Had a good first light with the 6”
Here is the 6”
It was an early morning session, so the air was calm and the seeing excellent.
- Moon (12-day old) – looked at the tiny crater Galileo, only 9 miles in diameter; strange that such an insignificant topographic feature was named after this famous astronomer. Nearby is a strange white feature called Reiner Gamma which scientists are not in agreement on what it is or how it formed. Viewed at 113x and 170x.
- Jupiter – surface features nice and sharp at 170x; one of the best views I’ve had of the planet through any scope (incl. the 6”).
GRS visible as well.
- Saturn – the Cassini Division and banding on the disk very clear.
- Mars – relatively high up in the sky for a planet, so the views were excellent; never seen the planet so crisp and sharp before. Best view was at 170x, with the Southern icMe cap and Syrtis Major easily visible.
- Neptune – tiny bluish dot even at 170x; cannot make out a disk.
- Uranus – clearly see its non-starry nature at 113x; tiny disk at 170x.