Jupiter is in the Eastern sky

[♪alt13]

Good view of Jupiter right now(it's the brightest one on the eastern horizon). I wish I had a bigger telescope. I'm going to go back out and try out some binoculars. Check it out it's pretty clear right now.

 

[LogGrad98]

What kind of telescope do you have? I have had a Celestron NexStar 8 for a while now. Good field of view at distance and relatively easy to use. Has a camera adapter for pics. Was awesome watching the last lunar eclipse with it, like you could reach up and grab it. We like to go out by Pyramid Lake northeast of Sparks, where light pollution is next to nil and we can get a great wide view, horizon to horizon.

 

[♪alt13]

I used to have a half decent one with I think a 3&1/2 inch lens. Just bought my daughter a cheapo celestron refractor, it is only 40mm. Do you have a good city scope? I have read that reflectors don't work so great around a lot of light pollution.
I would like to get a nice reflector as well since we have property in the desert it is nice and Dark out there. Nearest street light is about 30 miles away and the next one is another 45 mile drive from there.

 

[LogGrad98]

I used to have a half decent one with I think a 3&1/2 inch lens. Just bought my daughter a cheapo celestron refractor, it is only 40mm. Do you have a good city scope? I have read that reflectors don't work so great around a lot of light pollution.
I would like to get a nice reflector as well since we have property in the desert it is nice and Dark out there. Nearest street light is about 30 miles away and the next one is another 45 mile drive from there.

Yeah they don't work all that well in a lot of LP but they are getting better. Mine is about a year old maybe, and it separates it pretty well, but it helps to have the bigger mirror so you can look farther out, for lack of a better term. But we still usually take it away from the city when we want to see something in particular or have a night of mapping or something going on, like trying to take pics of the milky way or planets. I am part of a group that gets together now and then for astronomical gatherings, I will ask around about a city-friendly higher mag scope.

 

[♪alt13]

Yeah they don't work all that well in a lot of LP but they are getting better. Mine is about a year old maybe, and it separates it pretty well, but it helps to have the bigger mirror so you can look farther out, for lack of a better term. But we still usually take it away from the city when we want to see something in particular or have a night of mapping or something going on, like trying to take pics of the milky way or planets. I am part of a group that gets together now and then for astronomical gatherings, I will ask around about a city-friendly higher mag scope.

Right on that would be awesome. A decent telescope to use from the old porch would be a convenient thing to have.

 

[ema]

Can you see any moons of Jupiter? I joined in a observation festivity last year in Saklıkent(south Turkey) and the most amazing feeling was to see the planets floating in the sky with its satellites.

It was something like this, but bigger and much more clearer.

 

[LogGrad98]

I can get a pretty clear view of Jupiter and the moons circling, but they are usually faint until the sun catches them just right. When it is set up well and the weather is very clear it can be unreal. Almost looks like a mini-display at a museum or claymation movie prop or something. Have seen Saturn like this too. But with mine you can get very close shots of the moon, closer than I have seen other than on my friend's freaking huge 16" Meade. But that one isn't anywhere near as portable.

 

[ema]

I can get a pretty clear view of Jupiter and the moons circling, but they are usually faint until the sun catches them just right. When it is set up well and the weather is very clear it can be unreal. Almost looks like a mini-display at a museum or claymation movie prop or something. Have seen Saturn like this too. But with mine you can get very close shots of the moon, closer than I have seen other than on my friend's freaking huge 16" Meade. But that one isn't anywhere near as portable.

Damn, I'm tempted, I'm gonna go outside a few hours later. Right now it's midnight here, Jupiter will be on the horizon in an hour or so but I will wait till the 2-3 am because I can't see the horizon from where I am. I have a decent binoculars that I use for watching landscape and birds etc. I think I may be able to see the moons as very little, tiny dots.

 

[♪alt13]

I'm going to take my daughter out at dusk and see if we can catch Saturn and Venus out west before they set. I'm fairly sure this little scope will be only good for observing the moon though. I think we are going to join the Salt Lake Astronomical Society. It seems like $20 a year and taking some training classes(which should be fun anyway),is a killer deal for access to their telescopes and observatory.

 

[♪alt13]

Damn, I'm tempted, I'm gonna go outside a few hours later. Right now it's midnight here, Jupiter will be on the horizon in an hour or so but I will wait till the 2-3 am because I can't see the horizon from where I am. I have a decent binoculars that I use for watching landscape and birds etc. I think I may be able to see the moons as very little, tiny dots.

My binoculars last night weren't too terrible(low expectations to begin with) the color was drained out but I could see what I think were moons but they could have been storms for all I know.

 

[ema]

Mine is 12X40 and can gather the light in the dark but the problem is, it's old and doesn't have image stabilizer so it's hard(too shaky) and tiresome to observe the sky.

