I set up the scope and camera tonight with more hope than expectation but was able to capture a transit of Ganymede across Jupiter and the Great Red Spot, maybe the first time I’ve ever been able to capture it. Details: 8″ SCT at f/10 on an ASGT mount, ZWO ASI120 camera best 25% of 2000 10 millisecond frames.
The skies were just clear enough to last night to entice me to set up the scope and try to image a dual transit of Io and it’s shadow across the face of Jupiter. Unfortunately it didn’t last. I hoped to image the entire one hour event but the weather worsened quickly. What you see here is an animation of 18 frames taken over 10 minutes. Every 30 seconds of real time is condensed to half a second.
I birded Gillam Park in southeast Little Rock Saturday morning. I counted 36 species of birds including the Kentucky Warbler below. He was cooperative probably because he was in his secret place. Other birds weren’t as cooperative and I had to settle for views with binoculars only. Also seen were an Eight-spotted Forester, a dew covered Eastern-tailed Blue and many Horace’s Duskywings (unless they were Juvenal’s Duskywings). Other good birds were Little Blue Heron, Chimney Swift, Ovenbird, Blue-winged Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Hooded Warbler, and Purple Finch.
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