A Tour of the Solar System.

Hi all

I was up early yesterday morning and saw Venus blazing high in the eastern sky and I wondered if I could see all of the planets, the sun and the moon in the one day.
All observations were carried out with a 120mm f/8.3 refractor.
Venus:  Showed a gibbous phase.  06.32UT
Sun:  No features seen in white light.  14.06UT
Moon:  Waxing gibbous, features too numerous to list.  20.40UT
Jupiter:  All four Galilean moons lined up on either side of the planet, Ganymede close to Jupiter.  Bands on the planet were brown streaks crossing the planet.   21.16UT
Saturn:  Titan obvious.  21.30UT
Neptune:  Spotted in the 20x90 binoculars as a blue star.  Using the scope I was able to use a magnification of x149 to show a small blue-green disc.  22.21UT
Mars:  The dark streak of Mare Tyrrehnum and Sinus Meridiani stretched across the planet's face.  The extension that is Syrtis Major was seen dropping to the south.  23.38UT
Uranus:  Found with the 20x90 binoculars first, the colour is a dead giveaway, a pale blue that is nothing like any blue star in the sky.  Moving to the scope, a magnification of x91 showed a small disc.  Upping the magnification increased the size of the disc, but there were no details, not that I expected to see any.   00.15UT
Earth:  Just looked down.  I don't just care what you say, I'm counting it.  00.23UT
Mercury:  Not seen.

I worked with a 20x90 binocular and telescope combination on my Skytee mount.  Finding the field with the binoculars I would then move to the scope to get a closer look and this setup worked well.
Here's the pair:
 

Seven planets, the sun and the moon.  Not bad.  It would have been nice to bag an asteroid too, what can you do?


Paul

Wow, Paul!
What a sensational report you have given us here!
I count 9 solar system wonders here.
How momentous that truly is.
I'm sure you will remember last night for many years to come.
Your description of Mars is particularly noteworthy of praise.
And having just come in from church it reminds me of our Great God who made all these objects which He put in place for us.

Clear skies to everyone,

Aubrey.

Great report Paul. Mercury just not possible, setting around the same time as the Sun. And skirting round the Pluto controversy

Finbarr.

Very well done Paul on a fantastic achievement. I love your set-up too - thanks for sharing the photos with us. And I have to say that refurbished scope is sure performing well for you.

Excellent stuff!

Darren.