Look up and catch the PPLE (partial penumbral lunar eclipse).?ÿ Probably not as exciting as a full lunar eclipse, but still a noteworthy event if you're an amateur sky-watcher like myself.
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And if you're into the celestial orbs and still have a good optical instrument around Jupiter and Saturn are drifting about as close as they'll get to Earth in a while.?ÿ If you've got a good instrument with clean lenses the rings of Saturn can be visually detectable.?ÿ However don't get too excited as it is a long ways away.?ÿ My best instrument can only provide a very small image.?ÿ You won't have any trouble seeing Jupiter though.?ÿ It's bright as hell.?ÿ So bright that I've never been able to discern any details.
And if you still can't sleep later on in the month we have a couple of pretty good meteor showers coming up.?ÿ Me and the dogs will be watching. 😉
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You won't have any trouble seeing Jupiter
The moons of Jupiter have always amazed me...
Mainly because of their ancient history:
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Copied from Wikipedia
Chinese historian Xi Zezong claimed that the earliest record of a Jovian moon (Ganymede or Callisto) was a note by Chinese astronomer Gan De of an observation around 364 BC regarding a "reddish star".[8] However, the first certain observations of Jupiter's satellites were those of Galileo Galilei in 1609.[9] By January 1610, he had sighted the four massive Galilean moons with his 20?? magnification telescope, and he published his results in March 1610.[10]
I like watching the moon moving through a telescope. The simple(?) fact that I am watching the universe in motion is amazing in so many ways. ???? ?ÿ
@flga
The moon is one (among many) celestials that, when observed with a fixed instrument, its "hurdling" through space becomes really evident.?ÿ I guess due to its proximity to us...the damned thing won't ever sit still!
I'm outside with the Topcon. Nice view of the moon but 40 min into the event I can't tell any difference. The discussion I saw on line indicated it would be su tle even at maximum.
Saw 4 moons of Jupiter. Actually, one dot was two nearly coincident at this viewing angle but later I could resolve them.
By looking up the az and el difference from Jupiter I was also able to find Saturn. I can just make out that it is ringed. I hadn't seen that through this scope before.
I can't find it at all with naked eye under these conditions but my wife can. It's 1.88 magnitude?ÿ less bright than Jupiter.
I might mention that I used Stellarium for the calculation of az-el differences. It's free and an amazing simulation of the view of stars, planets, and some visible satellites. It is accurate enough for Polaris azimuths to some seconds, although it isn't automatic to correct refraction.
