Question

[dcrager84]

Ok I have a Twinstar AstroVenture 6 inch (152mm) reflecting telescope with a 9mm and 25mm Plossl lens. In my eastern sky I can see Venus and Jupiter around 8pm to 10pm, I get great views of Jupiter with both eye pieces. Venus comes in blurry (any idea why?)

Now in the western sky Around 10pm to 2 am I can see Mars and Saturn, when I look at either I cannot focus at all on them. They show up as a dot of light that seems blurred and distorted. Any ideas why?

I just dont know how I can see Jupiter very clearly, the Orion Nebula (which is gorgeous!) and Venus (somewhat), but Mars (which is closer) and Saturn are not even recongnizable as planets!

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[kniclander]

if saturn's not recognisable you must be looking at the wrong thing. the rings are clear through the samllest scope. mars is tough to get any detail from but you should see it as an obvious disc with maybe some dark markings and a polar ice cap

[Tribal-Wolf]

When you say you get good views of Jupiter, can you see the bands clearly?

[dcrager84]

Well I dont see the bands clearly, there faint but I can see the moons as well, I figured out last night I was looking at arcturus instead of saturn. any ideas on mars though?

[John]

Mars is easy to find but needs quite a lot of magnification to see more than a tiny pink disk. It's half the size of the Earth and is starting to recede from us again - not having got as close as it can even at it's best this year

[Tribal-Wolf]

Mars is always a difficult one to see clearly.

[LukeSuppalot]

Mars is a bit like that for me most of the time. I have a 150 newt for viewing. If the seeing is very good tho then I can make out the polar cap(s) and some detail. Saturn on the other hand is really good to view and will take quite a lot of magnification when conditions allow. Keep at it and the views will come.

By the way, I think you have east and west reversed.

Luke

[Capricorn]

Venus comes in blurry (any idea why?)

Venus is cloud covered, all you will see is the top of the could layer, on a planet a few million miles away. No detail of the planet at all will be visible through the Venus cloud layers.

Try looking from underneath at the ones on earth on a murky dull cloud covered day. And for those you are just a couple of miles away.