[Chaos-l] [Medoc-mountain-men] Jupiter and how

Sun Dec 2 10:27:08 EST 2012

Yep ... it was a really good night!   Even if the moon rose early ...

After twilight, and before the moon rose, the skies were very crisp and clear.    The forecast I saw for Hollister before I left said the low would be around 40 degrees, but as we were leaving I noticed that my dew controller said it was 33 (confirmed by my car), so there must have not been much moisture in the air at the time ... although some high clouds arrived around 11 PM.   If the moon was not going to be present, it would have been a great DSO night ... and I would have brought The Mistress.    But knowing a large moon was coming, I brought the refractor.

And as Allen said, knowing we were going to basically only view Jupiter and the Moon, we setup in the clearing need the picnic pavilion ... very close to the fire.   Allen figured out the spot where we would have visibility of Polaris (to align) and Jupiter for most of the night ... and did a perfect job.  Jason, the professional, built a nice, warm fire.

Since the CSC predictions for last night had gotten better and better as the week progressed, and opposition was occurring around that time, I thought we might get some nice views of Jupiter.   Wow!  I was right.    As Allen said, as Jupiter rose in the sky, the views got better and better.   I borrowed Allen's 4.7mm Ethos and basically used it the entire night ... so I got to see Jupiter at 180X.   We got to see Io disappear and reappear in the same evening (Jason mentioned it must be moving quickly ... I agree) and the Great Red Spot (GRS ... not GSR :-) at the end.

I enjoyed comparing views.   My refractor has 106mm of aperture, Allen's 152mm.   Both are made by the same manufacturer (albeit with different designs and materials ... Allen's has a fluorite element) so the comparisons were interesting.    It was very clear how the extra aperture helps make the view brighter and show more detail ... although the 106mm did pretty well.  I think it might have been helped by the "I know it is there" effect - I could see things in Allen's scope, then I would go over to mine and see them as well, albeit less clearly.   A couple of times I started with mine (like when Io emerged from behind Jupiter) to prove to myself I could find things first on mine.  And a couple of times, Allen and I would describe what we were seeing to each other to compare in real-time.   It was a lot of fun.   Ovals and eddies were clear in both.   The GRS had detail, with a darker edge and swirls inside.   As the night wore on, different details appeared, and the bands separated into thinner bands.   As I was driving home, I kept thinking how the images in the eyepiece looked like pictures in a book.

I also compared one of my eyepieces with a Powermate barlow against the equivalent focal length eyepiece directly.    I don't know whether there is something amiss with my barlow, but the differences were stunning.   It is definitely worth having the straight eyepiece if you can afford it.  I guess that is always the problem, isn't it?  :-)

And Allen and I compared views through an Ethos and a TMB monocentric.   Allen's turret had some dewing problems, and to resolve those, he heated the turret (and eyepieces) in his truck.   When he go it back out, it had different problems (like it was too hot) ... so I'm not sure the comparison of the views through the turret were fair.  But a straight comparison of the 6mm Ethos and the 6mm TMB were very, very comparable, and the Ethos was more comfortable.   Same darkness of the background, same detail (to my eyes).   Perhaps the image was a *little* brighter in the TMB, but it was close.

So in the end, Ethos eyepieces through refractors turned out to be a great way to see a wonderfully stable and detailed Jupiter.    Not what people normally use to view planets, I guess ... but it certainly worked last night!   It was probably the second best view of Jupiter I have seen, only worse than that time at MASP when we were using the big Dobs to look at Jupiter one night, and Bruno and I saw some detail in Ganymede through his scope.   Definitely worth the trip last night, and as always at Medoc, comfortable and pleasant by the fire!

