Pluto

[saturn4me]

Is it possible to see Pluto (the dwarf planet not the dog from mickey mouse:D) from an "ordinary" scope or is it just too far away to see?

[malc-c]

Define "ordinary"

[saturn4me]

Define "ordinary"

Ok,lets say would i be able to see it with my 200p dob?

[rfdesigner]

Well, right now it's Mag 14.5

You may be able to see down to mag 15 on a 10 or 12" but you'd be doing well to identify that particular mag 14.5 object as Pluto.

Derek

[Peter Drew]

Theoretically yes but you would probably have difficulty in finding and identifying it in the telescope field . Classic method is to observe or photograph the field several times over a period of a few nights and note which "star" has moved position.

[saturn4me]

Just what i thought.Thanks for that:)

[saturn4me]

Theoretically yes but you would probably have difficulty in finding and identifying it in the telescope field . Classic method is to observe or photograph the field several times over a period of a few nights and note which "star" has moved position.

So you have to know its exact position just to (maybe) see it.

[malc-c]

Pluto is around magnitude 14.1 - can't seem to find any specs on the 200P detailing it's limiting magnitude. It would also depend on how good the sky and seeing is, and then my guess is it would probably only be captured photographically rather than visually

[brantuk]

Well it's a long way out and moves a lot slower than the other planets (visually speaking) so you can only be sure by tracking over a few nights and seeing the changes

[lukebl]

At the moment (and for the next few decades) it will remain very low in the sky for us in the UK, so you also have to contend with the poor atmospheric conditions. At 15 degrees altitude, you'll be lucky to get anything above 11th magnitude (well, that's all I can manage with my 200mm Newt at that elevation). I have imaged it easily, but visually it's a complete no-no! It is also currently in a very rich star field with thousands of stars of similar magnitude in close proximity, so you'd be hard-pressed to tell which one was Pluto even if you could see it.

Here's a capture of it from last year with a Canon 450d + 200mm Newt

[John]

I've managed to get down to mag 13.5 with my 10" newtonian. I've assumed that Pluto is outside the visual range of that scope.

[assasincz]

Well, for instance, my 4.5" scope has a theoretical official limiting magnitude of 12.1, but I have managed to spot and correctly log a star as faint as 13.0 magnitude (according to Stellarium) recently.

Now I am aware that Stellarium's magnitude figures might in some cases diverge from other sources, so it might seem appropriate to check multiple sources and probably average out the magnitude.

Furthermore, the limiting number seems to be only orientational - the actual limit might be down to how fit your eyes are (pupil diameter and so on) and how skilled you are using averted vision.

The official limiting magnitude of your 8" scope is at 13.1, which seems rather far off the Pluto's 14.5 magnitude, but you never know. Presumably, should you ever try to embark on a quest to visually observe such faint object, it would be an enormous undertaking, requiring a great deal of patience, pitch black skies, knowing exactly where to look and what you might confuse the object with, and a will to stretch the capabilities of both you and your telescope. It might be a Herculean task and the possibility fo failure seems rather high, but who knows? Isn't such a challenge exactly what makes this sort of visual observation appealing?

Don't take me too seriously - I am an optimist anyway

[swamp thing]

Hi

The problem at the moment is where it is (currently the rich star fields around Sagittarius ) which makes picking the star that's moving over several nights almost impossible visually.

Regards Steve

Oops knew I shouldn't have made that Cuppa whilst typing.

[DarkerSky]

I've yet to see Pluto. When I do get round to it my plan is to find the area where it should be in my eyepiece and sketch the field of view over several nights. Pluto's movement should then become apparent - I hope!

[swamp thing]

I've yet to see Pluto. When I do get round to it my plan is to find the area where it should be in my eyepiece and sketch the field of view over several nights. Pluto's movement should then become apparent - I hope!

Good plan. Let us know how you get on.

[saturn4me]

Thanks alot guys.So realistically i may see it but i'd have to check over several clear (that would be a miracle!) nights and compare images.So pluto's not a look and know its there kind of planet (dwarf) then? Again,thanks guys:icon_salut: