Jupiter

Got up this morning and Jupiter was up, though it was a bit hazy. Temperature was about 32F with slight haze, which obscured the moon initially. I set up at 0515 hours (5:15am) and got my first view of the planet with the 5.2mm ED, which proved to be too much and I couldn't get good focus, though I could see the moons. I tried my 10mm Plossl and it, too, was a bit much. Switched to 25mm Plossl and it was clear, but fuzzed up a bit when I used the 2x Barlow. I tried a red filter but it blocked too much light and some of the moons. With the blue filter I could see four moons and some striping on the planet. Three moons were straight West of the planet, one was to the Northeast and I think I saw one flickering to the Southeast. As the scope cooled down I was better able to see detail on the planets surface, but the scope never completely cooled down before it started to get light. Though the seeing was marginal, I did get occasional moments of stunning clarity which made it all worthwhile. Glad I got up in time.