Explorer 130M

[Stargazer Jack]

Hi, I know Jupiter is coming into our night sky in a few months and I was wondering what I could see with my telescope. When I saw Saturn I could see its rings but nothing else really (e.g: banding, Cassini division). I haven't got any new eyepieces yet but which ones should I get for my telescope and what will it show on planets? Thanks

My telescope is the 900mm focal length one.

[mdstuart]

You will see the four moons...two bands of cloud at least maybe more...the red spot although its pretty pale at times..and..best of all..black pspot shadows of the moons going accross the disk which is bigger than saturn. About the size of a half p piece to the eye..

Mark

[barkis]

Jupiter can be seen now in the night sky. It rises about 9:45pm, so you may have a wait until it is high enough for you to observe.

It's declination is +13 degrees, so reasonably high, although as the year progresses, the planet will get a lot higher, and when it reaches opposition, imagers will have a great time getting great pictures of the Big One.

Make sure your reflector is collimated well, and you will be amazed at the detail it will deliver. You need good steady clear skies, so don't be too disappointed if poor skies prevent your instrument performing well, The scope is capable, you just need the conditions to be right for it to do well.

Ron.

[Stargazer Jack]

Thanks for that, I also do basic imaging with my Philips SPC900NC so hopefully that might bring out more detail. I am saving up to buy some eyepieces and also a Chesire collimation eyepiece for around £25 which will help me with collimation I believe. Could you recommend some good but cheap eyepieces and filters please. Thanks again for the help

[JimStan]

There is nothing like a good bright star to help in collimation. I have tried a couple of our club's members collimation eyepieces, and they have always seemed to be off. When the scope is actually pointed toward a bright star and a "normal" eyepiece is racked in and out of focus the collimation always seems to need to be "touched up". Since I have had poor results with more than one of these devices, I am a bit wary of any of their claims !

JMHO Jim S.

[Stargazer Jack]

Thanks for that, I will do that first then instead of wasting money and use it to buy some eyepieces

[stick]

hi mate

i have the same scope as you and i recommend the BST Explorer ED eps

they made a massive difference to my viewing

they have a wide FOV and superb eye relief

about £40 each.

Check out Sky's the Limit website, the service was amazing

hope this helps

[Stargazer Jack]

Thanks, will have a look at them