2005-04-21
| Location: | Billingborough (South Lincolnshire, UK) |
| From: | 2005-04-21 20:00 UT |
| To: | 2005-04-21 20:30 UT |
| Equipment: |
Sky-Watcher Explorer 130M
|
| Notes: |
93% waxing Moon. My first observing session with the motor drive fitted to the EQ2 mount. What a difference it makes! No more need to play catch-up with anything that I'm viewing. It's so nice to view something, look away from the eyepiece to make notes, and then go back to the eyepiece to find that the object is still there. |
Jupiter
| Time: | 2005-04-21 20:00 UT |
|
Sky still reasonably light but needed to try and catch Jupiter before it disappeared behind the house (garden is on the North side of the house). The two main equatorial bands were easily visible and, as noted in a previous observing log, in moments of very steady seeing they both seem to take on a faint mottled effect. Callisto, Ganymede, Europa and Io all visible (made sketch of their positions). |
Saturn
| Time: | 2005-04-21 20:30 UT |
|
As with a previous observing session the shadows from the rings on the planet and from the planet on the rings are obvious -- this gives the planet a very 3D effect. Again, in moments of very steady seeing I thought I caught a glimpse of the Cassini Division. There's a very obvious "smudging" effect that seems to go away if I use the 10mm with the 2x Barlow. I noticed this in a previous observing session too. I don't think it's a problem with the eyepiece or the 'scope. I'm wondering if it's down to Saturn being very bright in the eyepiece and my eye isn't coping too well with it. Might be time to look into a filter or two. |
