Six weeks into 2014 and we still have not really had any good seeing opportunites. However, after the really nice rain which is expected to clear the atmosphere up these next couple of days, observers could be blessed with some wonderful sky conditions as early as next Monday.
We will have a very nice look at Jupiter this month as well as a growing Mars which will reach opposition around the end of March. Anytime between now and the middle of April will be a great opportunity to view Mars, but with a maximum angular size of just 14.8 arc seconds, it will be nothing more than a bright red dot to those not in possession of an extremely high resolution planet-busting device like this Takahashi Mewlon pictured right.
The Takahashi Mewlon is a telescope optimized for high-magnification planetary observation. Together with a TeleVue PowerMate focal length extender, 10mm and 12mm TMB Supermonocentric eyepieces compromising nothing in optical quality, a William Optics DuraBright dielectric and a computerized Vixen equatorial mount polar aligned, the Mewlon is indeed formidable.
But it needs an astronomer and it needs a stable, transparent sky condition. Nothing works by itself until the trained eyes and hands enter the mix, and that’s where I come in. A handful of English conversation students at the Smith’s School of English in Kotoen スミス英会話 甲東園 have become interested in astronomy, particularly viewing Solar System objects because of their brightness and subsequent accessibility in our generally light-polluted surroundings.
Come and check them out with us! Kotoen is a very welcoming place!
Martin Werner Zander
マーティン・ワーナー・ザンダー
Smith’s School in Kotoen 月謝制 Real Monthly Tuition English Conversation School
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