Did I do something wrong? Saturn

[badboybubby]

Last night, I saw Saturn for the first time using my Sky Watcher 127 AZ GOTO. I actually viewed it from my bedroom so I had a bit of vibration to contend with. I manually slewed my telescope and hey presto, I could see Saturn, However, the image in the eye piece was tiny, I mean really small. Small and without any colour, just white. I could just about make out the rings. I've seen some peoples webcam shots of Saturn using the same kit I have and they are much larger with definition.

I guess my question is......Is this normal? meaning my expectations are too high. I appreciate with a 5" Telescope I'm not going to see Hubble like images.

I used the SUPER 25 Wide Angle Long Eye Relief lens to view. I also tried using the 2 x Barlow lens and couldn't seem to see much using that. I tried using the 10mm lens also and struggled to locate with that one.

Any advice would be truly appreciated.....

[wackyscot]

It normally takes a camera/webcam to bring out any colour on Saturn although with the correct setup, you can see banding on the "ringed one". I think I'm right in saying with ideal seeing and a really good setup, you should be able to see some colour. But Imaging is by far the best way to achieve this. Don't be despondant, when you get Saturn from outside, the image should improve - persevere with the barlow also, and invest in a webcam (philips spc900) which should give some spectacular footage when connected to your laptop - then process the vid with registax.

David

[MjrTom]

Yes this is normal.

Firstly using a telescope indoors pointing through double glazing is a very bad idea. The glass will destroy any definition. Why spend loads on a telescopes optics to then point it through a couple of pieces of optically poor plate glass. In addition thermal currents will have a marked effect. Try taking your scope outside and leaving it to cool down for an hour before you use it

The reason that you could not see any detail is that you need to use a higher magnification eyepiece.

The 25mm eyepiece will give you approx 60x magnification which should be enough to make out the rings. you really need to be using the 10mm EP (150x magnification) to see any more detail, also using this eyepiece will darken the view so that the planet is not so bright. (Exit Pupil)

As for the images you have seen of Saturn these will have been taken using a webcam which only uses a small proportion of the view therefore magnifying the image.

By using a webcam and capturing 1000 frame or so you can stack these to counteract the "seeing" conditions i.e the turbulence in the atmosphere.

[vegaandarctures]

First off, take your scope out side and let it call down for an hour (the view will be 1000 times better. If Saturn appears small get it in the center of the scope and then change to a higher power. It is very difficult to find an object at high power, locate it with your lowest power then increase to a more suitable power. You can get the power up to 250x with your scope but I would suggest using about 100x to get a good view with your scope that way it will stay nice and bright and be considerably bigger hope this helped.

[badboybubby]

Ok, so I should have using the 10mm eyepiece? Should I use this in conjunction with the Barlow as well or is that a bad idea? Also, is it the case that the smaller the 'mm' eyepiece the bigger the image you see?

[Moonshane]

totally agree with all this and your problems will be all but solved if you cool the scope before use.

with my 6" f11 newt at around 150x magnification, I can see banding and the Cassini division pretty much every time I observe Saturn and occasionally the crepe ring too. you should see one or two moons (occasionally more) too.

it's vital that the scope is cooled though as this massively impacts on the image quality as the optics expand a tiny bit when warm and this changes the shape of the surface by a miniscule amount which corrects itself when cool.

[Moonshane]

more magnification = dimmer image and possibly less sharpness. the magnification possible will be affected by cooling, seeing, collimation and eyepiece / optical quality.

your scope has a similar aperture and focal length to my newt and my most used EP on Saturn is 9mm so yes, the 10mm would be a good start but 10mm + barlow = 5mm would be too much generally for planets. maybe ok on moon and double stars though.

[badboybubby]

I think I'm getting there...cheers for your help

If my telescope has a focal length of 1500mm (f11.8)

What are my magnification options with the supplied eyepieces

10mm - 25mm - and a 2 x Barlow

Also, can any of you chaps recommend an essential eyepiece I am missing for planetary observing or is there such a thing as a good all rounder.

