Saw Saturn and now I have ?'s!

[Doghouse]

I just found Saturn for the first time last night. Actually my first planet ever. I was playing around in Stellarium and noticed Saturn was near the moon, in Virgo. I went outside not expecting much due to the clouds and city haze. The moon was hazy and most the sky was just dull gray. But there was just enough clearing for me to make out Virgo, and sure enough there was something there.

I ran in and grabbed the scope. I've only had the scope out a few times so it took me a little while to find it in the eye piece. It stayed in the clear long enough for me to see it. I could see the gaps between the planet and rings but not the shadow or moons.

I can get to a darker site, but I was wondering what eyepiece, barlow or combo of the two I might try to get a bigger and better view? I have a 70mm Meade refractor 700mm f/10 and was using the 9mm ep that came with the scope. I don't expect too much from this scope, but how far can I push it? If it's as good as it gets, that's ok, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask around.

[John]

You could go up to 120x or so on a good night. That would need something like a 6mm eyepiece. A 5mm would get you up to the scopes theoretical max of 140x but I've found you get better views at a bit less than that given the sort of seeing conditions we generally have.

[sulaco]

I got my first telescope 3 months ago and Saturn was my first major site....Amazing!, couldn't believe I was seeing it with my own eyes, been bitten by the bug ever since.

[mdstuart]

You should be able to see the mag 9 Titan moon with your scope. The seeing makes a lot of difference and how high the planet is in the sky..What you are after is a sharp if small view. I struggle even with a 10 inch scope to pick up much more than the disk and rings unless its a very good night..

Try looking at Albeiro the double star in cygnus. The colours should be good in your scope..

Mark

[Doghouse]

Thanks for the tips. What difference if any would there be between say a 6mm ep vs a 12mm + 2x barlow? Same mag right? Any difference in FOV?

[astroeddie]

In the astronomical world, the less glass in the optical train the better. So, a 6mm e/p is far better than a 12mm + x2 barlow.

My first scope was a Tasco 60mm, I got Titan no problem, but the others no. More time and experience at the eye piece will teach you to see more and more.

Shadow of the rings across the disc should also be visible in a 70mm refractor.

Clear Skies.

Eddie