And the Idiot of the Year Award goes to.....

[Chris Cavanagh]

Well, tonight the sky seems patchy but clear enough. I also have my partners new camera phone on standby to get a few shots through the eyepiece (she has a Canon EOS 60 D but I dunno how to operate it).

This time I WILL succeed! 

[damnut]

You should not feel alone....first time I mounted my 10"Lx 200, heavy lump,put it on the top of the tripod fiddling underneath for the big locking screw and watching the whole tube rotate in slow motion in the forks as the tube hit the grass....

Morale of that tale, always test mount a new scope in daylight, and make sure the scope you buy is built like a tank, fortunately the Lx was built like a T34. .

[Chris Cavanagh]

Success! Saw Jupiter (taken through cameraphone, excuse the quality). Managed to see banding along the equator though so I'm pleased. Was quite windy here too so conditions weren't the best (not to mention nearby street lights).

Question; how can I get "closer" to the planet? As in view it more up close with minimal contrast loss? This was taken with a x2 Barlow and 5mm EP mind....

[SacRiker]

Damn the moons look huge in that photo.  Sounds like you are already at a very high zoom with 5mm plus a barlow! 

[damnut]

Hi There,

Highest practical power is 508x for your scope, so a 5mm with 2x barlow yields 480x on your  1200mm focal length scope.  In reality you would rarely use more than 250x, as the 'seeing' above that  magnification can be poor.

[Chris Cavanagh]

Managed an even better pic, separating a frame from a video I also took. What ya think?

[Paul73]

Did exactly that with my 250 flexi. Happily it was in my back garden. Sadly I've done it a couple of times since.......

Even worse. I spent an age colimating the scope in the dark. Couldn't understand it. The task normally takes less than a minute. Finally got it close to find that the tube wasn't fully extended by about 2".

Paul

[SacRiker]

You can make out slight bands in the second pic.  Nice.  

[Stu]

Question; how can I get "closer" to the planet? As in view it more up close with minimal contrast loss? This was taken with a x2 Barlow and 5mm EP mind....

I'm afraid the answer to that question is that you don't. As mentioned you were already at x480 which is far higher than most people use on Jupiter, it's probably only useful on doubles or possibly the moon on very stable nights.

Often the best views are at around x180, or possibly higher if conditions are good. I used up to x260 the other night in a 10" scope with good results.

Planetary observing is a game of patience really; you have to observe for a long time (anything up to several hours!), in order to catch the moments of clear seeing. You train your eye and brain to pick out the detail and then you will see plenty with your scope, but do keep the mag down otherwise the detail is washed out and lost.

[Akiainavas]

You have my sympathies, but you may have to try harder [emoji6]

I travelled an hour to a dark site, got all setup with my Mak on Goto mount, only right at the end did I realise I had forgotten a vital power cable. I spent a frustrating time with a rather awkward push to mount! Great views of saturn though.

I think "push to mount" should be the word of the year... don't know why but I find it absolutely hilarious

[Chris Cavanagh]

I'm afraid the answer to that question is that you don't. As mentioned you were already at x480 which is far higher than most people use on Jupiter, it's probably only useful on doubles or possibly the moon on very stable nights.

Often the best views are at around x180, or possibly higher if conditions are good. I used up to x260 the other night in a 10" scope with good results.

Planetary observing is a game of patience really; you have to observe for a long time (anything up to several hours!), in order to catch the moments of clear seeing. You train your eye and brain to pick out the detail and then you will see plenty with your scope, but do keep the mag down otherwise the detail is washed out and lost.

Thanks. I was hoping to get a few good shots on the phone see. Unfortunately I only have an hour or so each night to effectively stargaze (cloudy area on an island by the coast, with thesis work to be getting on with every day). I'll try my 7mm EP tonight if I can and see where that takes me.

[sirenity]

Can we Nominate Nico's wife for Wife of the year!