Trouble viewing planets.

[MaddyLou]

Hi there,

I am completely new to astronomy and have bought myself a 127mm reflector which I was led to believe would offer very good details of planets etc. However when I look at the planets that we have had in the skys in the early morning here, they look just like a bright star. No detail just a bright pinprick of light.

So I am not sure if I am doing something wrong, or if I need a different lens (I have a 20mm and a 12.5mm) or if the scope needs to be collimated.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Maddy

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Which planet did you try? If Saturn, you might have inadvertently got nearby Spica instead (which is a star). Even at low magnification, planets show some extent (I could make out the shape of Saturn in my 15x70 bins), so even the 20mm should show something, though the 12.5 should be better.

What type of reflector do you have? is it the Skymax 127 or similar Maksutov design?

[swamp thing]

Hi Maddy

If the objects are focusing down to a point source then they aren't planets, they are stars.

if you focus on a planet you will resolve a disc! or a disc with rings round in Saturns case

Your scope is indeed easily capable of resolving all the naked eye planets discs and possibly even the tiny disc of Neptune.

[Capricorn]

What eyepieces/magnification are you using?

Also at this time Saturn is pretty low and Jupiter means an early morning viewing.

Venus would be just a shiny blob, forget Mars

For Saturn you will need about 120x and reasonable conditions.

Jupiter will be OK with a bit less, say 80x.

If the conditions and the scope enable more then you may see more.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Venus should show a distinct sickle shape in the early morning at the moment. Even visible in 10x50 binoculars

[farunj]

Yes that scope is really good for planetary viewing!! I have a 5" scope and it has shown me stunning views of Saturn!!

[Astro-Nova]

Like the others said what you have looked at is probably a star. It is hard to find saturn when just before sunrise and after sunset as it is hard to determine the constellations for you to guide yourself to the right object. It is a lot of practice, personally I had a lot of fun hunting them planets down and when you get to find DSO youll be patting yourself on the shoulder.

[Ad Astra]

If you don't already have stellarium on your computer, get a copy at www.stellarium.org - the best free planetarium software on the planet! If you have a smart phone, there are also many apps that will show the sky and help you pick out planets from stars.

As everyone has already said, a scope of that size will do just fine on the planets and Luna - have another go and you won't be disappointed!

Dan

[LukeSkywatcher]

I agree: if it looks like a star, it is a star.

With a 127mm scope, any planet (even Mars as fickle as it is) show up as discs. Saturns rings simply can not be mistaken for anything else. Jupiters bands are exactly that.......bands across the Jovian surface.

A good trick to try to distinguish a star from a planet using the naked eye is to look at it (whatever you are looking at) and if it twinkles.............it is a star. If there is no twinkle.......its a planet.

This is not always 100% accurate because on nights of ideal "seeing", even stars do not twinkle.

[dtr42]

I agree: if it looks like a star, it is a star.

With a 127mm scope, any planet (even Mars as fickle as it is) show up as discs. Saturns rings simply can not be mistaken for anything else. Jupiters bands are exactly that.......bands across the Jovian surface.

A good trick to try to distinguish a star from a planet using the naked eye is to look at it (whatever you are looking at) and if it twinkles.............it is a star. If there is no twinkle.......its a planet.

This is not always 100% accurate because on nights of ideal "seeing", even stars do not twinkle.

i remember that nursery rhyme 2 twinkle twinkle little star , how i wonder if your a planet

[brantuk]

Hi Maddy - chances are you have not found a planet but happened upon a star (as the others have said). In the first instance use the 20mm eyepiece - this has a wider field of view and will give you a better chance of finding the planet. Use Stellarium (free download) to determine where in the sky to look.

Once you have found your planet - get it in the center of the eyepiece then change to the 12.5mm for a closer look. Chance are you won't see it at all cos you need a higher degree of accuracy to cope with the tighter field of view - so you'll have to scan close to that spot. Once found with the 12.5mm, re-center the finder scope for better accuracy.

Best thing to do first though is to align the finder scope with the main tube - use a distant object in daytime like a church spire or pylon tip a mile or two away and get the object dead center of both finder and scope (using both eyepieces). HTH

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Like the others said what you have looked at is probably a star. It is hard to find saturn when just before sunrise and after sunset as it is hard to determine the constellations for you to guide yourself to the right object. It is a lot of practice, personally I had a lot of fun hunting them planets down and when you get to find DSO youll be patting yourself on the shoulder.

Saturn is higher up in new Zealand (after sunset)

[MaddyLou]

Wow! Thank you all for your advice! So gutted at the moment as we are now having overcast skys so no viewing going on. I was pretty confident that I was looking at Jupiter and Venus close to the moon in the early morning just over our eastern horizon. They were very bright to the naked eye. Now I'm not so sure. I think I will have to wait for some better weather and try again.

I have Stellarium downloading right now so that will help too!

Thank you all so much!

[Capricorn]

If the scope is a 127 Mak then put in the longest eyepiece you have, probably a 25mm at this time.

That should give about 60x magnification and use that to locate things with.

If you get on OK finding bits then consider a 15mm or similar.

The 15mm will give 100x and that is fine for Jupiter.

A 12mm will give about 125x magnification and that would be good for Saturn.

Assuming all goes well, it should, get the longest widest one you can and get out and look at the milky way that you have sat up there in the sky.

If there is a finder scope then get it aligned with the main scope.

If Saturn is near Spica then if you have a set use binoculars to find out which one is the small disk.

Why are you looking at planets with the view of the milky way that you have????? :cry:

[MaddyLou]

We actually have a beautiful clear sky tonight and it is freezing but the milky way is just awesome tonight! Still no luck with the planets though! Have downloaded Stellarium and definitly have the right ones (Saturn and Mars tonight). Definitely not Spica. Oh well I will keep practicing and see how I go. Practice makes perfect right?!