Damn, I just checked the weather, it's somewhat cloudy, I hope it opens a little bit more.

 

[The Thriller]

I've been wanting to get into star gazing but don't know where to begin. I loved astronomy when I was little and had a small telescope.

Now that I'm older I'd love to get into this stuff.

What are some good telescopes and what kind of cost am I looking at? Heck, where do they even sell telescopes these days?

 

[ema]

I've been wanting to get into star gazing but don't know where to begin. I loved astronomy when I was little and had a small telescope.

Now that I'm older I'd love to get into this stuff.

What are some good telescopes and what kind of cost am I looking at? Heck, where do they even sell telescopes these days?

I don't have much knowledge about the recent devices, but if you want to buy a binoculars, chose one that is hand holding friendly. For telescope, be sure it is compatible with the other devices, laptops and all.

For the core and more important features these pdfs might help.
https://media.skyandtelescope.com/documents/AboutScopes.pdf
https://downloads.bbc.co.uk/tv/stargazinglive/sgl_guide_to_telescopes.pdf

Of course you have also the entire internet to search and learn about. No necessary to be in hurry to buy one, like heyhey thinks, you can join in a local club if you have one nearby, after learning stuff and feeling more familiar, you can buy a device more confidently.

 

[ema]

Plus, you can use space simulations to learn the basics in your home comfort. Don't get me wrong, nothing is comparable to the actual outdoor star gazing but there are some nice pc simulations.

I strongly suggest, Stellarium. There are other good ones as well like Space Engine and Celestia.
Here is a screenshot from Stellarium.

 

[ema]

Some other screenshots from Stellarium.

 

[LogGrad98]

If you are going to get semi-serious about it, then it is worth it to join a group. I am part of the group at UNR and they do some cool stuff. I got my scope through UNR at a pretty steep discount, otherwise it runs normally north of $1000. It is computerized and can set itself against the night sky automatically. The motors are a little loud, and due to the motors the manual adjustment is limited, but it makes for quick setup and the images are stunning sometimes, and almost always at least great. Unfortunately we haven't had very good viewing lately as we are still seeing a slight haze from the fires, as well as some cloud cover the past few days. Normally Nevada sky is awesome for star gazing.

If you want to get into it there are a lot of decent telescopes that start out around $150 or so. Better you step into the $350 range for some really good beginner scopes. Then there is a solid jump into the thousands. You can spend a lot of money on this hobby if you want to. I consider myself intermediate to serious and have the equipment that fits that range.

 

[ema]

OK, I'm going out now, it's 2:35 am, the weather looks much better. I have a nice spot in my mind to settle for a mini camp. I hope there aren't any strayed dogs on the field, they really hate me.

I should be able to see Callisto near the Jupiter but probably won't be able to see Ganymede and Europa because they will be behind the Jupiter or so close to it. Similarly I won't be able to see Io either, because it's right on the face of the planet right now so I won't be able to distinguish it.

But if I can wait until 6 am, I might be able to see all four of them because they will be more aside by then. I'll decide whether to stay that long according to my binoculars performance. If I can see Callisto clearly, I might be able to see the others as well. If I can see Callisto barely, it won't worth to stay.

 

[♪alt13]

We went for a little drive so we could maybe catch Saturn and Venus. When I pulled out the scope I realized I left the eyepieces at home. oh well the kid had fun looking through the binocs(at nothing really).

 

[ema]

Ahh, I'm back, I was almost freezing to death. But it was totally worth it.

First, I could only see Callisto, just as I predicted, a tiny tiny white dot. Then after 5 am or so I started to seeing another tiny dot popping out from the left lower corner of the Jupiter and about ten mins later, another tiny dot appeared this time from the right upper corner of the planet.

I waited for the fourth one to appear as well but then I realized that the second dot actually must be dual and they had to be Ganymede and Europa. In fact, I figured it out logically, because I couldn't see it as dual, but both Ganymede and Europa should have been there(at the left side of the Jupiter) by then, and Io must have been the last dot which was at the right side of the planet, so I was sure of it.

Anyway, I tried to capture the pictures of the moons but it was a disappointing failure. I took literally hundreds of pictures through my binoculars with my phone but it couldn't capture the moons in no way. After some ridiculous settings of my phone cam, I think I could capture a shot of the Callisto, but to be honest I'm not sure if it is indeed Callisto or a defect of the camera. I like to think it's Callisto.

This is lovely Jupiter.

From another angle, she is really beautiful.

This is +18 shot of Jupiter, she is totally naked!

Aaaand, this is lovely Callisto!!! (At least I believe it is)

 

[ema]

And this is from Stellarium for comparison. Astronomy is amazing.