Jupiter in the sky tonight

Dirk Diggler said:
It was seeing the moons that blew me away, as it's the first I've saw that. :)
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Used to have a small telescape could just about make out a disc and the 4 main moons if you keep an eye on them they move from day to day if you're lucky you may get to see all 4 at once :)

adidan said:
Every time there's a "look tonight you won't see it again for umpteen years" event it's always bloody cloudy :mad:
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It'll be around for more than just a night its usually visible for weeks it was visible again last night despite the haze and the streetlights which blotted everything else out as its so bright the absence of the moon at the moment helps as well

Devilman said:
That would still put it in the sky ;)
It may not be a part of the sky you can currently see, but it's always up there in the sky :p :p

In slightly more serious conversation though, I believe Saturn is also visible currently in the night sky from the UK, along with Jupiter and (I think?) Mercury?
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Mercury is always bloomin' hard to see as its always so close to the sun its only ever visible at dusk or dawn and very low on the horizon I've only ever seen it once
 
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Blackjack Davy said:
Used to have a small telescape could just about make out a disc and the 4 main moons if you keep an eye on them they move from day to day if you're lucky you may get to see all 4 at once :)



It'll be around for more than just a night its usually visible for weeks it was visible again last night despite the haze and the streetlights which blotted everything else out as its so bright the absence of the moon at the moment helps as well



Mercury is always bloomin' hard to see as its always so close to the sun its only ever visible at dusk or dawn and very low on the horizon I've only ever seen it once
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Between various volcanic eruptions, wildfires and other stuff like storms the atmospheric conditions this year have given some brief moments of being able to view the Sun and more rarely Mercury with the naked eye like you can never normally see them. One evening the sun was low on the horizon looking about 4x larger than normal and for a few minutes through the haze you could clearly see its spherical shape and even surface features like you never normally can. Several times in the morning it has similarly been possible to see the sun directly and some of the planets low on the horizon with details apparent you normally can't see.
 
Rroff said:
Between various volcanic eruptions, wildfires and other stuff like storms the atmospheric conditions this year have given some brief moments of being able to view the Sun and more rarely Mercury with the naked eye like you can never normally see them. One evening the sun was low on the horizon looking about 4x larger than normal and for a few minutes through the haze you could clearly see its spherical shape and even surface features like you never normally can. Several times in the morning it has similarly been possible to see the sun directly and some of the planets low on the horizon with details apparent you normally can't see.
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I was working on an oil rig off the east coast of Shetland around 15 years ago, and I was tidying up at the end of a Nightshift. It was right in the middle of summer so sunrise was early and due to a light haze I could see the sun very clearly without squinting. There was a small black dot on the face of the sun and my understanding is that this was Mercury.

Due to being at sea and the weather conditions etc., I ended up getting an awesome sense of perspective. :)
 
Dirk Diggler said:
I was working on an oil rig off the east coast of Shetland around 15 years ago, and I was tidying up at the end of a Nightshift. It was right in the middle of summer so sunrise was early and due to a light haze I could see the sun very clearly without squinting. There was a small black dot on the face of the sun and my understanding is that this was Mercury.

Due to being at sea and the weather conditions etc., I ended up getting an awesome sense of perspective. :)
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There was a transit in May 2003 and November 2006, but judging by the picture on the Wikipedia page there is absolutely no way you could pick out Mercury with the naked eye. If there was anything there it could have been a large sun spot group. Orbital alignments mean transits are infrequent and known well in advance - the next one isn't till 2032 and will be well publicized. Venus is even rarer, occurring in pairs 8 years apart every century or so - the next is in 2117...

en.wikipedia.org

Transit of Mercury - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
Penfold101 said:
There was a transit in May 2003 and November 2006, but judging by the picture on the Wikipedia page there is absolutely no way you could pick out Mercury with the naked eye. If there was anything there it could have been a large sun spot group. Orbital alignments mean transits are infrequent and known well in advance - the next one isn't till 2032 and will be well publicized. Venus is even rarer, occurring in pairs 8 years apart every century or so - the next is in 2117...

en.wikipedia.org

Transit of Mercury - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
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The size looks really similar and the date works out, the sun was right on the horizon as it was just rising in the morning.
 
Penfold101 said:
I'd be surprised if you could pick it out with the naked eye but I could be wrong!
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I can believe it - it is something I found almost jaw dropping how light can do weird things under certain atmospheric conditions - I went out into the yard at work and turned around to see the sun there low in the sky looking massive and plainly able to see surface features and the sun as a ball in 3D space - unfortunately mobile phone cameras just aren't up to capturing it - was really incredible.

