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Jupiter/Mars & Big Mak

Discussion in 'Observing Celestial Objects' started by Mak the Night, Sep 25, 2022.

Jupiter/Mars & Big Mak

Started by Mak the Night on Sep 25, 2022 at 5:40 AM

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  1. Mak the Night

    Mak the Night Well-Known Member

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    bigmak.jpg

    I got 'Big Mak' out for a bit last night.

    jupiter.jpg

    The seeing was great, I could just about see the Milky Way with the dodgy humidity, and thankfully the jet stream missed me (but not Scotland lol). Unfortunately the humidity at this time of the year precluded getting more than about 128x maximum. The sharpest was at about 100x. I could distinctly see Europa as a black disc against the limb until it became visibly bright as it pulled away from Jupiter. The GRS was easily seen and I could perceive some detail in the NEB and SEB. Jupiter was incredibly bright and appeared huge at nearly 50 arc seconds. I needed polarising filters at one stage. I also used Baader Light Blue, Semi-Apo and Neodymium filters. This is probably the nearest I'll get to the opposition due to inclement weather (no surprises there then). So, apart from not getting higher magnifications I'll class this as a success.

    mars.jpg

    I was surprised that I could actually see Mars. Although I had to reposition the Big Mak slightly. The planet looks quite big at 11.4 arc seconds and 86.9% illuminated. However, at barely 17° altitude and combined with the humidity I didn't actually expect much. At magnifications between around 180x and 256x I could see the phase quite distinctly. The southern polar cap wasn't obvious but I'm pretty certain I could just about make out a tiny white point. The possible NPH clouds were also still present albeit a tad muted. The darker albedo features in the above screenshot were hinted as well. I used the Baader Semi-Apo filter.
     
    Last edited: Sep 25, 2022
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  2. Mak the Night

    Mak the Night Well-Known Member

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    I am curios about the black disc of Europa visible against the planet surface.

    1.jpg

    I'm not sure whether I was seeing a silhouette of Europa contrasted against the bright surface or a transit shadow.

    2.jpg

    I suppose it could depend on the amount of phase perceived of Europa itself.

    3.jpg
     
  3. Nebula

    Nebula Well-Known Member

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    Looks like you had a good observation with the big mak not bad powers on Mars. Here it's the same problem with jupiter very bright but with low details, according to my last observation.

    Today I tried the finder you have on the mak, but on a pellet rifle, it's a cool little finder with a green dot.
     
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  4. Mak the Night

    Mak the Night Well-Known Member

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    I had a look at Jupiter yesterday although I was concentrating on Mars. I still couldn't get more than about 100x on Jupiter. It's very humid this time of the year here. It gets better nearer December. 256x is an 0.5mm exit pupil with the 127mm Mak. I use reflex sights on all my scopes now, except for my 150mm Newtonian. I might get one for that as well.
     
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  5. Nebula

    Nebula Well-Known Member

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    Oh yeah it's now your favorite finder? You certainly took your time to pick the winner I remember your finder tests from the past!

    Mars is very high at 5:00 AM, I will have to get up early not to miss that, and before a total dust storm.. it has an altitude of 65.5d impressive!!! :eek:
     
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  6. Mak the Night

    Mak the Night Well-Known Member

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    I've been using the metal reflex sights for ages now. I use a Rigel on the 102mm Mak.

    [​IMG]

    I've experimented with combinations of sights in the past but weight and convenience can be factors.

    [​IMG]

    The metal gunsights have some disadvantages, particularly being too bright, but they seem to be the most durable.

    [​IMG]

    TS Optics charge about £70 for theirs, I found I could buy the same thing on Amazon for 30 quid!

    [​IMG]

    The planets are starting to get higher at last. :)
     
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  7. Ed D

    Ed D Well-Known Member

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    Can't wait for the planets to be high in the sky for observation and imaging, and with clear winter skies at that!

    Ed
     
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  8. Nebula

    Nebula Well-Known Member

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    @Mak the Night great find on amazon with the finder for 1/2 the price, sometimes you remove the name of something and you win. Less then half the price damn!

    While using the pellet riffle with the reflex, the dot was green and fairly bright, there was probably a way to lower the intensity of it.

    Your Rigel is quite big on the small mak :D
     
  9. Mak the Night

    Mak the Night Well-Known Member

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    Definitely.
     
  10. Mak the Night

    Mak the Night Well-Known Member

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    The finders are probably all made in the same Chinese factory anyway lol. Some of them only have a red dot and are less bright so easier to use for astronomy.

    [​IMG]

    The finder I use on the 72ED is from Altair.

    https://www.altairastro.com/lightwave-refractor-red-dot-finder-rdf-bracket-stalk-2512-p.asp

    It only has a red LED, some have red and green. The Rigel works but there are parallax issues and the reticule isn't bright, although it can pulse.

    [​IMG]

    It does look a bit weird lol.
     
  11. Nebula

    Nebula Well-Known Member

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    @Mak the Night ah the Rigel looks comfortable at the height you have installed it, it's high enough. In fact that's what I like about that one the sight is higher which is a good idea in my opinion.

    Looking at your last mak picture, I remember that I have to build a dew shield for my own finder which is a straight through, the front lens fogs up quickly. Instead of using the dew heater, I'll try a dew shield.
     
  12. Mak the Night

    Mak the Night Well-Known Member

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    I put it near the objective so it wouldn't be in the way. Although it doesn't help the parallax issues. I can lean forward pretty easily though to look through it. I think there are heated and non-heated shields for it.

    [​IMG]

    I have heaters for the reflex sights, I don't use them much now though. A shield only puts off the inevitable. The downside to heaters is that they need a power source.
     
  13. Nebula

    Nebula Well-Known Member

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    @Mak the Night yeah heaters are a bummer, I try not to use mine either, I use my heaters to get the telescope inside of the house.. exclusively. For the finders I re-heat them inside of my car, it's much faster with the heating power of petrol.
    :)
     
  14. Mak the Night

    Mak the Night Well-Known Member

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    Luckily the dew season isn't that long for me. It's more or less over by late November.
     

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