Jupiter

[Ally8446]

Struggling with this one folks. What ep should I be using to get a good view of Jupiter. I've tried and tried and all I can get is a disc, no detail at all. Apparently I should be able to see banding with this scope. As far as I know its collimated cos I got a reasonable view of Venus last friday. So where am I going wrong ? The barlow I have is a cheap plastic one a friend gave me (about to order a new one), could that be the problem ? Regards, Al

[littlebeagle]

Have you let your scope cool down?

I can usually see banding even through my 25mm eyepiece which is low powered. Could also be that seeing conditions are bad, nothing wipes out detail like bad seeing.

[John]

Don't use too much power. 120x - 140x should be ample to show surface details. Jupiter is getting rather low now by the time it's viewable - viewing it through more atmosphere does not help contrast and sharpness one bit.

[cs1cjc]

Jupiter is low in the sky now so past its best. This beings the temptation to look at it first, before the cope is cooled (for perhaps an hour or more) when good images will not be the result. If you do get a smeared view of Venus, then you will not see detail on Jupiter.