Daytime viewing for those who are house-bound at present

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DeanD Australia
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Daytime viewing for those who are house-bound at present

#1

Post by DeanD »


For those of us who are home at the moment I thought I would note my viewing just now (12.00 local time in South Australia). I have an elderly iOptron Pro mount which can be set up during the day and synched on the Sun (with a solar filter of course!). This is also a great way of making sure you are in focus. It is nearly impossible to find (say) Jupiter in the daytime if you aren't near focus. The Sun itself is very bland at the moment through my Baader white-light filter.

I put my 4” refractor on the mount and I had a look at Jupiter, Saturn, Mars and Mercury at 100x. Saturn was the hardest to see, but when I found it (I had to wobble the view by giving the scope a slight knock to pick it up initially: our eyes can see a very faint object easier when it moves rather than when it is steady) the rings were clearly visible. Couldn’t see the Cassini division though! ;) I could see 4 cloud belts on Jupiter. Mars showed as quite red and it was much easier than Saturn because it is not as large so it has higher apparent brightness: and I could make out its 3/4 phase as well as a darker patch in the centre which I believe to be Syrtus Major. Mercury showed a nice 1/2 phase. Venus is the easiest of course, but currently below our roof line.

Venus and the Moon will be very easy objects this afternoon if the clouds stay away.

I didn’t have time just now, but it is also quite easy to look at the brighter stars and doubles (like alpha Centauri, or alpha Crucis) during the daytime. I have found I can see down to around magnitude 2.5-3 stars relatively easily in my 4".

Well worth a try if you have a go-to mount, and let’s know what you can see! If you can’t set the mount up in the daytime, you could do it overnight and leave it tracking, or wait until the moon comes up and synch on it, or get up just before dawn and synch on Jupiter… whatever works for you.

… and of course if you do point at the sun, you must always use an appropriate solar filter that covers the objective of the scope. NEVER use one of those old in-focuser filters (they only belong in the bin), and always cover up your finder objective! If you are slewing past the sun, make sure the scope’s objective is covered too.

All the best, and keep safe.

Dean
Telescopes: 12" f5 dob, Celestron CPC800, 150mmf5 Celestron achro, Tak TSA102, TV76, ETX125...
Binos: Steiner Wildlife XP 10x26, Swarovski 8x30 Habicht, Zeiss SFL 8x40, Vanguard Endeavour 10.5x45, Fuji FMTR-SX 10x50, Tak 22x60, Orion Resolux 15x70
Eyepieces: way too many (is that possible?), but I do like my TV 32mm plossl, 13mm Nagler T6, 27mm Panoptic and 3-6mm Nagler zoom, plus Fujiyama 18mm and 25mm orthos and Tak 7.5mm LE
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John Baars Netherlands
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Re: Daytime viewing for those who are house-bound at present

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Post by John Baars »


Very nice and fun too!
Remembers me of the public that came to our public astronomical observatory, Sun was still up and we showed Jupiter to them. They thought we were a kind of magicians! :D
Thanks for your nice report!
Refractors in frequency of use : *SW Evostar 120ED F/7.5 (all round ), * Vixen 102ED F/9 (vintage), both on Vixen GPDX.
GrabnGo on Alt/AZ : *SW Startravel 102 F/5 refractor( widefield, Sun, push-to), *OMC140 Maksutov F/14.3 ( planets).
Most used Eyepieces: *Panoptic 24, *Morpheus 14, *Leica ASPH zoom, *Zeiss barlow, *Pentax XO5.
Commonly used bino's : *Jena 10X50 , * Canon 10X30 IS, *Swarovski Habicht 7X42, * Celestron 15X70, *Kasai 2.3X40
Rijswijk Public Observatory: * Astro-Physics Starfire 130 f/8, * 6 inch Newton, * C9.25, * Meade 14 inch LX600 ACF, *Lunt.
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Graeme1858 Great Britain
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Re: Daytime viewing for those who are house-bound at present

#3

Post by Graeme1858 »


Thanks Dean.

