More Orion

Took another early morning peak at M42, this time with the reflector. Hard to resist a calm, clear morning when it's so easily spotted in the sky. Since the moon was out and it was nearing dawn, there wasn't a lot of detail (oh, and my scope has a tiny mirror...lol...). I decided to spend a few minutes looking at the moon's terminator instead, since it was much more detailed. I'm dying for a larger scope!

Jupiter, baby!

Another clear night last night. I was busy working on a video project and didn't get out for long, but I did see a few things. I was helping my wife unload the groceries at about 10:30 (thank you 24 hour grocery stores), and she pointed out a bright star in the south east part of the sky. Big, bright, and yellow - I figured it had to be Jupiter.

I grabbed the Nikons and took a quick peek - and there it was, a lovely yellow disc with three small pinpoints in an angle alongside. Jupiter and three of his moons, perfectly framed in the eyepeices. Though that part of the sky is almost completely covered by trees in my neighborhood, there was a "hole" in the trees that Jupiter fit nicely into. I set the tripod and let my wife have a good long look, too :)

I tried to show her M44, but the sky had a bit of haze (and Venus being uber-bright in that part of the sky likely didn't help). No M44 tonight, and my wife called it quits. I stayed out for a few minutes, and used the averted vision trick again to see M13. Can't wait for a darker location to REALLY get some better looks at everything.

The moon was bright and lovely - a nice night for Luna gazing.