[MjrTom]

See my post above

10mm = 150x

25mm = 60x

2x Barlow doubles each of these figures so your options are 60x, 120x 150x and 300x

[badboybubby]

See my post above

10mm = 150x

25mm = 60x

2x Barlow doubles each of these figures so your options are 60x, 120x 150x and 300x

Sorry missed that, so, you basically take your focal length and divide it by your eyepiece to get the magnification. And what people seem to suggest is to aim for about 100x magnification for Planets so I guess I'll be needing a 15mm eyepiece for a x 100 magnification.

[Moonshane]

I think you have a decent range for now. try them for a while and see how you go.

when you observe for a while you'll get an idea of whether or not your current range suits your observing habits and can then decide what's 'missing'. there's not really an all round as such but most people find that around 120x is usable on most objects on most nights so in your case a 12/12.5/13mm would cover this.

[Moonshane]

100x magnification is OK but for planets and double stars (and moon for that matter) I usually tend to push the magnification as far as I can and then take one step back. although I have 11 eyepieces to play with of which 9 are between 15mm and 6-3mm (I have a 6-3mm zoom).

[badboybubby]

Anybody recommend a good 12mm ish eyepiece to go with my 127 MAK for planetary observation?

[MjrTom]

Anybody recommend a good 12mm ish eyepiece to go with my 127 MAK for planetary observation?

These have a a good rep.

http://stargazerslounge.com/sale/146198-baader-hyperion-13mm-eyepiece.html

However I would stick with what you have to start with until you feel comfortable with the setup

Just my thoughts

[badboybubby]

I'm not allowed into that forum section yet. I need more posts!

[MjrTom]

I'm not allowed into that forum section yet. I need more posts!

Oops did not take note of your post count. Try this

First Light Optics - Baader Hyperion 68 degree eyepiece

[Nexus 6]

Hi, if you are not yet able to view the for sale section, you could try here

U.K. Astronomy Buy & Sell

a lot of sellers on the forum will also put their kit up for sale here as well

[badboybubby]

Hi, if you are not yet able to view the for sale section, you could try here

U.K. Astronomy Buy & Sell

a lot of sellers on the forum will also put their kit up for sale here as well

cheers for that, very useful, already seen set of super plossels for 50 quid. However, I think I want to buy one eyepiece for now for £50, any recommendations, remember I have a 10mm - 25mm that came with the skywatcher (I've see reviews stating the 10mm is poor, and I'd like to stick to around 120 magnification so I'm looking for a decent 12.5mm. Can anybody recommend one for me?

[Moonshane]

if you don't wear glasses to observe then I'd highly recommend a 12.5mm Baader Genuine Ortho.

They are truly excellent eyepieces and although a little more than your budget new, often sell for about your budget used.

try a wanted ad on Astrobuyandsell U.K. Astronomy Buy & Sell

[tom33pr]

I'd use the supplied eyepieces for some time, just get used to the scope, take it outside, practice a bit... (you will appreciate the eyepiece upgrade more).

In the meantime read a bit on the eyepieces, and I guarantee you - you will quickly get your head around it, and roughly know what you are looking for. There's a good selection of eyepieces you can pick from, so don't rush the decision.

Join the local astro club -it's fun, you may have a chance to see/use all sorts of stuff plus they will offer the best advice.

Good luck and well done with the Saturn attempts

[mdstuart]

Of course you can buy used eyepieces and then sell them on for pretty much what you bought them for apart from postage. In this way you coudl experiement if you have to but I agree with the other try saturn on that scope outside and cooled down and you will see a lovely sharp saturn with the rings but still only about the same size as this O but with rings! when viewing a laptop screen! It is amazing though! Also look for Titan the moon..Check it out on the free software stellarium before or after you view to check where the moon Titan is..

Mark

[badboybubby]

managed to get a nice view of Saturn last night, anyone know what the moon its called in the bottom left, if in fact it was a moon, Titan?

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk

[MjrTom]

managed to get a nice view of Saturn last night, anyone know what the moon its called in the bottom left, if in fact it was a moon, Titan?

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk

East, West, North & south are better methods of describing location bottom left differs depending upon the scope type you use

[JohnnyD333]

Saturn is going to be moving pretty fast using anything around 12mm. You have a GoTo scope, not only should you bring it outside (as everyone mentioned) but use your mount to track it. It will save you the frustration of making adjustments every minute.

[badboybubby]

East, West, North & south are better methods of describing location bottom left differs depending upon the scope type you use

It was to the west of Saturn and to my Saturn was to the SW