Saturn - what can you really expect?

[Ford295]

I am also new to this and was blown away when I first saw Saturn, I even tried to drag my wife into the garden to have a look, but it was freezing cold and she would not budge from the warm living room. I had very clear viewing with my 25 and 10mm, lost it a bit when I used the Barlow (since bought a televue).

[scuffer]

with my 200p , I get a good image of saturn and its ring - I can only see one ring with no division and its a grey/white colour , doesn't sound too good when put like that but its my fave . That was earlyish before midnight when it wasn't too high , used sw 10mm ep , had a BST 15mm and x2 tal barlow but couldn't focus so good with them.

Orion Nebula - is a green/grey cloud to me ....simply awesome to think about what it is.

[S1m0n]

From where Iam I have very limited view ability and unfortunately I just can't get Saturn which I'm disappointed .

When I first got my scope and was viewing planets all I could see was a white planet for Jupiter. After getting a good Lear night and allowed the air in the scope cool down I could see Jupiter properly but not clear but that was down to Haze in the sky but I could see banding .

Cooling is a must and a good clear sky , I got a light filter and a Barlow 2x which helped.

[John]

It's worth studying Saturn for a while and seeing what features you can pull out. This webpage has a useful guide to "whats what":

Weasner's Meade ETX Site

[Moonshane]

I think for the current apparition if you are looking at Saturn at anything above 50x and cannot see the rings, clearly defined you are possibly not looking at Saturn.

Last night, even though quite low in the sky at about 12am, I could clearly see Cassini, some banding / a cap on the planet and several moons. This with a 6" newt at between 150-250x.

[Scott]

i've still only got the eps that came with my sw 200p and find that the 25mm with 2x barlow (x80) is much clearer than the 10mm on its own (x100). 10mm + barlow was very blurred. saturn was as sharp as a tack and could see banding but couldn't see cassini. i'm still learning so i'm still hopeful although some better eps would certainly help (i guess)

[S1m0n]

i've still only got the eps that came with my sw 200p and find that the 25mm with 2x barlow (x80) is much clearer than the 10mm on its own (x100). 10mm + barlow was very blurred. saturn was as sharp as a tack and could see banding but couldn't see cassini. i'm still learning so i'm still hopeful although some better eps would certainly help (i guess)

Might be worth getting a £20 light pollution filter as that helped me.

I used the 10mm that came with the scope and a Celestron 2x Barlow or just use a 6mm eye piece (this was for Jupiter).

I'm still learning and need to figure out how to mapp the sky so. Can see some of those nice galaxies

[knobby]

If you are a newbie ... like all of us, really do not underestimate the importance of cooling the scope to match the air outside! I thought it was a bit 'bulls41ty' but really, it makes a massive difference especially if you try high magnification.

Good luck

[Caelus]

The few times I've looked at Saturn through my 200p have all been magnificent. I have a rubbish southern horizon and to view Saturn before the wee small hours I have to set up in the full glare of a street light. Even so, on I can immediately make out two rings and the Cassini division defined clearly. Saturn itself is always a nice yellow and I've been able to see hints of lighter tones in the belts and the poles.

Instead of trying to magnify things too much, try letting your eyes do the work. Though things may look small through the 25 or the 10, even after a couple of minutes you'll be able to pick out some more subtle details.

Although it's not very good, the stock 10mm isn't so terrible that it should prevent you seeing some pleasing detail, though better EPs will give you a sharper view and gather more light.

[S1m0n]

If you are a newbie ... like all of us, really do not underestimate the importance of cooling the scope to match the air outside! I thought it was a bit 'bulls41ty' but really, it makes a massive difference especially if you try high magnification.

Good luck

Yea this is a must.

When I had my first good nht and using a 2x Barlow and 10mm looking at Jupiter was just white but once things got darker and the scope cooled down Jupiter started to show excellent detail but before I could get the ultimate view cloud and mist descended but the story is cooling the scope to match the cool outside air is a must .

[John]

The other trick with planetary viewing is to spend some time observing the same object. The longer you spend at the eyepiece, the more detail you will gradually perceive. Your eye gradually trains itself to "see" and the brief moments of good seeing, often only lasting a second or so, are when your scope delivers what it is capable of, subject to the seeing conditions. You need to be at the eyepiece to capture these moments of course

You can see the main features of, say, Jupiter, quite easily but the finer and more subtle features like festoons, fainter cloud bands and the details around the great red spot usually take much longer to discern, even with a large scope and top quality eyepieces.

It took me quite a long time and a fair amount of frustration to learn the above. Now I often spend a couple of hours viewing the same object. I don't use filters and find, after a little time, my eye adjusts to the brightness levels itself.

[Marki]

Thats really helpful advice John . I think I sometimes spend too much time faffing around with ep/barlow/filter combos and not enough time just looking. Must try and be more patient... .

[Matt Scunthorpe]

We've got thew same scope dom, its very clear in mine, remember that the 'seeing' changes every night. The atmosphere greatly effects the viewing, when you get a clear night it will be an amazing site all over again (:

[deepspacehunter]

SATURN is beautiful as seen through my CELESTRON 8 inch SCT with the 8.8 Meade UWA (230x).... it is always cool to watch TITAN as it revolves around SATURN.... I CAN ALSO SEE 3 OTHER MOONS....

[kuro]

I was tracking saturn last night through my st102 refractor and had clear views through a 12.5mm orion highlight attached to a cheap skywatcher 2x barlow.

No cassini division but saw ring shadows a tiny bit of surface detail and a couple of moons. Small in the eyepiece but an amazing sight especially considering its 3/4 of a billion miles away.

[Demo johnny]

Saturn was my WOW moment and knew I would be hooked from then on. SW150p best view was with the 25mm crisp but small lots of detail and more comes out the more you look. Collimated my scope (only a month old but miles off) and last night even through the fog was stunning and now crisper in to 10mm and 6mm. Think my barlow (the stock one with scope) is letting me down. Saturn and Orion Nebula I could look at and look at. Jupiter was great but something about Saturn, I just wish it would rise earlier so i can show it to people as I know it will blow them away.