I was out with my 127mm Mak-Cass around 18.13 on the evening of November 13 when I decided to observe Jupiter. I was intrigued to see not the familiar four Galilean moons but five! There they were, strung out in a near perfect line, two moons to the east of Jupiter and three to the west. Fascinating.
Obviously, it wasn’t a new moon.
But 45 Cap did a great job masquerading as a moon. At mag. 5.95 it fitted well with Ganymede (5.13), Io (5.65), Europa (5.72) and Callisto (6.43), and the alignment was near perfect.
If only I had obtained an image. But at the vital moment my camera refused to co-operate. On such chance events are scientific reputations made and lost.
Still, not long until Christmas!
Alan