Posts Made By: Carlos E. Hernandez

Joe,

Congratulations on your first set of planetary images which are excellent. Please keep up the good work.

Carlos E. Hernandez

Darren,

Congratulations on your sighting of your observation of the shadow of Io. Your new Plossl eyepieces will improve your views in the future significantly. We look forward to your future observations.

Carlos

Dave,

A nice view of the shadow of Io and later the satellite itself. I hope that you enjoy many more such observations in the future.

Carlos

Sol,

An excellent observation of Jupiter showing much detail, as usual. The NEB and SEB appear very complex and active. The Great Red Spot (GRS) itself is very interesting. The best of luck in your future observations.

Carlos

Vincent,

Thank you for the compliment on my observing and artistic talents. It has taken me some time to develop these.

I too make a drawing at the eyepiece, as Sol points out. I tend to use slightly lighter shades (HB to 6H) in my renditions. I would suggest at your stage to stick with two shades as Sol suggests (4H and 2B). Be careful how much pressure you apply to the observing form as it is easier to apply more shade than to erase a dark shade. An artist's stump (sold at many art stores) may be useful to blend shades. A pliable eraser can remove shade as well. The clipboard with a light (e.g. clip on night light sold at many stores) is perfect for your observations. You may want to apply a pink or red fingernail polish to the light bulb if the glare is too much. Apart form this the only advice that I, or Sol, can give you or anyone else is to Practice, Practice, Practice!

You will notice that you will be seeing more detail as time goes by. This will also benefit your DSO observations as well as you are becoming a better overall observer and seeing fainter and more delicate detail in and around nebula and galaxies.

The best of luck in your future observations. We look forward to your observations being posted.

Carlos

Darren,

Congratulations on observing Jupiter using your new eyepieces. You have done well to improve your eyepiece set. It makes all the difference between seeing detail on the planets.

As you point out the Great Red Spot (GRS) is not always it's namesake color. The last time the GRS appeared reddish in color, to my eyes, was back in 1990 when the SEB disappeared. Before then the GRS was prominent in 1975 and in the 1960's. It currently is reported to be orange-red in color by various observers.

A factor that may not bring out the delicate color of the GRS is your aperture. You normally need a 6-inch refractor or 8-inch reflector to really notice color within the GRS. A smaller aperture will detect color but the reduced (relative to a larger aperture as mentioned) light transmission will diffuse the hue visible. Please keep observing with your excellent instrument as it has much to offer on the Moon and planets.

The best of luck in your future observations.

Carlos

Yu Gu,

A wonderful image of the crescent Moon. Please keep up the excellent images of the Moon and planets.

Carlos

Wesley,

A spectacular image of Jupiter and Ganymede (and it's shadow). The 14.5" Starmaster is an excellent instrument for both planetary and deep sky observations and imaging. Please keep up the excellent work.

Carlos

Vincent,

A very good beginning sketch of Jupiter. You have shown the major equatorial bands (NEB and SEB) nicely. It is a matter of practice that will make you a better planetary observer. Please be patient and you will notice improvement quickly.

You may consider using my Jupiter template for your observations located at http://www.arksky.org under the "Online Tools" section.

The best of luck in your own observations.

Carlos

Vincent,

A very nice sketch of the Whirlpool galaxy (M51), Please keep up the good work.

Carlos