I had a great time observing Jupiter from my backyard tonight. I was using my 6 inch f8 newt on a pedestal mount. I brought it out earlier in the day and managed to get a very good collimation for the first time. I started observing just before 7 and saw that Io was already very close to Jupiter. By 7 it was touching the limb of Jupiter. I managed to see Io as a whote spot against Jupiter for about 15 minutes. I talked to Mark W. over the phone soon after and he had not seen this. Did anyone else manage to see Io against the body of Jupiter? The seeing was fantastic. I mostly used a 9mm Optica ortho which gave 133x. I also pumped it up with a 6mm Lanathenum which gave 200x. There was sooooo much detail. The great pale spot was very prominent as was a dark patch in the dark lane below. (Sorry, my Jovian terminology is non-existent) There were lots of festoons in the southern(?) region (I'm using a newt for the first time so I get confused what direction I'm looking) and one dark spot in the middle of that area. I came in for awhile, made Latte's, and went back out. Unfortunately by then the fog was rolling in (I'm in Oakland) BUT the seeing was actually a little better because the fog dimmed Jupiter a bit. I saw the shadow of Io start taking a bite out of Jupiter around 8:14. By 8:18 the shadow was surrounded by Jupiter. It was a jet black dot against the pale shades of Jupiter.

Unfortunately the fog was persistent and the seeing deteriorated. I didn't manage to catch Io coming off the other side. What a great night of viewing though. The triple transit should be spectacular!