M82, Jupiter and Orion Nebula

I got a glimpse of the Supernova in M82 before the clouds moved in. It was hazy in that part of the sky and hard to see the galaxy, but easy to see the bright dot in the middle of the fuzziness. Jupiter's moon Europa was sneaky and not showing when I first looked into the scope. Then about an hour or so later it crept out from behind Jupiter and showed itself. The Orion nebula looked bright as its stars casts shadows on the clouds of dust and gas. Too many clouds out right now to view much else.

Sunspot AR 1967 (formerly AR 1944)

Got a quick look before next front rolled in.  Neighbor's tree was a challenge also.  The complex does not seem as spectacular as the first time it went across the Sun.  In case you are interested, I'm using a Celestron First Scope with an Orion white light filter that renders the Sun in an orange/yellow color and an Orion Explorer II 17 mm eyepiece.  I set the scope on the kitchen table and look through the patio door.

Supernovas

In case you haven't heard there is another supernova in M99.  It is about magnitude 15 today.  I've been looking at the supernova in M82 using my 5 inch reflector.  The big sunspot cluster (formerly AR 1944) is now appearing again on the Sun.  I'm going to take a look as soon as I post this.

Jupiter and Moons, Jan 25th 2014

Jupiter was bright and glorious viewed the evening of Jan 24, 2014. With my 10 inch dob the cloud bands on Jupiter were clearly visible sometime showing some details within the bands. From right of Jupiter as Europa (outer) and Ganymede (inner). From Left of Jupiter was Io (inner) and way out, at times out of the eyepiece (1/4 inch zoomed to15mm) was Callisto. Seeing was average, but Jupiter and it's cloud bands were easy to see until the secondary start icing a bit which seemed to produce a halo and washed out the planet a bit.

Observations on Jan 25 2014

View M82 at 9:19pm MST with 10 inch dob using a 24mm to 8mm zoom 1/4 inch eyepiece (I viewed this object with 18mm). I see a bright dot right of the center of the galaxy (almost midway between the center and the edge) which happens to be  SN2014J Type Ia Supernova. Seeing conditions seemed average and light pollution didn't prevent it's viewing. Viewed from my back deck in Idaho Falls.