First Jupiter Observations

[ciels noirs]

Hi guys,

I was lucky enough to see Jupiter for the first time last week through my telescope, but I was not able to see any detail on the surface. I was wondering if perhaps I was doing something wrong.

I could see the small points of light of three of Jupiter's Galilean moons (though I'm not experienced enough to know which ones they were ) so I know I was definitely looking at Jupiter, but the planet itself just looked like a white blob of light.

This didn't take any of the satisfaction away from my experience, but I was wondering if anybody could tell me why I couldn't make out more detail?

I'm pretty sure my telescope has sufficient power to see more than I did. I've considered the possibility that it may need collimating (and I'm hoping this isn't the case as I've never done it before!), but could it also be the case that I just didn't spend enough time looking?

Any guidance would be appreciated

[jetstream]

Telescope cooling is a major factor in how things will look in the eyepiece, did you let the scope cool for a half hour minimum? Collimation is also important as is viewing Jupiter when it is high in the sky. Lots of little things add up to a lot for great views. You will figure it out for sure!

Congratulations BTW, looking forward to more reports

[ronl]

You should get a reasonable view with the 20mm, but the 10mm may show Jupiter

a little fuzzy, the quality of eyepieces that come with a lot of scopes are not quality,

to say the least, but the 20mm should be Ok, take your time focusing, once the target

is close to focus, make tiny turns of the knob, it's surprising how even a tiny movement 

can take you past focus, but the seeing needs to be good, as Gerry has said, the higher

Jupiter is the better the view, light pollution and heat, if you are observing over rooftops,

will spoil your view, put all the factors together, both mine and Gerry's, and you can see

why the view was not that good, but next time you will get a great view, so keep enjoying

your scope it get's better and better. Clear Sky's

[ciels noirs]

I hadn't considered the temperature of the scope before now.

Thank you both for the advice, I'll let you know how I get on.