A beautiful night for Luna

Last night was clear and cool here in Western PA, so I took all of the gear outside for an hour or so. I finally got to use the new barlow to view Saturn and Jupiter at higher magnifications - what a difference! Saturn is lower in the sky now, and is blocked by trees from my driveway almost as soon as it is visible. I ended up wandering down the street to my neighbors driveway to get a better view - I'm sure they all think I'm nuts.

Saturn through the barlowed 25mm eyepiece was about 56X magnification, and showed two moons and defined rings. I need to get a 8mm or so to really max out the magnification of the scope - it was a great view.

Jupiter was high in the darker eastern part of the sky, and the larger magnification helped me see 2 or 3 bands of color across the surface of the planet. The 4 large moons showed up 2 per side, making a nice view in the eyepiece. I'm sure the 8mm would be worth every penny on this planet as well.

I got distracted by the moon midway through the viewing session - it was a bright crescent in the South West, and I spent a while looking at the surface at 56x in the 25mm and 22x in the 32mm. It was such a nice view that I took the picture you see at the right. I think this was taken at f3.2 and ISO100. I'd have to check. I used my Canon S2IS digital on a tripod, and used the 10 second timer. Not bad! Took about 15 shots, and this was the best.

What I didn't remember, however, was that the ISS (International Space Station) was due to pass by the moon just before 11PM. Not only that, but the recently undocked shuttle would be following it, only 10 degrees or so behind. Only after I came in did I read how great a sight it was. RATS. Hopefully my brother in VA got to see it (he's been waiting all week).

As usual, I picked out M13 to close out the night. One of these days I'll get out my charts and plan an actual session. Likely I'll save that for a star party with darker skies and more time.