to observe in the back yard, having some naps during the day. Started out with a nice moon/Venus conjunction which I viewed through 7x35 binoculars; nice earthshine though I could not see Venus’ disk. Unfortunately it was behind the yew trees so I could not use the telescope.
I happened to view Jupiter first since I was planning to observe doubles in Libra, and it’s lucky I did since Io was just finishing its transit and was erupting from the limb when I looked. I watched as it separated from the limb. Its shadow was near the center of the NEB, just passing a dark barge in that band. Three bands visible in SEB but no GRS. Large turbulent festoons in the equatorial zone.
I proceeded to doubles, seeing 6/10, 553x mostly:
BU 117: Well split, 0.5 delta mag, ~1.5”. Having some trouble to star hop with just a 50mm finder. [AB seen, AC very faint and wide.]
14H 31M 19.74S -15° 38' 19.5" P.A. 74 SEP 1.5 MAG 8.44,9.36 SP G5V DIST. 42.37 PC (138.21 L.Y.)
HU 140: Seeing not quite good enough, need more darkness, and it’s near Jupiter. I can see an elongated smear – know it’s double but not quite resolved. AV brightens but does not split.
14H 32M 32.68S -13° 00' 14.1" P.A. 196 SEP 1.4 MAG 9.46,10.08 SP G1/2V DIST. 112.49 PC (366.94 L.Y.)
5 Lib / HLD 20: 6.4 ,10.1, 3.1” Light orange star, went up to 800x but can’t see B – a halo around it, transparency might need to be better.
14H 45M 57.78S -15° 27' 34.4" P.A. 249 SEP 4.7 MAG 6.48,10.10 SP K1III DIST. 444.44 PC (1449.76 L.Y.)
BU 346: Easy, well split, yellow-orange stars, ½ delta mag.
14H 48M 31.71S -17° 20' 24.4" P.A. 277 SEP 2.7 MAG 7.48,7.92 SP G1V DIST. 44.5 PC (145.16 L.Y.)
BU 119: Very like BU 346; well split near ½ delta mag yellow stars, 2.5” [AB seen, two other pairings, faint and wide.]
15H 05M 31.91S -07° 00' 48.8" P.A. 274 SEP 2.4 MAG 8.09,8.76 SP G0 DIST. 47.6 PC (155.27 L.Y.)
STF 3090: Notched to hairline split at the best moments. Faint pair, tough. Seeing not good enough to go above 553x. [AB seen; AC fainter and wider.]
15H 08M 42.97S -00° 58' 50.4" P.A. 286 SEP 0.6 MAG 9.09,9.34 SP G0
Last week I went to Stanford to support the Tech Trek science camp star party. I brought my 10-inch travel scope. It was 90% cloudy and we thought there would not be anything to look at, but a gap opened and we could see Jupiter and Saturn, which satisfied the crowd. I could see some doubles in Scorpio. Just as I finished packing up lightning flashed in the west, and a few moments later it started raining – lucky I was all dry. There’s another star party for this week’s set of campers tonight; luckily it will be clear.
Saturday night I went with Bob to his property in Willow Springs. The forecast was variable, with possibly cloudiness – fortunately it turned out to be a very good night, even if transparency wasn’t perfect. We arrived at sundown and I helped clear some weeds from around the containers. I brought my 10-inch Springsonian and spent the time scanning the Milky Way star fields and its dark nebula. It was really amazing to see the transitions from bright star field to less bright areas screened with some dust and finally full on defined dark nebula. The scope is perfect for it; I only regret not bringing binoviewers since I think it would have really made for dramatic scenes. I swept up many globular clusters, especially near the horizon. I also looked at M101, M51, and M31 one right after the other using the same low 37x magnification – and was amazed at the difference in scale – M51 especially appeared very small compared to M101, and M31 of course extended well beyond the field. Usually I’d up the magnification on the smaller galaxies to have a “better” view but it was really cool to see them offset like that. We drove home around 2am and really next time I need to sleep over, I don’t like driving tired like that.
Sunday night I had some time to observe in the back yard, having some naps during the day. Started out with a nice moon/Venus conjunction which I viewed through 7x35 binoculars; nice earthshine though I could not see Venus’ disk. Unfortunately it was behind the yew trees so I could not use the telescope.
