Free telescope not too shabby
My Celestron Powerseeker 50 telescope
I’m still very twitchy and unsteady with my hands, so getting REALLY good closeup and focus was out oft he question. I was able to center in on Jupiter, and could see Io and Callisto orbiting it to its right. Then the clouds rolled in.
This is basically what I was able to see on the scope’s lowest magnification. I was able to get this by using Celestia, going to Earth, setting the correct time, then doing a zoom to Jupiter. It got it spot on. I didn’t have quite this level of focus with twitchy hands, but this is def what I was able to see. I’ll need to look sometime in the future for something with better movement and stabilization control.
(click for larger)
(click for larger)
I’ll try to get out there again when theres no moon and the skies are clear.
Very cool. I’ve actually spent a couple of nights in the last two weeks sitting on our deck with binoculars enjoying the night skies. Got to see a half dozen meteors and a half dozen satellites each night. If you are going to get into watching the skies you may want to check out http://www.heavens-above.com/, which is a pretty good source of tables and charts.
Spotting satellites is something I love to do, because it never happens on purpose. I usually seem to look up at the right time, and make a score. What I’ve wanted to do for years is watch for Iridium Flares.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iridium_flare
All this talk of telescopes and the last few weekends watching stars, has inspired me to finally dive in and get the scope I’ve been thinking about for years: http://www.telescope.com/control/product/~category_id=dobsonians/~product_id=27183. You’ll have to come over some night for star gazing.