Jupiter and Mars

Finally! Some clear sky!  \o/

I was asked by someone on the Stargazers Lounge if I could see the banding on Jupiter. I armed myself with my scope and lenses and set to work. With the 25mm lens Jupiter was a little white blob. With the 10mm it was a slightly large, but fuzzy, white blob. Only when I added the 2X Barlow to the 10mm did I see anything. And even then... only just! It does take a wee while for your eyes to adjust to seeing things in the scope as you instinctively try and focus on the planet which doesn't help any. You need to look in the eyepiece and let your eye relax and, if possible, focus far off rather than close up. Well, I did manage to see the bands on Jupiter but they were very faint.

Not so much luck with Mars. Even at 10mm 2X Barlow it's still a red-tinted dot. But it's still awesome to see it.

While just browsing stars I saw a white dot, which looked like a star, whiz across the sky. I couldn't see it with the naked eye, only through the scope. I followed it for a bit then lost it. But, having looked at a forum members video of a meteor, I'm convinced that's exactly what I saw! Totally fluked it, and saw a meteor. Well chuffed!