Last night I set up my new scope (IE finding Vega and aligning the RA ring so that it read 18:36) and decided to have a quick scan around.
The sky was full of wispy clouds but there were many tempting sights for me to find up there. So initially, I went for Jupiter, since it is so bright and easy to find. My first sight amazed me. I’m using a Celestron 102mm spotting scope with a 10mm eyepiece so wasn’t sure of the detail I would be able to see. I literally took a step back once the cloud bands on Jupiter were revealed. I say “bands” the Southern Hemisphere ban was missing which would have made it easier to see the red spot if it had been facing the earth (it wasn’t). I also saw 3 of it’s 4 moons, which they were I can’t be sure but my image looked liked MJ’s post and picture of last month.
The point of this post is to explain the superlatives I may use when I do locate objects of interest. I am still in awe of the things I can find with my relatively cheap equipment. All you need is a little patience and and a half decent star chart.
Next on the cards (and the weather looking good for tonight) is Andromeda. I know roughly where it is but I’ve still to find it in the scope. While I'm in that area as well I may seek out Hartleys comet. But one step at a time and all that.
Al
The sky was full of wispy clouds but there were many tempting sights for me to find up there. So initially, I went for Jupiter, since it is so bright and easy to find. My first sight amazed me. I’m using a Celestron 102mm spotting scope with a 10mm eyepiece so wasn’t sure of the detail I would be able to see. I literally took a step back once the cloud bands on Jupiter were revealed. I say “bands” the Southern Hemisphere ban was missing which would have made it easier to see the red spot if it had been facing the earth (it wasn’t). I also saw 3 of it’s 4 moons, which they were I can’t be sure but my image looked liked MJ’s post and picture of last month.
The point of this post is to explain the superlatives I may use when I do locate objects of interest. I am still in awe of the things I can find with my relatively cheap equipment. All you need is a little patience and and a half decent star chart.
Next on the cards (and the weather looking good for tonight) is Andromeda. I know roughly where it is but I’ve still to find it in the scope. While I'm in that area as well I may seek out Hartleys comet. But one step at a time and all that.
Al
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