Triple Shadow Transit Tonight

Just a reminder that on 28 March at 8:00 UT (3:00 am EST, 12:00 am PST) there
is an opportunity to observe a triple shadow transit on Jupiter. Also, the
satellites Io and Ganymede will be in mid-transit.

Clear skies and good observing.

Bill Ferris
"Cosmic Voyage: The Online Resource for Amateur Astronomers"
URL: http://www.cosmic-voyage.net
=============
Email: Remove "ic" from .comic above to respond

c (Bill Ferris) wrote in message ...
Just a reminder that on 28 March at 8:00 UT (3:00 am EST, 12:00 am PST) there
is an opportunity to observe a triple shadow transit on Jupiter. Also, the
satellites Io and Ganymede will be in mid-transit.

Clear skies and good observing.

Bill Ferris
"Cosmic Voyage: The Online Resource for Amateur Astronomers"
URL: http://www.cosmic-voyage.net
=============
Email: Remove "ic" from .comic above to respond

I had a brief window of opportunity between the clouds to see all 3
shadows (Io, Ganymede, Callisto), although with the wind blowing, it
made viewing shaky. I was using an 8" Dob, 100x power in Berkeley
Springs, WV. How did everyone else fare?

c (Bill Ferris) wrote in message ...
Just a reminder that on 28 March at 8:00 UT (3:00 am EST, 12:00 am PST) there
is an opportunity to observe a triple shadow transit on Jupiter. Also, the
satellites Io and Ganymede will be in mid-transit.

Clear skies and good observing.

Bill Ferris
"Cosmic Voyage: The Online Resource for Amateur Astronomers"
URL: http://www.cosmic-voyage.net
=============
Email: Remove "ic" from .comic above to respond

I had a brief window of opportunity between the clouds to see all 3
shadows (Io, Ganymede, Callisto), although with the wind blowing, it
made viewing shaky. I was using an 8" Dob, 100x power in Berkeley
Springs, WV. How did everyone else fare?

First time i've ever seen shadow transits! I've never been very =
interested=20
in planets as seeing is generally very poor where i live. (I'm in the=20
southern Calif desert just east of 10,000 foot mtns.) Last night was=20
windy as well which didn't help. But using my TV76 and the Nagler 3-6mm=20
zoom i could pick out the 3 shadows in moments where the image =
stabilized=20
a bit. I could not see Io nor Ganymede against the planet however. I =
don't=20
see myself getting hooked on planetary observing anytime soon but it was =

neat to see such a rare event with my own scope. ;-)

-Florian & stargazing dot com

First time i've ever seen shadow transits! I've never been very =
interested=20
in planets as seeing is generally very poor where i live. (I'm in the=20
southern Calif desert just east of 10,000 foot mtns.) Last night was=20
windy as well which didn't help. But using my TV76 and the Nagler 3-6mm=20
zoom i could pick out the 3 shadows in moments where the image =
stabilized=20
a bit. I could not see Io nor Ganymede against the planet however. I =
don't=20
see myself getting hooked on planetary observing anytime soon but it was =

neat to see such a rare event with my own scope. ;-)

-Florian & stargazing dot com

eclipsed wrote:
c (Bill Ferris) wrote in message ...
Just a reminder that on 28 March at 8:00 UT (3:00 am EST, 12:00 am PST) there
is an opportunity to observe a triple shadow transit on Jupiter. Also, the
satellites Io and Ganymede will be in mid-transit.

Clear skies and good observing.

Bill Ferris
"Cosmic Voyage: The Online Resource for Amateur Astronomers"
URL: http://www.cosmic-voyage.net
=============
Email: Remove "ic" from .comic above to respond

I had a brief window of opportunity between the clouds to see all 3
shadows (Io, Ganymede, Callisto), although with the wind blowing, it
made viewing shaky. I was using an 8" Dob, 100x power in Berkeley
Springs, WV. How did everyone else fare?

From Tuscaloosa, I pulled the Nexstar 5 out on the back deck,
and caught all three, though the shadow of Callisto was visibly
much the least distinct. I never would have guessed that a freight
train passing about a km away would have set up low-frequency
vibrations after I had the deck rebuilt, but that's how one learns...
so there were several minutes when I was doing well to see
the shadow of Io and Ganymede... I was using a newish Orion 15mm
Panorama eyepiece - I've been overall pleased with it, and it plays
together with my old Criterion Barlow better than any other I've used.

It was eerie seeing just the single moon out there beside Jupiter.
I've never managed to see one of the rare times when all four are in
transit or occulted at once (which is visually otherwise a lot
less interesting than multiple transits).

Bill Keel

eclipsed wrote:
c (Bill Ferris) wrote in message ...
Just a reminder that on 28 March at 8:00 UT (3:00 am EST, 12:00 am PST) there
is an opportunity to observe a triple shadow transit on Jupiter. Also, the
satellites Io and Ganymede will be in mid-transit.

