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Jupiter: A Viewing Focus This Year?

Jupiter will get quite bright, about magnitude –2.8. Venus is brighter still, about magnitude -4.3. To tell the difference simply understand that Venus is currently trailing the Sun in the sky. So, the very bright star setting in the west just after the Sun sets is actually Venus. Soon thereafter (approximately 10pm, Jupiter will rise in the east and will be the brightest object in the eastern sky, aside from the Moon. I hope this helps a little.


Cheers DE Shaver ...

So it is Jupiter I`m seeing in the East sky at night !!!
Pretty impressive ! :thumbup1:
 
Cheers DE Shaver ...

So it is Jupiter I`m seeing in the East sky at night !!!
Pretty impressive ! :thumbup1:
Glad you are enjoying the view. Are you using binoculars? If you can, see if you can borrow a small telescope. It's surprising what you can see with it.
 
It was pretty scary taking that optical tube apart. There were plenty of moments for catastrophic error. Taking the corrector off was easy. Getting that mirror out was easy, but one mistake would have scratched it or destroyed it. Then, working a boning knife under that cast iron slab through a fan hole in the back of the tube, I cut enough of the silicone glue that I was able to pull that weight off and out of the tube without denting anything.

The scary part was after it was all reassembled, and putting it to a start test. Great success! As it was, the thing was pretty useless, so I didn't have a great deal to lose if I damaged it. It's now much easier to set up, because the OTA is so much lighter. Also, it cools off markedly faster without that heat soak right behind the mirror.

Howling gales outside today here... No good viewing for awhile, I think.

Sounds like you did an excellent job in telescope surgery. I've had scary moments with correctors too. Let me know when you get a good look of Jupiter. I've had no luck either.
 
Messing around w/ my Starry Night program.
Here are a couple targets as seen from Michigan at 12:10am (Time travel forward a couple hours).
They will climb as the night progresses and be similar for several weeks.
Venus has alread set behind us to the west.
You'll know Uranus by it's light blue color. Not much bigger than the head of a pin in my "10 Orion dob.

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Hi Gravy,

Thanks for the visuals. I think this will be of great help to those looking to find Jupiter and Uranus.
 
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