well the clouds finally parted last night.,.,and the nearly full " buck moon" rose low in the southern sky,.,.,and this morning.,., jupiter was bright and shining,.,.,I saw on the computer program that i have that Neptune was right there with Juptier ,.,.,so I got my 70mm scope w/a 25mm ep. and zeroed in.,.,i thought i had them both in the fov,..,.but when i went back inside and blew up the view on the computer,. i saw that what i thought was Neptune was infact Mu, capricorni,.,it had gotten to light to go out and try again.,.,so i will try again tomorrow .,.,if the clouds allow,.,and now i have a better idea just where to look,., this will be my first view of Neptune,.,.,.,.O+O

I am also the first time to look at Neptune because she closes to Jupiter. Try to use star jumping method and you will find Neptune with "bright" moon, Triton.

Clear skies

Finder charts for Uranus and Neptune are posted at http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/highlights/41561382.html

Dave Mitsky

Good luck on finding Neptune tomorrow.  It is a thrill to see the farthest planetary outpost of our solar system.  I am not sure with the bright moonlight but Neptune should have a very deep blue-green colour which will help give it away if it is too small to show much of a disc.

L

Thank you all.,,as was predicted the clouds rolled in just at dark last night,.,I got to see the orange moon through the trees.,.,but before it rose above them the clouds had taken over the sky.,,the forecast says clearing wed. night .,.,and clear for thur.,.,so that is when i will get my next chance,.,that is if the moon doesn't wash it out on me.,.,.,.O+O

check out my Jupiter - Neputne finder chart at

http://orionbackyardobservatory.blogspot.com/

 Verify Neptune against the star field. The number of actual stars may vary depending on sky conditions but mu and neptune and Jupiter should al be visible. Neptune in my 10 inch newtonian looks like a blue star. If you get a picture please send it to me...

 BrianC

k9wis@yahoo.com

Thank you Brian for the chart.,.,Neptune is just a little dot,.,.,hopefully its color will give it away.,.O+O

Took the scope out tonight about 1am with great clear skies and looked at Jupiter and noticed a small star about 1 O'clock in the view, could this be Neptune or some star?, not sure if my little 60mm is capable of viewing Neptune.

Here's what I saw with a 12mm EP:

The clouds parted for a short time for me thihs morning,,.and I again got out my 70mmscope with a 15mmWA EP,.barlowed.,.,and Jupiter,.,,Mu capicorni.,.,and Neptune,..,were lined up almost stright up and down..,this was at 3:00.,.,.Neptune was just a spec,.,the color only visable for a second or two.,,,I think theres just not enough umff with the 70mm.,.,will try with something bigger when I don't have to fear getting caught in the rain.,.and when the moon isn't up.,.,but I can say I have seen Neptune,..,.,O+O

craterdavy, I got fooled by the Mu Cap also lol....

I just noticed on Stellarium Neptune is above Mu Cap, will try again tonight.

Jupiter is really moving among the background starts. I just updated the finder chart for July 17, 2009 at my blog site:

http://orionbackyardobservatory.blogspot.com/

Brian C

Yes it is moving right along.,.,when I started this thread on the 6th.,.,Jup was west of Mu cap ,,.,and today it was right under it.,.,I've had all clouds this past week till this morning,.,.and they have rolled back in for tonight,..,O+O

Well I found Neptune tonight it was a tough find between how dim it is and fighting the dew but I was able to fit them all in the view.

I was able to see the blue of Neptune better by taking Jupiter out of the view.

Thanks for all the help, I would never had found it!!!!

Here was my view:

Good job.,.pymi,.I think we both got it on the same day.,,only i got it in the morning.,,and got clouds for the night .,,,.,O+O

Brian C (or anyone)

You told you saw Neptune thru your 10" scope. Did you see Triton ? I cannot see her.

Ming:

Brian C (or anyone)

You told you saw Neptune thru your 10" scope. Did you see Triton ? I cannot see her.

 No Triton...Neptune appears as a blue pinpoint in my telescope. Right now I only have a 32 mm eyepiece for my 10 inch f/8 newtoninan so magnification is only around 60x. I will be ordering a 15mm knight OWL eyepiece today to increase my magnification (to 120x).  I don't think it will help me see Trition though.

BrianC

Triton shines at magnitude 13.5 so it's a bit brighter than Pluto (which has been observed with a 70mm refractor) and is certainly visible with a 10" aperture but will require high magnification (over 200x) and good conditions.

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/13795272.html#

Dave Mitsky

DaveMitsky, tks very much, you are so nice. Here is really a good place to learn.

BrianC, you had better change your 15mm to 6mm or the best is buying a whole set for fun.

Ming:

BrianC, you had better change your 15mm to 6mm or the best is buying a whole set for fun.

I'll have to add that to my list..and get approval from the household manager..the wife already approved the 15mm eyepiece and I would like to add a telrad finder to the scope alongside the 11x80 finder that is already on it. Christmas is only 5 months away.

Brian C