viewing some planets.

[S1m0n]

well its been over a week since ive had my scope and love it so far

Ive just looked at what i think was jupiter what i saw was a white planet with what looks like 4 moons ? which looks cool

is there any eye piece which will give me an even closer look at this nice planet ?

venus which is down to the right looks cool too

[DOBBY]

& your 'scope is... ???

[S1m0n]

sorry its a 200p dob

[kernowstargazer]

I looked at jupiter with my 150p dob and i could see banding and 4 moons it was mental a very big WOW moment for me i love it.

[jimmyjamjoejoe]

Most people find an 8mm gives good crisp views in the 200p, I know I do. You could theoretically push to a 5-6mm, but they'd only give better views when the atmosphere allows it, which isn't very often.

A decent budget option is the BST explorer (now being branded as starguider), available here. I love my 8mm BST.

[S1m0n]

ahh so the smaller the mm the more magnification you get ?

I currently only have the 10 and 20mm was hoping to get something that would give me some good close ups and detail of the planet

Ill have a look at the 8mm see what prices im looking at

[knobby]

I'd second the that ... I have the 15mm which when barlowed gives me 7.5 mm which gives me the clearest views of Jupiter.

don't forget to look left of the moon and down a bit, the orange blob is Mars!

Also let your scope cool down ... seriously it makes a difference

good luck Simon

[paul schofield]

I generally use a 9.7mm Barlowed for planets. Just purchased a BST 8mm for planets, so thats my new planetary EP. Depending on what kind of skies you have where you live, or light pollution I think 8mm is about the maximum for me. I did have a TMB planetary 5mm which did not get any use as it was too powerful given my general sky conditions. Maybe on a very clear night I might get away with 8mm & barlow, you never know.

[Capricorn]

Unless the 10mm is a real pile of junk you should see Jupiter through it half decently. It will be giving (I guess) 120x.

I can see distinct banding at 30x through a small refractor, agreed the image is small but distinct.

Perhaps you have collected enough light to swamp the image, but I wouldn't think so. Another option is that Jupiter is getting low when it is getting dark and the low angle makes a good image more difficult.

Equally the 10mm is usually pretty close to junk and you may have a bad one. By the way the barlow, if supplied isn't a great deal better.:D:D

The BST/Skyguider 8mm should be very good in your scope, if the scope can manage the 5mm, should just do, then I would simply suggest that in time you collect the set of 6. Get one every month or two months. They are £41 by the way.

If the image with the BST 8mm isn't great then I will suggest that you may have to collimate the scope, as that effects the quality of the image when collimation is out.

[tonel]

I've just been out with my Skyliner 200P but struggling to get a half decent view tonight. Started with a 20mm Plossl but Jupiter's disc looks pretty featureless. Have recently bought a 6mm TMB II planetary EP so tried that out but found that I couldn't seem to focus or get a decent image (just a featureless disc, no cloud bands at all). Not sure if it's down to my attempts at collimation or just poor seeing (it did look like a river was running over the disc, clear at the moment outside but quite breezy and has been showery all day). The scope had been out for at least half an hour to cool.

Would poor collimation give such poor results? Or maybe 6mm with a 200P is a bit too much?

Am hoping just very poor seeing along with less than ideal site (back garden, lots of houses and street lights around). Hopefully will have better luck next time

[wired2moon]

@Capricorn - the 8mm BST Explorer I noticed has just gone up to £47

@tonel - keen to hear what others have to say about whether x200 magnification (which your 6mm EP gives) is realistic, as I have plans to x2 (using a TAL barlow) a 12mm BST Explorer giving the same power

[S1m0n]

The view was quite clear just looked far away, I was hoping to get a bigger ad more detailed view of the planet if possible.

I tried the 20mm but obviously that just give me a wider view . Celestron have a full set but expensive.

[John]

200x should be possible with a 200P if the seeing conditions are good and if the scope is properly cooled and in good collimation (the "ifs" there are important !). If the seeing is not good enough then you need to back off the magnification until you do get a sharp and well defined view. Thats why it's useful to have a range of magnifications / eyepieces available.

Jupiter seems to respond to high magnifications less well than Saturn or Mars do. I'm not sure why but it's just my experience over the years.

The goal is to get a sharp and contrasty image of the planet. That is more important that getting the largest image. If you don't have contrast then the subtle surface features, which is what we are trying to see, will be washed out.

