9pm – 11pm        Jupiter and Deep Sky observing

The moon will not be observable during this session.

Jupiter will once again be a main attraction and the only planet well placed for viewing. Saturn will be in a better position for viewing beginning next month. The position of Jupiter’s four largest moons at 10pm is shown here:

Graphic  courtesy of Starry Night (R) Orion Special Edition, Version: 6.2.3 kcEW, Imaginova (R) Corp.

Nearby Jupiter are some interesting objects. The galaxy M104, the “Sombrero Galaxy” is shown below, and the Virgo Galaxy Cluster should have several of it’s brighter members observable with the 20″ refractor.

The globular star clusters M5, M12, and M10 could also be seen, and should be well resolved into hundreds of stars with the 20″. The cluster below is M5.

Thanks to Joe Roberts, an ASGH member, for the photos shown on this page. Visit his website to see more of his astrophotography.

As for double stars, Gamma Leonis (Algieba) and Gamma Virginis (Porrima) are both interesting. The stars of Gamma Leonis show a color contrast, and the orbital motion of the components of Gamma Virginis is visible on a time scale of decades.