First look at Jupiter.....ever !

Its a tiny bit wider then the diameter of saturns rings, but because its a disk, it looks massive.

Paul remember how big saturn was in your scope in a given eyepiece. Mentally draw a circle from the edge of one side of the rings to the edge of the rings on the other side. That will give you an idea of the size of Jupiter in that eyepiece. Saturns disc is about 18-20 arc seconds (or was at opposition. Saturns rings are about 40 arc seconds wide. Jupiters disc is about 46 arc seconds.

Like I said in my earlier post, I had an idea this would indeed be the case but i was still shocked to actually see the fact that it is so much bigger in the eypiece. Surface area wise Jupiters disc is more like 3 or 4 times the size of Saturns disc (not inluding rings)

The problem is, is that its so low in the sky and wont get much better for another 3 or 4 years for us, that the seeing makes high powers almost useless. So to get a view that isn't a bubbling mess you'll have to use lower powers than you would with Saturn to get a semi decent view so you wont actually be able to take advantage of the 'Big' view of Jupiter.

My point in the earlier post is that its nice to know what to expect when Jupiter actually is positioned high for us in a few years. I read a post from an Aussie over on cloudy nights raving about the view he had with his 12inch dob where he could see 8 or 9 cloud bands and swirls in the clouds etc etc. I was sceptical and thought he was exagerating. Well after seeing what size Jupiter looked with my 5mm @ 300x I now believe him that he could see that detail and that on some crisp cold winters night in 2011-2012 when Jupiter is in our sky overhead instead of down in the muck just above the horizon, that I too might see that kind of detail, cause heck, 300x and 480x with my 3.5mm looked like I was in orbit around Jupiter. Its just a pity that right now this power on Jupiter down low is like looking out the orbiting space crafts window that some careless astronaut has smeared a thick layer of vaseline.

Paul remember how big saturn was in your scope in a given eyepiece. Mentally draw a circle from the edge of one side of the rings to the edge of the rings on the other side. That will give you an idea of the size of Jupiter in that eyepiece.

Yep i'd already done that..................hence my excitement.

Well lads,
We had a good look at Jupiter last night with the obsessionator, it was best seen after 3am and after 4am the GRS was visible. Boy was the seeing bad!!
It was like the bottom of a swimming pool, The north equatorial belt looked red while the southern eq belt looked decidedly grey and wider, some of the bigger festoons were visible and the GRS leaped in and out of view as the seeing varied as for the other 2, not a hope,
Our best view was with the 14 UWA meade eyepiece which gives a power of 179x, thats fairly low for this scope, If only it was high in the sky

If only it was high in the sky

Like you said and Keith before you...it's very low down and barely rises out of the muck.

I think Frank told me a few months ago (and as Keith stated)...........it will be a few yrs before we really get to see it in all it's glory.

I cant wait.

Ive seen it rising (Sky scout tells me so) just before sunrise but it remains too low for me to even think about getting the scope out to view it..........mainly because my view is obscured by thick forrest. I only get fleeting glances of it between branches.

You'd want to see the little gap in the branches of my neighbours trees that I have to wait for it to pass through. Luckily the angle between where I normally set up my scope and the gap is a line that almost runs due south, so Jupiter is in the gap at its highest altitude. Imagine if the gap only allowed me to see Jupiter when it was only 5 degrees in altitude. It'll actually be about 15 degrees for me tonight in the gap. Going to try and image it with my Philips webcam tonight if the clouds stay away.

Like I said earlier, I should get a lot more time with it after opposition when it will cross the meridian at a reasonable hour and I wont feel like a tit out the front at 3am like I would now.

I just cant bring myself to go out front at any time of the year. My driveway runs up the side of the house so is pretty dark but i still cant imagine being out there looking west at any time. I'd be beaten up or mugged by drunks passing by on their way home from the pub OR BOTH.lol.

All i see when looking south is the Bray illuminations.