Io transit

by Leonard Tramiel

Preparing for the transit I was undecided as to whether to leave my scope outside when I went to bed. If I kept it inside, the optics would be surely not be cooled down when I did set up. On the other hand, leaving a C8 outside is an invitation to dew. I decided to avoid the dew. I set the alarm to get up at 3:00.

The alarm went off. So far, so good. I went downstairs, in my pajamas, to check the sky. Clear. Back upstairs to pull on some warmer clothes, took the telescope outside and set it on the back porch. I keep the tripod in the trunk of my car (can't forget it that way when I go observing). Set up and there was the tiny black spot on Jupiter.

Seeing (not sure if it was the hot scope or the rest of the atmosphere) was not good enough for me to be sure of either the shape of the shadow or Io itself. Looking for a few minutes there where moments when detail started to come clear so I decided to get the battery and inverter setup and start tracking, they're also in the car. As I walked to the curb I saw that the fog was coming in. It had already covered the eastern half of the sky and it was advancing, fast! I ran, got the stuff from the car, plugged it in. I then watched, with the clock drive running, as the edge of the fog obscured the view.

Anyone have better luck?

Oh, well. It happens again next year!