Jupiter and Uranus

A couple of nights ago I noticed Jupiter shining big and bright almost overhead and decided to try catching nearby Uranus in my 7x50's. It was a bit smokey but I was able to sketch the starfield just east of Jupiter and caught Uranus visible with averted vision. Tonight it was cold and clear and I caught Uranus and nearby mag 5 and 6 stars easily with direct vision. There was just a hint of blue to Uranus. Here is a sketch I made on 4 Dec 2010. Tonight's view was virtually the same except a bit brighter due to better seeing.

Pleiades and Jupiter

Today I worked out a process for editing my scanned astro-sketches using GIMP 2.6. I made a couple more sketches tonight, one of Jupiter and four moons, and another of M45, the Pleiades. It was a bit smokey and Jupiter was just about to set below the house so I didn't get a chance to observe very long, about 9:30 to 10:20. I've been wanting to sketch M45 and think I got a pretty good result. I'll process the sketches and post them later.