Clear skies and good observing.

Bill Ferris
"Cosmic Voyage: The Online Resource for Amateur Astronomers"
URL: http://www.cosmic-voyage.net
=============
Email: Remove "ic" from .comic above to respond

I had a brief window of opportunity between the clouds to see all 3
shadows (Io, Ganymede, Callisto), although with the wind blowing, it
made viewing shaky. I was using an 8" Dob, 100x power in Berkeley
Springs, WV. How did everyone else fare?

From Tuscaloosa, I pulled the Nexstar 5 out on the back deck,
and caught all three, though the shadow of Callisto was visibly
much the least distinct. I never would have guessed that a freight
train passing about a km away would have set up low-frequency
vibrations after I had the deck rebuilt, but that's how one learns...
so there were several minutes when I was doing well to see
the shadow of Io and Ganymede... I was using a newish Orion 15mm
Panorama eyepiece - I've been overall pleased with it, and it plays
together with my old Criterion Barlow better than any other I've used.

It was eerie seeing just the single moon out there beside Jupiter.
I've never managed to see one of the rare times when all four are in
transit or occulted at once (which is visually otherwise a lot
less interesting than multiple transits).

Bill Keel

Hi Florian,

A slightly different atmosphere at the Griffith Satellite Observatory, where
I saw Ganymede clearly through a C-14, 6-inch f/8 Jaegar's refractor, and a
custom built 11-inch f/15 refractor. No one saw Io when it was in front of
the disk. Most were very jazzed by the view, experienced and novie viewers
alike, since triple shadow crossings are from any one location on Earth.
The event's rarity was highlighted by the fact that the window of
opportunity was only 20 minutes wide, less since it took time for the
shadows to fully come in front of Jupiter's disk.

I caught some images of the event using my 127mm f/12.1 Mak. Some look good
enough for keepers. All in all, a very exciting and wonderous sight!
--
Sincerely,
--- Dave

----------------------------------------------------------------------
A man is a god in ruins.
--- Duke Ellington
----------------------------------------------------------------------

"Florian" wrote in message
...
First time i've ever seen shadow transits! I've never been very interested
in planets as seeing is generally very poor where i live. (I'm in the
southern Calif desert just east of 10,000 foot mtns.) Last night was
windy as well which didn't help. But using my TV76 and the Nagler 3-6mm
zoom i could pick out the 3 shadows in moments where the image stabilized
a bit. I could not see Io nor Ganymede against the planet however. I don't
see myself getting hooked on planetary observing anytime soon but it was
neat to see such a rare event with my own scope. ;-)

-Florian & stargazing dot com

Hi Florian,

A slightly different atmosphere at the Griffith Satellite Observatory, where
I saw Ganymede clearly through a C-14, 6-inch f/8 Jaegar's refractor, and a
custom built 11-inch f/15 refractor. No one saw Io when it was in front of
the disk. Most were very jazzed by the view, experienced and novie viewers
alike, since triple shadow crossings are from any one location on Earth.
The event's rarity was highlighted by the fact that the window of
opportunity was only 20 minutes wide, less since it took time for the
shadows to fully come in front of Jupiter's disk.

I caught some images of the event using my 127mm f/12.1 Mak. Some look good
enough for keepers. All in all, a very exciting and wonderous sight!
--
Sincerely,
--- Dave

----------------------------------------------------------------------
A man is a god in ruins.
--- Duke Ellington
----------------------------------------------------------------------

"Florian" wrote in message
...
First time i've ever seen shadow transits! I've never been very interested
in planets as seeing is generally very poor where i live. (I'm in the
southern Calif desert just east of 10,000 foot mtns.) Last night was
windy as well which didn't help. But using my TV76 and the Nagler 3-6mm
zoom i could pick out the 3 shadows in moments where the image stabilized
a bit. I could not see Io nor Ganymede against the planet however. I don't
see myself getting hooked on planetary observing anytime soon but it was
neat to see such a rare event with my own scope. ;-)

-Florian & stargazing dot com

First time i've ever seen shadow transits! I've never been very =
interested=20
in planets as seeing is generally very poor where i live.

I enjoy watching shadow transits, even saw one in my $99 Apogee Inc ST-80
clone. Last night I was up in the Laguna mountains, nice and clear and it had
been quite calm, just a touch of wind. I had my 10 inch F5 GS scope, normally
a good performer on the planets.

Early in the evening the seeing was quite lousy and I had planned to sleep
until the moon went down. However the seeing suddenly stablized and I was
seeing the first shadow cleanly as it appeared. I decided to stay up and
watch it.

However the steadiness disappeared and the wind came up, gusty and strong,
certainly reaching 40mph. With the moon so bright and the seeing so poor, I
packed it in about 10pm and tried to catch a decent night's sleep while the
motor home rocked in the wind.

:-(

jon