Last Nights Observing (19th&20th 00:40hrs to 02:40hrs)

[Steveo74]

Hi Guys,
Thought I'd tell you that I got 2hrs observing in the wee hours last night and got some images of the Moon, Jupiter & poor ISS.
Was in Co Fermanagh yesterday and got home just before 11ish and had a look outside just before heading to bed and it was clouded over, I wasn't tired so I sat reading for a bit then around 00:30hrs and went out the back and to my amazement it was totally clear.  I told the wife I'd see her a in a few hours, ran outside to the garage and got the telescope out (Celestron 6se). Focused on the Moon and was blown away with the detail, next was Jupiter! WOW this was the 1st time I had seen Juptier so close and detailed. I could see the bands and 4 of its moons clearly!
So there I was with a smile from ear to ear  and jumping around like a wee kid, I haven't been at Astronomy long but I'm glad that I have lifted my head and started to look up and around me before it is all too late!!
Saw 2 passes of the ISS and tried to get a shot with no tripod and at 140mm, very bad!!! Got a shot of the Moon at prime focus & 600mm with the lens, tried some shots of Jupiter and was getting over exposed shots with the moons showing but as I was getting the exposure down to get Jupiter itself guess what happened? Yes you are right! it clouded over and started to rain. I left taking the images too late but at least I got out for the 1st time in months, I was so glad of that.

Prime Focus


Camera @ 600mm & cropped x2


Jupiter & Moons


A very POOR attempt of ISS @ 140mm Handheld


Well thats my wee report, Had a really good few hours 

[Roman White]

I liked the Moon#2 and Jupiter photos.

Here is my Jupiter of Jun.26, imaged with high optical&digital zoom (~45x), without a telescope


Observing Jupiter now is a very pleasant thing because it is now at its brightest (-2.7) and biggest (47"). On the same night as the photo I could easily see 2 equatorial bands on Jupiter with my 76mm reflector at 56x.

[Steveo74]

Hi Roman,
              Thats a fantastic shot!  Yes I hope to get more and better images of Jupiter, fingers crossed 

[Paul]

That was a good session Stevie, and more than I got here on the coast. Love the Jupiter and moons shot - generally you need two shots at different exposures to get the moons and detail on the planet. Jupiter is very low from here - my South/West horizon looks up a hill so it's not favourable, however hoping to have a go at it in the coming months when things improve a bit.

[John9929]

Sounds like you had a session Steve, I had more cloud than you off and on. Managed to catch
two of the ISS passes which were very bright. This image was taken during the 0049UT pass.
Got a look at the Moon as well, did you notice how far down the disk Plato was? You have a nice
series of shots there, love the Jupiter one.

[martinastro]

Steven, thanks for sharing your observing night with us. I love reading accounts like yours. A successful night by the sound of things. I like your Moon images (no 2 is great) and nice work picking up Jupiter!.

Roman, great image of Jupiter and moons. You have a good eye for detail. I like the way you marked the stars in the same field as the planet.

John, I really like that ISS image, the cloud movement during the exposure is fantastic - very nice effect!

My night under the stars was an unsuccessful one. With the exception of some nice convective clouds lit by the Moon and a heavy shower it was clear all night long. I visually observed two ISS passes then before dawn I did a search for C/2007 W1 Boattini without success. The sky was bright and because of new street lights I couldn't even see the head of Cetus at all, just  Alpha. The comet was close to the light no matter where I set up the telescope in the yard. I did a visual sweep anyway despite seeing ghost images and orange reflections in the FOV. I was very frustrated, the noise of loud thumbing music and drunken shouting from my neighbours delivered the final blow so I called it a night at 03.30 BST with my temper boiling. No NLCs visible either. Hopefully a more productive night tonight. I'm in the mood for a bright NLC show.

[dmcdona]

Stevie - clearly your ISS shot was taken just after apéritifs.  John's was presumably shot sometime later when they'd sobered up. 

Like you, I was out too for the first time in months though the sky is still really too bright for any meaningful work. Still, I took a few shots of Pluto and a couple of Jupiter - nothing worth posting though since all my calibration frames are so out of date 

Cheers and thanks for sharing!

Dave

[John9929]

Thanks Dave, you're safe enough with me I don't drink!

Would love to see your Pluto image Dave no matter, it's so rare to see an amateur image of the planet/small body!

[Steveo74]

Thanks guys for all your comments!