beginner need help with telescope

[LsVLuki]

hi guys i need help with my telescope whenerver i view some planet only thing i see is a white circle even saturn here is the picture from saturn i was using telescope jassops 800 80 please help me im new to all this really need help. thank you

[nightfisher]

one of 2 things, maybe not Saturn but a star and or out out of focus

[ronin]

Don't think it is Saturn, as I do not think Saturn becomes sort of visible until later in the year. Also if it were people would be posting Saturn images all over the place, and they are not.

Might be an out of focus star but I suspect more likely Jupiter and you have given the wrong name. No worries about that as it will not be the first time and is certainly not going to be the last. There have been worse descriptions of things like: "I saw a star explode!"

So assuming Jupiter - in the East/South East about 10:00 and later I guess.

It has been a poor atmosphere recently, no idea why, and people have seen Jupiter as a blur, equally you also need say 60x magnification for Jupiter. As the usual supplied eyepieces are a 25 then that give a magnification of 800/25 so 32x. Guess a bit small. You will need an eyepiece of 10mm to 12mm I suggest.

Now you might have one supplied at 10mm but they are usually poor, try it but do not expect anything useful. Case of you might, you might not. That leave more money and a better eyepiece, stick to a simple plossl and do not go mad on the quality unless you want to. Guess Rother Valley Optics are semi-near (could be totally wrong) maybe get a budget plossl there, or if time allows a plossl budget or otherwise from Sky's the Limit on the internet. Alan (operator) supplies 2 grades of plossl at fair prices.

In general do not go expecting huge magnifications, the scope may deliver 100x (8mm eyepiece) and might get to 120x area with a 6mm but no more. 120x is likely to need a good 6mm however like the Altair Lightwave item at £55. Basically ignore all claims printed on the side of the box.

Scope is a reasonable diameter and reasonable length so should produce a reasonable result. It is I suggest a case of just getting the right items for it. One aspect I tend to find is if you spend say £100 on the scope then expect to equally spend £100 on suitable eyepieces, much the same if you buyt a £1000 scope you end up with around £1000 of eyepieces. Better scope menas people get better eyepieces and better eyepieces cost more and in general you need 4 or 5 eyepieces.

Whatever you were looking at - did it have 2, 3 or 4 little dots in a row across it?

Should you want it: http://www.astronomyclubs.co.uk/   List of UK clubs.

[Tigaroo]

4 minutes ago, ronin said:

assuming Jupiter - in the East/South East about 10:00 and later I guess.

 

Umm...think if this was Jupiter, even that out of focus there would be moons in shot? Depends when the shot was taken? The viewing for Jupiter here in Norfolk uk last night was excellent !! Saturn would have been visible if you were up in the early hours this morning , so a little more info would help. 

[Tigaroo]

And welcome to SGL , you will definitely find the help you need ! 

Best views I had of Jupiter  last night around 11.30pm were with the 200p Dob, using 17mm 2x Barlow, and 13mm on its own ...crisp and clear and four lovely moons 

[Alan64]

I think that this is the kit in question, if I'm not mistaken...

It appears to have a 1.25" focusser, so getting eyepieces to fit will not be a problem.  Also, any eyepieces that you get for it may also be used with other telescopes acquired in future.  

I would consider a few of these Plossls perhaps...

http://www.365astronomy.com/32mm-GSO-Plossl-Eyepiece.html

The 32mm(25x power) would allow you to use the telescope itself as a finder of sorts, in hunting for objects, then to swap out the 32mm with a 20mm(40x) , 15mm(53x), 12mm(67x), 9mm(89x), or 6mm(133x), and to observe them more closely.  The 32mm would also allow you to observe the galaxy in Andromeda and the Pleiades in the fall and winter, not to mention the congested star-fields of the Milky Way in summer.

You can also 2x-barlow the 9mm for a simulated 4.5mm(178x), for the planets and double-stars, if the seeing conditions permit...

http://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/antares-x2-achro-barlow-lens-125.html

http://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/antares-x2-twist-lock-barlow-lens-125.html

A 6mm(133x) would offer a sizeable view of the planets, however at the higher powers, and with a manual mount, the objects tend to race out of sight before having a chance to study them.  A wide-field 6mm would help to keep the object in view a little longer...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-25-Ultra-Wide-Angle-6mm-Eyepiece-Lens-66-Deg-Multi-coated-for-Telescope-Best-/152129825471?hash=item236ba4eabf:g:K-MAAOSwmmxW3lJm

They're also available in 9mm, 15mm and 20mm focal-lengths...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-25-31-7mm-Ultra-Wide-Angle-9mm-Eyepiece-Lens-66-Deg-for-Telescope-US-Ship-/152301141789?hash=item2375daff1d:g:YDoAAOSwyjBW3lNh

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-25-15mm-66-Ultra-Wide-Angle-Eyepiece-Fully-Multi-Coated-for-Telescope-Black-/152088953167?hash=item236935414f:g:Q1cAAOSwo4pYdEA4

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-25-20mm-Eyepiece-66-Ultra-Wide-Angle-Optical-Glass-Lenses-for-Telescope-Best-/152119023141?hash=item236b001625:g:JEcAAOSwopRYdD9j

You can even purchase the whole set at once and perhaps save a bit...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-25-66-Ultra-Wide-Angle-Eyepiece-Kit-6-9-15-20mm-for-Astronomical-Telescope-/401257157352?hash=item5d6cca52e8:g:BmIAAOSw44BYdE9T

All of those would ship from China, so there'd be a bit of a wait, but not too terribly long.

I would also suggest to use that kit to begin to learn how to collimate a Newtonian, which is what the telescope is in fact, a Newtonian, aka a reflector...

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/other-collimation-tools/rigel-aline-collimation-cap.html

A collimation-cap would allow you to see the entire optical system inside, at a glance...

...then to make adjustments as needed, and for best image quality, especially at the higher powers where an accurate collimation is most critical.

Collimation instructions...

http://www.forumskylive.it/Public/data/serastrof/201281510358_Astro Babys Guide to Collimation.pdf

In addition, if the legs of the tripod are adjustable, retract them to their shortest length, and for improved stability, particularly when observing at the higher powers.

[brantuk]

When you have Saturn in focus you'll also see a tiny dot alongside it (approx bottom right) which is Titan - it's main moon. I'm not sure what you have in your image but it's deffinitely out of focus. Hth

[JOC]

I'm guessing Jupiter out of focus and in poor conditions too.  Of course if it's Jupiter is won't ever be as 'crisp' around the edges as a solid planet or moon - at least that's what you've all told me.  Some of the larger stars also seem not to appear as pinpoint light sources - things like Arcturus, Sirius and Aldebaran also appear to have had 'substance' to them when I've looked, but the picture does look out of focus planet like, I wonder how the photo was taken?

I'm no expert, but is it worth the OP seeing if he can get terrestrial items (albeit upside down) in focus during the day?  It could be that their focuser screw is too tight/loose and their focuser isn't driving in and out despite them twiddling the focusser knobs (been there, done that, got the T-shirt).

LsVLuki - you could also try downloading Stellarium (on PC and also free on Android phone) and that might help you identify which planet/star you are pointing at