With thanks to Ganymede!

by David Kingsley


I keep a text file of Jupiter moon events on the Palm Pilot (see http://www.projectpluto.com/jevent.htm), and check the list whenever the King is up, and the skies look clear and reasonably steady.

Last night was a good example. When I got home about 11:30 pm or so I decided to set up my 7 inch Starmaster Dob to try to catch the end of a listed Ganymede shadow transit. Unfortunately I can't precool my scopes outside because of living arrangements. However, 5 or 10 minutes with a small Radioshack muffin fan going behind the mirror was enough to bring the temperature at the back of the mirror to the same as outside temperature, and to give reasonably steady views of the planet.

Ganymede's shadow made a clear dot well south of the equatorial belts on Jupiter: big, black,and beautiful. Ganymede itself hit the limb of Jupiter an hour or so later (1:15 or so). By then even outside temperatures had stopped falling and the seeing was amazingly steady. The little moon looked like a bright white pearl stuck right into the Southern hemisphere of the planet.

The Great Pale Spot was also perfectly positioned, with an incredible number of loops, swirls, and white spots visible in Jupiters bands. I had the power up to 350x or so by the end of the session using a Televue Barlow. The detail on Jupiter, Saturn, and the near 3rd quarter moon were breathtaking. I don't often get views this steady from an average session around home. I stayed up much later than planned, but am glad that Ganymede lured me out.