I happened to view Jupiter first since I was planning to observe doubles in Libra, and it’s lucky I did since Io was just finishing its transit and was erupting from the limb when I looked. I watched as it separated from the limb. Its shadow was near the center of the NEB, just passing a dark barge in that band. Three bands visible in SEB but no GRS. Large turbulent festoons in the equatorial zone.
I proceeded to doubles, seeing 6/10, 553x mostly:
BU 117: Well split, 0.5 delta mag, ~1.5”. Having some trouble to star hop with just a 50mm finder. [AB seen, AC very faint and wide.]
14H 31M 19.74S -15° 38' 19.5" P.A. 74 SEP 1.5 MAG 8.44,9.36 SP G5V DIST. 42.37 PC (138.21 L.Y.)
HU 140: Seeing not quite good enough, need more darkness, and it’s near Jupiter. I can see an elongated smear – know it’s double but not quite resolved. AV brightens but does not split.
14H 32M 32.68S -13° 00' 14.1" P.A. 196 SEP 1.4 MAG 9.46,10.08 SP G1/2V DIST. 112.49 PC (366.94 L.Y.)
5 Lib / HLD 20: 6.4 ,10.1, 3.1” Light orange star, went up to 800x but can’t see B – a halo around it, transparency might need to be better.
14H 45M 57.78S -15° 27' 34.4" P.A. 249 SEP 4.7 MAG 6.48,10.10 SP K1III DIST. 444.44 PC (1449.76 L.Y.)
BU 346: Easy, well split, yellow-orange stars, ½ delta mag.
14H 48M 31.71S -17° 20' 24.4" P.A. 277 SEP 2.7 MAG 7.48,7.92 SP G1V DIST. 44.5 PC (145.16 L.Y.)
BU 119: Very like BU 346; well split near ½ delta mag yellow stars, 2.5” [AB seen, two other pairings, faint and wide.]
15H 05M 31.91S -07° 00' 48.8" P.A. 274 SEP 2.4 MAG 8.09,8.76 SP G0 DIST. 47.6 PC (155.27 L.Y.)
STF 3090: Notched to hairline split at the best moments. Faint pair, tough. Seeing not good enough to go above 553x. [AB seen; AC fainter and wider.]
15H 08M 42.97S -00° 58' 50.4" P.A. 286 SEP 0.6 MAG 9.09,9.34 SP G0
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
jupiter and doubles
Last night for an hour or so looking at Jupiter and some doubles with Big Blue. Seeing started 6/10 but improved to 8/10, transparency 3/5.
Jupiter with the binoviewers. The planet looks very dull with subdued colors. But there was a nice dark barge in the NEB with a long tapering wedge running the rest of the belt. There were many turbulent festoons in the equatorial zone, more of which appeared as it became darker and the seeing improved. SEB narrowed at the limbs, and there was a slate grey narrow band running along the southern edge of the belt. Both South and North Temperate Belts were seen.
@ 553x
Hu 1136: Tried hard. Light orange A but no B seen, too faint (or still too bright out)
12H 05M 39.70S +62° 55' 59.3" P.A. 217 SEP 1.9 MAG 6.27,10.24 SP K1III-IV DIST. 117.92 PC (384.66 L.Y.)
STF 1752: Orange star perhaps a little elongated, tough. [Trying for AB; three more fainter & wider pairings in the system.]
13H 28M 49.82S +59° 55' 41.7" P.A. 107 SEP 1 MAG 8.19,9.90 SP F8 DIST. 73.42 PC (239.5 L.Y.)
BU 802: Nearly perfect star image but B too faint.
13H 48M 36.15S +48° 21' 23.6" P.A. 224 SEP 3.7 MAG 7.56,11.78 SP A8IV DIST. 117.23 PC (382.4 L.Y.)
A 1097: Hair-split at best moments; half delta mag, <0.8". A fainter star likely in the system about 30" distant. [AB seen; STF 1800 AB,C was the fainter star, 10.42 mag and 28.4"]
14H 02M 00.60S +57° 13' 28.6" P.A. 256.6 SEP 0.43 MAG 9.09,8.24 SP F5 DIST. 146.63 PC (478.31 L.Y.)
