Jupiter/Lunar conjunction, 17th May

[Ross Wilkinson]

Did anyone manage to see this?

I had my TS70ED refractor set up at the bottom of the garden:

The mount is just a 20 year-old Tasco GT (upgraded with a new Celestron hand-control).

I levelled the tripod, fitted my Solar filter (freshly made, with a sheet of the Seymour film) and did a Solar System Alignment and focused on the Sun.

Then I tried a GoTo on Venus, which soon appeared in the field of my 32mm Plossl eyepiece, so then I had a 2-point Alignment.

But after several GoTos on the Moon and Jupiter I was still unable to see anything against the bright sky, through the high-level haze (and aircraft con-trails). Perhaps if I still had a variable polarizing filter, that would have helped with the contrast?

Anyway, now I have even more admiration for Juned and his team of crescent Moon-spotters!