I quickly set up my eight inch dobsonian telescope last night to have a look at Jupiter’s Great Red Spot. The observing conditions were not favourable with Jupiter only just over nineteen degrees above the horizon. This meant that fine detail popped in and out of view due to the atmosphere plus my telescope still cooling down. The equatorial belts were very easy to spot (and can be seen in a much smaller telescope). When the previous factors had settled down slightly, I was able to locate the Great Red Spot. The colour of this giant storm is quite disappointing compared to twenty years ago (a very pale pink or salmon colour at present). It is still worth a look (assuming you have a reasonable sized telescope) given that you could fit a couple of Earths inside it.
Now is a perfect time to look at Jupiter. It reaches opposition this month on Saturday 29 October meaning that is perfectly placed for viewing (being at its closest to the Earth for the year). Even a pair of binoculars will resolve Jupiter as having a tiny disc and up to four faint ‘stars’ either side of it (which are really its four largest moons). Locating the Great Red Spot is slightly trickier given that Jupiter rotates in just under ten hours. You will need to know when the Great Red Spot transits Jupiter. A handy website that calculates this can be found here.
