Recently observed the Kuiper Belt and Asteroid Belt

[DommyDevil18]

Probably the more intriguing pieces of space I have observed was the Kuiper Belt and Asteroid Belt. I observed what I thought was Saturn but then I realised that the disc was to faint and pale so my main assumption is that it is Ceres its magnitude was somewhere in the 6. region. I observed the Kuiper Belt so I used this opportunity to out of assumption to observe Pluto I couldnt tell you what colour it is because I have a form of Colourblindness but it showed a disc. I was lucky to have a really dark sky that night and was in an area where their is no pollution at all.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Ceres look much smaller than Saturn, and lacks the rings. This sounds more like either the Saturn Nebula or perhaps even M104. If Pluto showed a disk, I wonder what sort of scope you are using, because most amateur scopes will not show a disk.

[ronin]

How does an astronomy lecturer mistake Ceres for Saturn ?. There is at present a quite large difference in RA and Dec between Saturn and Ceres, well over 1 Hr RA (15 degrees) more in Dec. Ceres is 1.5x10-4 Earth masses, Saturn is 95 Earthy masses, so 60,000 times bigger.

[lukebl]

What equipment were you using? It would be difficult to just stumble across such an object and be able to conclude its identity. Ceres is too small to appear as anything but a stellar-like object, and the Kuiper Belt Objects are fainter than around mag 17/18 so too faint to see visually. Even Pluto, at mag 14, is a massive challenge even for a big scope, and also only appears like a very faint star.

[DommyDevil18]

19.5 inch reflector telescope Like I said I assume it was but with having partial colourblindness I couldnt properly say what colour it was but it did show a disc I travelled to an old farm called Bruton up the road from my house in Wales and I did some observing  

[swamp thing]

19.5 inch reflector telescope Like I said I couldnt properly say what colour it was but it did show a disc  

Psst! Don't worry I'll whisper this quietly so no one else can hear.

Your an "Astronomy lecturer" you must have heard of Dawes limit?

Check out pluto's disc size. Then, have a look for the Dawes limit for a 19.5" scope. Then rewrite your post huh

Pluto's disc indeed..........chinny reckon mate

I did laugh though, funny thread.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

If Kuiper belt object are mag 17 at best, a 50 cm scope should not be able to show them visually, as the limit for such a scope is at mag 16 or so. You need about 80cm (32" or so) or a good deal bigger.

Only if you use some imaging device could your scope pick up Kuiper belt objects. Seeing Pluto as a disk is another matter. To pick that up (and Charon) you need something like Hubble.

[trazor]

Have not noticed many wind ups on this site..............

[Matt Scunthorpe]

i didnt want to say anything incase i was wrong

Matt

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I wonder if you stumbled on some planetary nebulae (like the Ghost of Jupiter, readily visible at the moment). Unlike the famous examples of M57 and M27, most planetaries do look very much like (faint) planets. I have seen dozens of them since I started a more concerted hunt. Unlike planets, they do not show any motion with respect to the stars. Pluto and more distant Kuiper-belt objects move very slowly, however.

[Zakalwe]

This is a wind-up, isn't it?

[m0dal]

When were these observations made? Knowing the day and time, plus the location being in Wales, it would be easy to check the visibility of Ceres or Pluto in a planetarium program.

AlanP

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Stu]

This is a wind-up, isn't it?

Yep!

Stu

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I am locking this thread as it is becoming increasingly hard to take it seriously. Any new thread on this topic needs to contain precise observations, including position of the objects observed, date and time, equipment used, etc. Sketches would be helpful. Only then can we have a meaningful discussion without people thinking their legs are being pulled