Though less impressive there were a couple of mornings more recently as the sun came up over low cloud where similar kind of stuff happened, you could distinctly see the sun as a ball, and you could see the adjacent planets low on the horizon (not 100% on which ones but IIRC Venus, Mars and either Saturn or Jupiter) suddenly change from just splodges of light to being able to make out they were a planet albeit not much more than that with the naked eye.

EDIT: Best I could get out of my phone of it:

hFV6eFv.png

Sadly would need a very high end camera to have captured something even close to what it looked like to the naked eye - you could literally see surface details with the naked eye rather than being whited out.
 
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Rroff said:
I can believe it - it is something I found almost jaw dropping how light can do weird things under certain atmospheric conditions - I went out into the yard at work and turned around to see the sun there low in the sky looking massive and plainly able to see surface features and the sun as a ball in 3D space - unfortunately mobile phone cameras just aren't up to capturing it - was really incredible.

Though less impressive there were a couple of mornings more recently as the sun came up over low cloud where similar kind of stuff happened, you could distinctly see the sun as a ball, and you could see the adjacent planets low on the horizon (not 100% on which ones but IIRC Venus, Mars and either Saturn or Jupiter) suddenly change from just splodges of light to being able to make out they were a planet albeit not much more than that with the naked eye.
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Yes, this is what happens when sea fog is really thin. When the sun is rising under those conditions it is huge at the horizon compared to the little circle we're used to seeing - a total optical illusion but I believe the same phenomenon creates the super moon we see from the to time?

Being at sea is significant too, because there is literally no obstruction between the eye and the horizon. The sense of scale can be really powerful. Funny enough, an oil rig isn't the best place for star gazing as the amount of light created by the flare stack alone will ruin it, but early mornings are obviously different.
 
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FBi7 said:
I took this pic recently. I did attempt some more shots this evening. Went up into the hills where it was nice and dark, but it was too cold and windy and my tripod wouldn't keep still. So I gave up and went home.

Left to right: Callisto, Io, Jupiter, Europa, Ganymede.

yUrhq7I.jpeg
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mind if i ask what that was taken with - mobile phone on telescope, or binos?
 
Thekwango said:
mind if i ask what that was taken with
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No, not at all.

Taken using my Canon EOS250D using the Sigma 150-600mm Contemporary lens using a 1.4 teleconverter.

I'm still learning, recently purchased a Bahtinov Mask, so hope to capture something sharper in future, whilst also being able to expose for Jupiter separately to capture the colours.
 
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Rroff said:
Between various volcanic eruptions, wildfires and other stuff like storms the atmospheric conditions this year have given some brief moments of being able to view the Sun and more rarely Mercury with the naked eye like you can never normally see them. One evening the sun was low on the horizon looking about 4x larger than normal and for a few minutes through the haze you could clearly see its spherical shape and even surface features like you never normally can. Several times in the morning it has similarly been possible to see the sun directly and some of the planets low on the horizon with details apparent you normally can't see.
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Under the right conditions i.e. a red sun at dawn/dusk etc its possible to see sunspots on occasion the ancient chinese astronomers were the first to notice and record them they called them the birds across the sun iirc
 
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FBi7 said:
No, not at all.

Taken using my Canon EOS250D using the Sigma 150-600mm Contemporary lens using a 1.4 teleconverter.

I'm still learning, recently purchased a Bahtinov Mask, so hope to capture something sharper in future, whilst also being able to expose for Jupiter separately to capture the colours.
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Nice. Don’t forget to post plenty of pics. I’ve neither the skills nor patience (or indeed cash) for Astrophotography but I love all things ‘space’ - must dig my old scope out and see if I can get a look tonight.
 
FBi7 said:
No, not at all.

Taken using my Canon EOS250D using the Sigma 150-600mm Contemporary lens using a 1.4 teleconverter.

I'm still learning, recently purchased a Bahtinov Mask, so hope to capture something sharper in future, whilst also being able to expose for Jupiter separately to capture the colours.
Click to expand...
Manged to snap the same with my D810 X2 teleconvertor and 70-200
At first i thought i had some movement until I zoomed in and saw the moons.... Pretty cool right
Didn't have time to set up my skywatcher or I may have been able to get some more detail instead of Jupiter being blown out...
 
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