Robert

On Dec 2, 2012, at 8:35 AM, "Allen Davis" <starstorm151 at embarqmail.com> wrote:

> Well, Robert, Jason, and I were treated to some really show stopping views
> of Jupiter last night at Medoc.  I arrived first..around 430pm..and slowly
> started setting up.  A good refractor night (as if any night isn't) but
> since the moon was coming up we knew that the bigger scopes could rest and
> the refractors could shine.
> 
> 
> 
> Robert arrived just as it was getting dark and I was still making my round
> trips to the trailer.  We decided ahead to set up in the clearing near the
> shelter, since we could stay close to the fire.  Worked out great.
> 
> 
> 
> After getting set up and lined up, Jupiter was jumping around a bit when it
> was low, but showed promise.  We looked at several deep sky objects before
> la Luna showed her bright face.  M31 looked very nice through Robert's wide
> field 106.  I looked at Caroline's Rose, with the Rose very evident.
> Obviously not as many stars as in the big scope, but the dark lanes showed
> well.  The Double Cluster nice framed with the Ethos 13.  (Parachute man was
> upside down tonight)  A very nice triple star that was an 
> 
> Obvious H2O molecule in Roberts..in HIS cluster..in the vicinity of the
> elephant trunk.  M15 was nicely resolved in my scope.proving that a really
> good 6 inch refractor can act like a larger reflector.  Even in Robert's
> smaller 106, it showed granularity to the core.  What else Robert?
> 
> 
> 
> We caught Io as it started to hide behind Jupiter and watched it slip away.
> By that time, the seeing was improving, and Jupiter itself was showing more
> detail.
> 
> 
> 
> We took a fire break and had a snack and some coffee (thanks Robert) and
> went back.  As Jupiter rose higher and higher with each subsequent visit, it
> was better and better.  We were able to start seeing ovals and festoons in
> the middle belt, and the band between the two darkest started to become more
> obvious as a thin ribbon.  Toward each pole, shading began to resolve into
> numerous thin bands.  We were shooting toward 1100pm when the GRS was
> supposed to rotate into view.
> 
> 
> 
> Going up to that, the seeing really steadied and we started seeing ovals in
> the other band.  There was also a dark storm initially near the center of
> the planet.  Edges of the bands started showing irregularities and ragged
> edges.  
> 
> 
> 
> We saw the GSR starting to appear as an "absence" of dark banding.  We
> confirmed that...and within a few minutes of watching I saw dark clouds
> starting to appear toward the pole adjacent to the GSR.  Also views the
> "scoop" of clouds around the other side of the GSR.  We decided to take one
> more fire break and take another look...
> 
> 
> 
> When we returned the GSR fully visible.  Seeing was I would say an 8.5 to
> 9.0.  Maybe better at times.  GSR completely surrounded on pole side by a
> wide rages half circle of darker clouds with a good amount of space between
> that circle and the spot itself.  Obvious cloud circulation on the other
> side of the GSR.  Numerous bright ovals in bands and a two particularly
> bright areas along the meridian.  Pole banding now resolved.  We seen Io
> reemerge as it "budded of" a bit earlier.
> 
> 
> 
> A really great night.  
> 
> 
> 
> The Ethos eyepieces proved they are terrific planetary eyepieces.  With my
> aging eyes and a cataract in my right eye, my TMB's are harder to use.
> Confirmed that the Ethos were their equal in resolution and contrast, even
> with more elements.  Robert confirmed this.  INHO, they are worth their
> price and are the best eyepieces I have ever used.
> 
> 
> BTW, for me the 6MM ethos gave the best views.  At 203x
> 
> 
> 
> Robert and Jason and I enjoyed good conversation and camaraderie for a nice
> evening of viewing.  Packed up and was home around 1230am.  
> 
> 
> 
> Good time had by all.
> 
> 
> 
> Wish more of you could have been there.  allen
> 
> 
> 
> E. Allen Davis
> 
> starstorm151 at embarqmail.com
> 
> 
> 
> "M'Illumino              "I am enlightened
> 
> D'Immenso"              by the immensity."
> 
> 
> 
>   -Ungaretti               -Ungaretti
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Medoc-mountain-men mailing list
> Medoc-mountain-men at rapideye.us
> http://rapideye.us/mailman/listinfo/medoc-mountain-men_rapideye.us