That's a great idea for those of us that are 'working' from home.

Regards

Graeme
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Piet Le Roux South Africa
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Re: Daytime viewing for those who are house-bound at present

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Post by Piet Le Roux »


I once entertained the kids on a Sunday afternoon by showing them the moon and a few bright stars. The double stars seem to be easier to split in the day time, but I have never seen any planets. I will definitely give it a try. We are on lock down day 3 of 21 but the weather is terrible and will be for the next 7 days.....I will be doing maintenance on my kit till I get a gap. Thanks for the info Dean.
Main Equipment : Tele Vue 27mm Panoptic, 7&13mm Nagler, Big Barlow : 8" Meade LX90ACF with Meade 2.0" Enhanced Diagonal : Camera Fuji XT100
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Re: Daytime viewing for those who are house-bound at present

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Post by Lady Fraktor »


A nice planetary session Dean, glad you could enjoy.
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Re: Daytime viewing for those who are house-bound at present

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Post by DeanD »


John Baars wrote: Tue Mar 31, 2020 6:25 am Very nice and fun too!
Remembers me of the public that came to our public astronomical observatory, Sun was still up and we showed Jupiter to them. They thought we were a kind of magicians! :D
Thanks for your nice report!
I showed Jupiter to a class of year 7 students (12-13yo) one day through my 8" SCT. They were very excited!

I also remember naked eye viewing with a Year 1 class (6yo) of a last quarter crescent moon with a nearby Venus. Some of the children saw Venus before I pointed it out! Again they were very excited, but their teacher was disappointed because she couldn't see it! (Obviously needed glasses...)

All the best,

Dean
Telescopes: 12" f5 dob, Celestron CPC800, 150mmf5 Celestron achro, Tak TSA102, TV76, ETX125...
Binos: Steiner Wildlife XP 10x26, Swarovski 8x30 Habicht, Zeiss SFL 8x40, Vanguard Endeavour 10.5x45, Fuji FMTR-SX 10x50, Tak 22x60, Orion Resolux 15x70
Eyepieces: way too many (is that possible?), but I do like my TV 32mm plossl, 13mm Nagler T6, 27mm Panoptic and 3-6mm Nagler zoom, plus Fujiyama 18mm and 25mm orthos and Tak 7.5mm LE
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Re: Daytime viewing for those who are house-bound at present

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Post by Richard »


Will definitely try this , I have once tracked Venus from early morning when it was dark to well after the sun was up , but from what I remember was not very good perhaps that Venus is always quite close to the sun ?, I was using a 90 Mak that time , but now will try with my C5, I dont have a sun filter so will set up early before sun rise Jupiter .Saturn and Mars are all great targets early in the morning
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Bigzmey United States of America
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Re: Daytime viewing for those who are house-bound at present

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Post by Bigzmey »


Very cool Dean! I am still figuring out daytime alignment, but have been enjoying daytime Venus and Moon.
Scopes: Stellarvue: SV102ED; Celestron: 9.25" EdgeHD, 8" SCT, 150ST, Onyx 80ED; iOptron: Hankmeister 6" Mak; SW: 7" Mak; Meade: 80ST.
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Re: Daytime viewing for those who are house-bound at present

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Post by DeanD »


Richard wrote: Tue Mar 31, 2020 1:31 pm Will definitely try this , I have once tracked Venus from early morning when it was dark to well after the sun was up , but from what I remember was not very good perhaps that Venus is always quite close to the sun ?, I was using a 90 Mak that time , but now will try with my C5, I dont have a sun filter so will set up early before sun rise Jupiter .Saturn and Mars are all great targets early in the morning
Hi Richard,

The apparent distance/angle from the Sun to Venus varies as both Venus and Earth orbit the Sun. Venus is 45 degrees from the sun at the moment- about as far as it gets, and it looks like a very bright 1/2 Moon.

