jupiter s bands ?

[glyn lacey]

hi ,so the clouds have parted for the moment so out we go , Jupiter seems easy to find so that's where I went ,I think I was seeing 2 bands and 4 moons  but not pin sharp ,am I expecting to much or are the conditions or collimation affecting the image ,still a wow moment though when I realise  I am actually looking at  a planet with my own eyes ,the history of those who have gone before and all that ,amazing .Oh my scope is heritage 130p. 

[Charic]

Start with long focal length eyepieces and then work higher from there. You should be trying to frame the object as best you can. If you go beyond your telescopes ability or  eyepiece magnification, then the details of the surface may not be so clear, fuzzy, out of focus. There are several other factors too. Only recently have I seen the shadow of a Moon on the surface of Jupiter.  Bigger apertures enable more light gathering enabling more contrast and details. Again conditions rule. last night I was testing my new 15x70's, and my problem was I could see the Moons, but Jupiter was actually too bright for my  2.8" aperture on the binoculars? Your 5.2" aperture should see something of the surface detail. But seeing conditions through the sea of air above you ect can destroy what you expect to see.

[Paul73]

Seeing was pretty wobbly here. It was a struggle to make out the Great Red Spot.

If the image wobbled with only fleeting glimpses of detail. Then that is poor seeing and no amount of columation etc will help.

Some nights you get a stable(ish) image, some nights you don't. Saying that, often, the longer you look, the more you see (particularly if you folow Charic's advicemabove). Perversely, my best views of Jupiter have been through hazy cloud which seems to take the glare off it nicely.

Tonight, I retreated to the safety of some low power cluster viewing (M35 was the highlight).

Paul

[AlexB67]

Make sure you also let the scope cool a while if you brought from a much warmer house, for the Heritage I'd say probably a half hour or so may be even a little bit more to get the best out of it at the higher powers. Atmospheric conditions as well as already been pointed out are a factor, but the effect of a cooled scope performance is really significant versus one that has just come out of the house, even a 5 inch scope.  To begin with fir the first 10 minutes most things will be a blur at high power.

[itmo]

Best views of jupiter are usually through some haze ,since it seems that haze will calm down the atmosphere. The haze will take away some light, but that is not needed for jupiter. What is important with jupiter is to have a tracking telescope (preferably) and slowly keep focusing until you get the best picture. You need to do the focusing very carefully and wait between focuser knob turns to see the effect on the image. 

[itmo]

I also seem to find it helpful to make sure i keep breathing (less oxygen means your eye will quickly lose it's premium resolution) and to follow the object (even stare) for an extended length of time. 

[CodnorPaul]

You also need to learn to see - I didn't understand what that meant for my first year but recently I have started to understand how to train my eye to pick out finer detail than before.  Be patient, take your time at the EP, and avoid too much magnification - but it is a skill you have to learn, and not something someone can explain very easily.  I can now see loads of detail within the bands, turbulence behind the GRS, shading differences in the bands, festoons etc whereas before I saw 4 cloud bands and that was about it

[Peter Drew]

At the present, some of the best views of Jupiter may be had between 6pm and 7pm, the light sky tones down the brightness of the planet allowing fine detail to be seen. Under a dark sky the glare of the planet can overpower the detail, this can be improved by neutral density filtering or raising the magnification if the conditions will allow. 

[AndyWB]

Best views of jupiter are usually through some haze ,since it seems that haze will calm down the atmosphere. 

That's what I found. With my heritage 130p I did once manage to watch the Great Red Spot (actually, a salmon pink colour) at x160, and it was stable and sharp. But that was, in hind sight, a rare night. Mostly, the performance of mine was similar to what you describe.

Also +1 for take time and learning to see. I definitely notice much more than I did a year ago.