[twotter]

I was observing Jupiter earlier with my 200P dob and the best view was with my 17mm EP showing a small disc with the main bands visible. 13mm was a touch too blurry and 8mm, my usual planet killer, was a non-starter. Jupiter is quite low and viewing conditions weren't working for me so maybe tonight just isn't a good night. There will be other nights

[S1m0n]

heres an quick image of what i saw (just seen a faint line through jupiter but no viewable details of the planet.

[Tribal-Wolf]

Jupiter was very clear here tonight although it was a bit windy. With an 8mm BST and a 2x barlow it was very sharp (when the wind stopped). As for detail I could see the bands etc with every EP I have, which is 3 at the minute, a 25 and 10mm that came with the scope and the 8mm mentioned above with or without barlow. It could be collimation if you're not getting detail or maybe seeing conditions, my neighbours security light was on tonight making it harder, but you should see some details on jupiter with a 200P no problem.

[S1m0n]

Jupiter was very clear here tonight although it was a bit windy. With an 8mm BST and a 2x barlow it was very sharp (when the wind stopped). As for detail I could see the bands etc with every EP I have, which is 3 at the minute, a 25 and 10mm that came with the scope and the 8mm mentioned above with or without barlow. It could be collimation if you're not getting detail or maybe seeing conditions, my neighbours security light was on tonight making it harder, but you should see some details on jupiter with a 200P no problem.

What's the best way to increase the magnification ? Could you point me to some urls for best Barlow and a couple of good eps please

[blusky]

Said that many times... Love the 6mm given any seeing, but saving the 5mm only for a particularly good seeing...

[Tribal-Wolf]

What's the best way to increase the magnification ? Could you point me to some urls for best Barlow and a couple of good eps please

You shouldn't need much mag to see details on jupiter, go to far and you'll get less. I have just bought a TAL barlow from FLO, the 2x is enough and my 8mm BST eyepiece is from here, very nice they are for the money too.

[jimmyjamjoejoe]

Beginner Astronomer Tips, First Telescope

Some good advice there, and a handy visual aid.

[S1m0n]

Beginner Astronomer Tips, First Telescope

Some good advice there, and a handy visual aid.

Thank you some good info there.

So reading that I should see Jupiter and possibly it's red eye and banding but I think I need a 2x Barlow and maybe 8mm eye piece for a closer view.

Few posters have give me some good links to some pieces : ) I'll have a look and see what prices they are .

[Tribal-Wolf]

You won't see the red eye at the moment it's on the other side. Someone else will probs tell you when it will be there to see

[John]

Thank you some good info there.

So reading that I should see Jupiter and possibly it's red eye and banding but I think I need a 2x Barlow and maybe 8mm eye piece for a closer view.

Few posters have give me some good links to some pieces : ) I'll have a look and see what prices they are .

I still think you are getting hung up on high magnifications. You should be able to see the sort of details that you mention even at 100x. As you go above around 180x the details will get less distinct and harder to pick out.

It's not a great sketch but this shows the detail I could see with a 120mm refractor at 150x (the Great Red Spot was on the other side of the planet at that time). You scope should match this at least and you should not need massive magnification to do it:

[jimmyjamjoejoe]

Johns sketch looks pretty perfect for what you can expect. Imagine that picture, but about the size of a pea. The detail is there, you just gotta reeeeeaaaaaaaly look to see it. It takes time, my first few sessions were quite frustrating. I think your brain learns to see smaller things better, because since taking up astronomy 6months or so ago, my eyesight and visual acuity has greatly improved.

This is an example of what you should be getting more or less, assuming you're on an average sized monitor, running at 1080p. Sit about 50-60cm back from the monitor.

You'l notice you can just about see the GRS on the left of the lower band. Thats how it is normally, just a hint of something there, but occasionally you get a clear bit of air and some nice detail comes through.

[S1m0n]

Johns sketch looks pretty perfect for what you can expect. Imagine that picture, but about the size of a pea. The detail is there, you just gotta reeeeeaaaaaaaly look to see it. It takes time, my first few sessions were quite frustrating. I think your brain learns to see smaller things better, because since taking up astronomy 6months or so ago, my eyesight and visual acuity has greatly improved.

This is an example of what you should be getting more or less, assuming you're on an average sized monitor, running at 1080p. Sit about 50-60cm back from the monitor.

You'l notice you can just about see the GRS on the left of the lower band. Thats how it is normally, just a hint of something there, but occasionally you get a clear bit of air and some nice detail comes through.

Yea that's what I was hoping to see but what I saw was half the size , I know I shouldn't expect a huge sharp object but was expecting to see a little detail , I'm still happy what I seen as the moons stood out quite well .

Like someone said it might of been the conditions etc

I only have what came with the scope which still does an excellent job but still interested in a few pieces to help make things look better .