Jupiter and Saturn Will Form a Rare Double Planet
 

Jupiter and Saturn will appear to align this December, creating a "double planet" in the night sky.

It’s the first time since the middle ages the planets have aligned this close.

The best time to view the spectacle on December 21 will be around an hour after sunset, right near the constellation Capricorn.

https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/0A...2ae79184222e92

https://www.popularmechanics.com/spa...how-to-see-it/

So is that when the world ends or will something get squeezed in before 12/31

I hope we have clear skies to see this.



Earlier this month Saturn, Jupiter, and the moon were closely aligned and I grabbed a grainy cell phone snap. Was going to get the good camera out the next night but was clouded out.

The streak above the moon is just an artifact... probably bacon grease or something on the lens.

Attachment 49445

I've got "New Madrid Fault Quake 12/2020" in the pool. :yesnod:

I’m thinking a tornado for this area.

Well, that monolith just appeared in Utah - coincidence?

F2 tornado hit Arlington, Tx (home of Jerry World) night before last. Expect that in May. Not November.

GM shut down Oldsmobile, so no more Toronados.....:dance:

I think this is Jupiter and Saturn????

:seasix:

:funnier::funnier::funnier::funnier::funnier:

Clear night here for the moment. I can clearly see both planets in the field of view of my 10x binoculars. I took my cell phone out, and tried to get a pic, but all of them really sucked. I scouted out a site on my property where I hope to get my old refractor and an even older digital camera that I can set up to take a pic through the telescope. If I get anything reasonable I'll post it.

But those with better cameras/steadier hands/stronger optics etc. Please, post more pics!

Yep.


Here's what Stellarium (cool, free planetarium software) shows a few minutes ago. The grid is 5 degree squares for context.


Attachment 49982


Crappy, noisy cell phone shot. Hope to get the good gear out for the big event.


Attachment 49983

Got the 'scope together, got the camera battery charged, re-figured out how to do a polar alignment. Western sky had light cirrus clouds, but I could see both planets through it. I got the camera mounted in time to take 2 pics before they dropped below thicker cloud cover, so we are done for tonight. Wife is downstairs seeing if she still has the ability to get the images off our archaic digital camera. Fingers crossed I'll get SOMETHING!

Edited to add: THIS is why I started on this a week plus before the peak. Camera operator sent me two pick of just one dot of light. I asked her what she saw in the camera display when she took the pic, and she said "that". She had already seen the two planets in the eyepiece, but didn't mention that she couldn't see it on the camera display.

Tonight's production = nothing.

Edited to add: Despite last night's total failure (I suspect the cause was purely intercranial problems on the part of one member of the team), my wife ordered a new camera mount that will take a smart phone. We did some practicing today, and got some clear pics of twigs that were 70+ yards away, so we should get something the next clear night (cloudy and foggy here tonight though).

I'm not sure why she is in such a hurry to ditch the Canon PowerShot SD1300 IS, although a full decade old, it has as many pixels as her iPhone 11, and has a 4X zoom with the camera's internal optics (not digital zoom). But, who am I to judge? :shrug:

Sorry guys, I think it is time to admit that we just suck at astrophotography. Seeing was pretty sketchy, with light clouds going by, but we had several good opportunities to see both planets in the scope, and we did in fact get some excellent views! However, we couldn't get the Cannon, nor my wife's iPhone to get a pic of anything. The scope is working great, and as far as I can tell, both cameras, and both camera mounts, are operating perfectly as well, so the problem is almost certainly NOT equipment.

I really don't understand it either, me and the kids used to take pictures of the moon and mars and stuff with exactly the same equipment. I have no idea what we are doing wrong, but if anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears!

Geminid meteor shower peak tonight. Up to 120 per hour.

Zero light pollution where I am at.

Love living out here.

Making slow progress. I took the Canon, and simply mounted it onto the scope mount. I took a picture at 16x mag, and this is the best one I got:

.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...e7fb9e18de.jpg

Making more slow progress. I got the Canon lined up with an eyepiece in the house, and got the telescope lined up with a different eyepiece. Then, I brought the whole kit and caboodle (eyepiece, mount, and camera) out and stuck it into the telescope. Here is the best shot I got so far:

So, despite tremendous suckage, we can see that it is Jupiter, and it is Saturn, and I even got one Galilean moon in there. I couldn't get the delayed shutter to work, so that is why it is so fuzzy. My wife came out and showed me where I was ****ing that up, but by that time, the planets had dropped below the tree line. I will do better soon I promise!