All the best,

Dean
Telescopes: 12" f5 dob, Celestron CPC800, 150mmf5 Celestron achro, Tak TSA102, TV76, ETX125...
Binos: Steiner Wildlife XP 10x26, Swarovski 8x30 Habicht, Zeiss SFL 8x40, Vanguard Endeavour 10.5x45, Fuji FMTR-SX 10x50, Tak 22x60, Orion Resolux 15x70
Eyepieces: way too many (is that possible?), but I do like my TV 32mm plossl, 13mm Nagler T6, 27mm Panoptic and 3-6mm Nagler zoom, plus Fujiyama 18mm and 25mm orthos and Tak 7.5mm LE
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Re: Daytime viewing for those who are house-bound at present

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Post by Richard »


So I get up at 5 am only to have full cloud cover , will have to wait, went back to bed
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Re: Daytime viewing for those who are house-bound at present

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Post by John Baars »


I did Venus, the Moon and Aldebaran the other day at 14.00 hrs. Very nice, Aldebaran was only a faint small speck of light in the bright blue/grey sea. I was so pleased I totally forgot about the Sun or other planets..! :-)
Refractors in frequency of use : *SW Evostar 120ED F/7.5 (all round ), * Vixen 102ED F/9 (vintage), both on Vixen GPDX.
GrabnGo on Alt/AZ : *SW Startravel 102 F/5 refractor( widefield, Sun, push-to), *OMC140 Maksutov F/14.3 ( planets).
Most used Eyepieces: *Panoptic 24, *Morpheus 14, *Leica ASPH zoom, *Zeiss barlow, *Pentax XO5.
Commonly used bino's : *Jena 10X50 , * Canon 10X30 IS, *Swarovski Habicht 7X42, * Celestron 15X70, *Kasai 2.3X40
Rijswijk Public Observatory: * Astro-Physics Starfire 130 f/8, * 6 inch Newton, * C9.25, * Meade 14 inch LX600 ACF, *Lunt.
Amateur astronomer since 1970.
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Baurice
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Re: Daytime viewing for those who are house-bound at present

#12

Post by Baurice »


Venus is now a naked-eye object before sunset. Although I've also seen Mars and Jupiter during the day, I could not see any detail.

A sunspot is now visible. I'm quite notorious for my interest in the Sun, as I also have a Coronado PST but, with the Sun being inactive, I have switched my attention to other objects.

I find the Moon quite easy to view in the daytime, even with my 70mm binoculars but photographing it is much harder. I use a higher ISO (400) and only use the green channel.
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Re: Daytime viewing for those who are house-bound at present

#13

Post by DeanD »


Baurice wrote: Thu Apr 02, 2020 6:22 am Venus is now a naked-eye object before sunset. Although I've also seen Mars and Jupiter during the day, I could not see any detail.

A sunspot is now visible. I'm quite notorious for my interest in the Sun, as I also have a Coronado PST but, with the Sun being inactive, I have switched my attention to other objects.

I find the Moon quite easy to view in the daytime, even with my 70mm binoculars but photographing it is much harder. I use a higher ISO (400) and only use the green channel.
You could try a polarising filter to increase the contrast.
Telescopes: 12" f5 dob, Celestron CPC800, 150mmf5 Celestron achro, Tak TSA102, TV76, ETX125...
Binos: Steiner Wildlife XP 10x26, Swarovski 8x30 Habicht, Zeiss SFL 8x40, Vanguard Endeavour 10.5x45, Fuji FMTR-SX 10x50, Tak 22x60, Orion Resolux 15x70
Eyepieces: way too many (is that possible?), but I do like my TV 32mm plossl, 13mm Nagler T6, 27mm Panoptic and 3-6mm Nagler zoom, plus Fujiyama 18mm and 25mm orthos and Tak 7.5mm LE
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