Blurry planets

[desertdamsel]

Hello,

I have a Celestron AstroMaster 130EQ telescope with 10mm and 20mm eyepieces and recently purchased the Celestron Eyepiece Kit with the following eyepieces: 6mm, 8mm, 13mm, 17mm and 32mm. I use the telescope to view the planets and have been enjoying looking at Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Venus. But I'm wondering if what I'm seeing is really the best that I can get out of the equipment that I have.

At the moment, the planets mostly look 'gassy' and unclear. I fiddle around with the focus but I can't seem to get a clear picture. I'm disappointed with the new eyepieces, as I thought that they would let me see at least a bit of detail or clearer differentiation between colours. I'm not even seeing a clear solid disc, just waviness.

Having read through some of the other posts, I've seen reference to 'collimation' - is this something that I need to do or is this the best that I will get?

I am new to astronomy so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Saima

[valleyman]

Yes, you should check the collimation. Some good advice on here on how to do that.

Also give your scope time to cool down before viewing. Generally speaking you need to have it outside for about an hour so the tempreture inside the scope equals out with the ambient tempreture. The Celesron EP set you have is a good all round set and should work ok with the scope you have.

Dare say somebody will give you the link to the collimating link any minute now.

Also using to much magnification will give you blurred views, so use the low magnifcation EPs first and dont use those 8mm and 6mm EPs just yet.

First steps are always the hardest so dont give up.

EDIT >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Found astrobabys collimatin link http://www.astro-baby.com/collimation/astro%20babys%20collimation%20guide.htm

[Mr Moff]

Hello mate,I'm a raw beginner as well so you probably know more than me.

I collimated mine when it arrived last week and it wasn't hard to do.I just used one of the Cheshire collimators from FLO and although it took me a few hours to get it spot on I was glad I did it.

It is worth doing because it's an important thing you're eliminating by doing it.

I used the instructions for reference and also a few you tube videos,and this think to a great guide.

Astro Babys Guide to Collimation

Good luck.

Danny.

[Capricorn]

First think about what you are looking at:

Mars is a very small planet and you need something like 250x to get much from it. Your scope will not provide that, also the air conditions have to be good as well. Mars will remain a small disk I am afraid.

Venus is a cloud covered planet and at this time all you will see is a cresent of it. The tops of clouds on a planet a few million miles away will look blurry.

Jupiter should come up OK, disk with a couple of bands and up to 4 small bright dots either side of it.

Saturn, Again should come up OK with a magnification of around 120x.

If Jupiter has no detail then consider the collimation of the scope, if it is out then the image will lack detail.

Not sure of the focal length of the scope but try the 8mm eyepiece for Jupiter, the 6mm may be a little small or the conditions may not suit it's use. 8mm should be usable all the time.

[desertdamsel]

Thank you all for the advice. I will try the collimation on my telescope.

[Daniel-K]

cool down time is important too

[dtr42]

and dark adapted eye's will help as well [that takes about 15-30 minutes ] and most important is patience it will come together