Silhouetted Against A Southern Cross

… Janine Watches Over A Stellar Nursery In Sagittarius

 

Another birthday celebration at Honeysuckles Astronomy Tours as Janine treats Ken to a birthday Astro Tour surprise; also accompanied by Janine’s brother Chris and friend Clare on the night.

It was another crisp, clear and still winter’s evening with a dark sky on show taking the small enthusiastic group by surprise with almost every object viewed. From stars to galaxies to nebulae and finally, gas giant planets, the parade was spectacular. Of particular note was an observation of a shadow transit on Jupiter. Only 3 days after Opposition and thus optimally placed for viewing, a transit passing by Ganymede – Jupiter’s largest moon, was in full swing at the time of our viewing. This event is not unusual, but not only was a large round shadow visible on the planet’s surface, but the moon itself with surface colouring was also easily seen almost next to and on the right of the shadow it was making. This is an unusual sighting.