Hello everyone.
Has anyone looked at or imaged Jupiter in recent weeks?
I observed Jupiter last Tuesday night (26/05/15) and I saw a wealth of detail on the big planet at 167X. The 2 main equatorial belts looked supreme as ever. Both polar regions were quite complex. However what really took my breath away were the North Temperate Belt and the South Temperate Belt -they were both very strong in appearance -particularly the South Temperate Belt! 4 belts in all -maybe a 5th also.
Of course the real reason I was observing Jupiter was that I knew the Great Red Spot was on show yet again -thanks to
www.skyandtelescope.com
. At this time as the Sun closes in on it, Jupiter is a long long way from us -840.000.000 kilometres from Earth in fact; and so it is much smaller than it was at opposition -only 35 arc seconds in diameter and -2.0 magnitude.
Returning to the GRS, it was quite large and very distinct last night and I could make out its hollow around it very easily at 167X. Perhaps some should keep an eye on it -especially as Venus heads up to it at the end of next month.
Also I should say that I did observe a double star less than 1 degree from the Moon last night. It was 65 Leonis. A is mag 6.5, B is 9.2. The separation is 2.7" and the PA is 104 degrees. I split it at 140X.
Thank you for reading.
Clear skies,
Aubrey.
  