Saw Saturn!!

[F1Bird]

So, I took my telescope on holiday to the Lakes last week and (on a bizarrely clear night) finally got my first look at Saturn! How amazing?! I could make out the rings but no detail in them like the Cassini Division but I was still blown away by it! I'm not sure if I saw moons. There was a barely perceptible dot just beneath the disc and 2 very bright but quite large points a fair way underneath to both east and west. I suspect these last 2 were stars but sadly I didn't have my laptop to check Stellarium. So, I used the 20mm erecting eyepiece & the 10mm which came with the scope (Celestron Astromaster 114EQ). The 10mm was quite blurry but the 20mm was reasonably sharp. Would I realistically be able to get much more detail with a better quality / higher power eyepiece and if so, any suggestions? I'm assuming that as the erecting eyepiece is mainly for terrestrial viewing I may be better off with a different eyepiece for looking at planets.

[nightfisher]

Well done on your first saturn, its great, you may benefit from a better ep, a revelation 9mm plossl might work well and can be had for under £30

[Jaykay495]

Congrats on viewing saturn. It is beautiful. Best of luck with the new eyepiece. Viewing saturn through my very slightly larger scope, i get a bit more detail than you describe, but not a lot more. I can make out the cassini division, but not very big in the viewer or super detailed.

Love your sig, btw.

Re jupiter, i can make out some bands on the planet, and four of the moons (last time we had a clear sky). Sound about the same?

More detail usually comes with more aperture, so it seems. Something to consider should you wish to upgrade in the future

Looking forward to viewing the moon. Its been hiding since i got my scope a couple of weeks ago.

[LukeSkywatcher]

You will remember your first view of Saturn until the day you die. Its just that good. Your blurry observation could have been down to many factors. A better quality EP would/should improve the view. My personal choice for planets is an 8mm Vixen NPL.

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/vixen-eyepieces/vixen-npl-eyepieces.html

[F1Bird]

Hi Jaykay. Yes that sounds similar to my experience of Jupiter. It had more detail than Saturn but then it's a lot bigger and nearer so I suppose there would be! I saw some colouring of cloud bands and there was no mistaking the moons, although I have only seen 3 at any one time. I was actually blown away to be able to clearly make out the rings of Saturn. I had thought that given that it's so much smaller and further away than Jupiter I would only be able to make out a kind of yellowish elliptical blur! It really is a proper little planet though! So amazing to see in the flesh (so to speak). A bigger aperture scope would be great but it may be a way off for me. I'm still trying to get the basics of observing and have yet to find anything intentionally!

[NoSiriusly]

+1 for the vixen NPL. I've the got the 10mm and its great for the money. Certainly an improvement over the supplied eyepiece. 8mm would probably be fine. Too much more than that and you'd need near perfect seeing conditions.

[LukeSkywatcher]

+1 for the vixen NPL. I've the got the 10mm and its great for the money. Certainly an improvement over the supplied eyepiece. 8mm would probably be fine. Too much more than that and you'd need near perfect seeing conditions.

The Celestron 114 has a focal length of 1000mm (same focal length as my 90mm Celestron refractor). The 8mm NPL should work fine on the 114.

I cant praise the NPL's more. They are sharp and contrasty and really are a step or two above supplied Plossl's. BST's i believe are as good and perhaps slightly better on eye relief for about the same price.

I just love my vixens.

[F1Bird]

This is sounding good for the bank account! I may be able to run to an eyepiece in this price range without having to sell a kidney! (although I cant imagine I would get much for mine on ebay). Cheers guys!

[LukeSkywatcher]

This is sounding good for the bank account! I may be able to run to an eyepiece in this price range without having to sell a kidney! (although I cant imagine I would get much for mine on ebay). Cheers guys!

I dont get technical about the working of scopes. If i like the view, i am happy. I have used the same NPL's on 70-90mm refractors,130mm Dobs and 200mm SCT's and i'm happy with the views.

Great EP's for the price.

[pallas15]

just got my first ever view of saturn thanks to a break in the weather.130 skywatcher with a 2x barlow and a 25mm gave me a small but breathtaking view of the famous ringed beauty.I thought jupiter was amazing but this looks so unreal....

[faulksy]

as a alternative to the bst,s which i found give a yellow tint i found the ts-hrs a lot better same price £46 modern astronomy sell them heres the link

http://www.modernastronomy.com/eyepieces.html

[bingevader]

You may well have been struggling with the seeing that night too however.

You should be able to get a good view with the 10mm even though most people acknowledge that the supplied 10mm EPs aren't great.

I've struggled the last few clear nights to get a clear, crisp view of Saturn, not a bubbling shimmering blob, but then the weather has been pants!

I couldn't use the 6mm the last time I was out because the 'scope wouldn't sit still in the wind!

I'd suggest getting a feel for what you already have first and what your usual observing conditions are.

But if you're desperate and can't wait (most of us can't ) then the 7 or 8mm would be a good start.

Cheers

[goodricke1]

just got my first ever view of saturn thanks to a break in the weather.130 skywatcher with a 2x barlow and a 25mm gave me a small but breathtaking view of the famous ringed beauty.I thought jupiter was amazing but this looks so unreal....

Well I've finally joined the club, thanks to my new SE8... Saturn you are just toooo beautiful!!