Venus and Jupiter

I missed the transition of the moon and Venus recently - clouds and, well I forgot/had to ferry the children around at the time I could have seen it. Anyway, last night I did see Venus and Jupiter although they had moved away from the moon. However this called for some quick photography as they started to set behind the opposite house roof and getting set up in time always takes longer when you are in a hurry - plugs just won't fit into holes, especially in the dark. So I expect the focusing isn't as good as it could be.


Shows up the street light glow rather well dontcha think?

A bit of a mix

Going home last night I spotted Jupiter on the horizon from the bypass. Not that unusual its been there for a while, but wait, there is a companion with it today - Venus.
I rushed home and got out the camera, but the position was not very good - both were sinking fast and there was a number of things in the way. In the end the only way I could get them both in the frame was to straddle a tree!


As the sky was very clear, I had a go at a couple of other items too - the pleiades again.

I also tried M42 but haven't finished processing that one yet.

Deep sky

After buying some more stuff (mostly batteries and USB leads - so relatively cheap) I had another go at some deep sky stuff. I've never really seen the andromeda galaxy, but tonight I did see it, and photographed it too! However the photographs will need some work I think, but here are some preliminary pictures.

This one shows it rather overenhanced, but you can also see the small galaxy just above it.

Jupiter again

Jupiter is starting to get higher in the sky, but the conditions have been dreadful for a long time now. When it hasn't been raining its been threatening rain. All this adds up to lots of cloud cover.
Anyway, last night - just for a while, some of the sky was visible. There was still scattered cloud around, but less than normal and I could see Jupiter shining out - still not that much above the horizon.
I could also see that a couple of houses away, they had some sort of light show going on in their garden, as their tree's were backlit - hmmm!
Anyway - I had a go, the telescope aligned and settled on Jupiter very nicely. With the LPI I took some images and got some reasonable results.


With a bit of enhancement you can see some of the satellites too.

From left to right, Ganymede, Io and Europa on the right.

Then I got it to find Andromeda, nope - nothing, far too hazy and messy in that direction.

Jupiter in the round

A quick look outside and its a clear night. I can't be bothered to set up the telescope, but I take a look through binoculars at Jupiter, which is looking quite clear. As I watch, I see the ISS go overhead!

Anyway, I decide its worth a photograph, so I get out the camera and tripod and take a few snaps at various settings to see what I can get. Its nothing like what you see in the telescope, but it makes for a nice assemblage.

If you zoom in, you can see the motion blur dragging the points out into streaks, and this is only a 10s exposure, but from a distance it looks pretty ok. Zoom in not quite so far and you can see some of the satellites.

Jupiter - another go

I had another shot at Jupiter last night. With the telescope on the patio, I have a window of about 15-20 minutes when it is visible between two trees. This time I got set up a little earlier and managed two separate imaging samples. The visibility wasn't that great with it low on the horizon, and again it didn't look as good through the LPI webcam as through the lens. I guess the old mark one eyeball still has a useful range and pixel density.
You can see three of the satellites however, so that's a little better.

Also this time I had the settings right so I could post process the images with registax, which I think does a better job than envisage.


I might try a different technique if I get a chance.

Jupiter

Its been a while - but now the nights are getting a little earlier and I can be bothered to stay up. Also there is a new jewel in the sky, in the shape of Jupiter, so its time to have a go and see what can be got.
Its not easy, Jupiter is low in the sky between some trees, and after a few goes, the only place I can get a good view of it is from in the middle of a wooden bridge. This is not ideal, as everytime I move, the image leaps around. Even so, its the first go and the images are okish, but would be better if I'd saved them in a better format.





Maybe another night I'll have a better go, and remember a few more things. You can see a couple of moons, but its not as clear as it is through the eyepiece.