STF 1831: One pair close to another, 5" and 2 delta mag. Part of a widely separated equal pair, and a gang of three stars further away. [AB seen. Seven visible stars in the system, five additional pairings]
14H 16M 08.47S +56° 42' 45.7" P.A. 134 SEP 5.7 MAG 7.16,9.56 SP A7IV DIST. 156.01 PC (508.9 L.Y.)
Jupiter with the binoviewers. The planet looks very dull with subdued colors. But there was a nice dark barge in the NEB with a long tapering wedge running the rest of the belt. There were many turbulent festoons in the equatorial zone, more of which appeared as it became darker and the seeing improved. SEB narrowed at the limbs, and there was a slate grey narrow band running along the southern edge of the belt. Both South and North Temperate Belts were seen.
@ 553x
Hu 1136: Tried hard. Light orange A but no B seen, too faint (or still too bright out)
12H 05M 39.70S +62° 55' 59.3" P.A. 217 SEP 1.9 MAG 6.27,10.24 SP K1III-IV DIST. 117.92 PC (384.66 L.Y.)
STF 1752: Orange star perhaps a little elongated, tough. [Trying for AB; three more fainter & wider pairings in the system.]
13H 28M 49.82S +59° 55' 41.7" P.A. 107 SEP 1 MAG 8.19,9.90 SP F8 DIST. 73.42 PC (239.5 L.Y.)
BU 802: Nearly perfect star image but B too faint.
13H 48M 36.15S +48° 21' 23.6" P.A. 224 SEP 3.7 MAG 7.56,11.78 SP A8IV DIST. 117.23 PC (382.4 L.Y.)
A 1097: Hair-split at best moments; half delta mag, <0.8". A fainter star likely in the system about 30" distant. [AB seen; STF 1800 AB,C was the fainter star, 10.42 mag and 28.4"]
14H 02M 00.60S +57° 13' 28.6" P.A. 256.6 SEP 0.43 MAG 9.09,8.24 SP F5 DIST. 146.63 PC (478.31 L.Y.)
STF 1831: One pair close to another, 5" and 2 delta mag. Part of a widely separated equal pair, and a gang of three stars further away. [AB seen. Seven visible stars in the system, five additional pairings]
14H 16M 08.47S +56° 42' 45.7" P.A. 134 SEP 5.7 MAG 7.16,9.56 SP A7IV DIST. 156.01 PC (508.9 L.Y.)
Saturday, July 7, 2018
quiet night
After how long? Nearly a month of a brutal work schedule and, if I'm not too tired, clouds.
So a quiet night in the back yard with Big Blue. Seeing poor, transparency average, but all the same nice to be reacquainted with the sky.
Venus through binoviewers a shimmering slightly more than half orb. It was just in the slot of yew trees; the finder angle was just out of reach and pointed to a yew, but Venus clear in the scope.
Jupiter through binoviewers: relatively calm clouds, not much going on. Unlike the last time I saw it more than three weeks ago, with swirls of festoons, white ovals, turbulence in and around the eye, many bands, and a shadow transit...
I used my 7x35 binoculars while I was waiting for Venus to clear the yew tree. From Spica up through Virgo I swept up Mel 111, the whole cluster in view. The area around the Coma Cluster -- and I realized I entirely missed spring galaxy season this year. Nearly all of Lyra in view, double-double and the red star near Steph 1 cluster. Cygnus.
I tried Jupiter again but the seeing was quite poor, likely heat radiating from a neighbor's roof. Packed it in. But wanting more.
So a quiet night in the back yard with Big Blue. Seeing poor, transparency average, but all the same nice to be reacquainted with the sky.
Venus through binoviewers a shimmering slightly more than half orb. It was just in the slot of yew trees; the finder angle was just out of reach and pointed to a yew, but Venus clear in the scope.
Jupiter through binoviewers: relatively calm clouds, not much going on. Unlike the last time I saw it more than three weeks ago, with swirls of festoons, white ovals, turbulence in and around the eye, many bands, and a shadow transit...
I used my 7x35 binoculars while I was waiting for Venus to clear the yew tree. From Spica up through Virgo I swept up Mel 111, the whole cluster in view. The area around the Coma Cluster -- and I realized I entirely missed spring galaxy season this year. Nearly all of Lyra in view, double-double and the red star near Steph 1 cluster. Cygnus.
I tried Jupiter again but the seeing was quite poor, likely heat radiating from a neighbor's roof. Packed it in. But wanting more.
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