Planets through telescope

[Jeetu]

Hi ,

I have a Orion 100MM sky scanner today morning I focused it towards Jupiter with a 10MM & 20MM eyepiece I was able to see the Jupiter n it moons but not the way it actually looks . Please let me know do I need a Barlow Lens also to see planets more clear. I have also attached a pic taken from my mobile through eyepiece.

Regards,

Rohit

[HEXZ0R]

u can try the Barlow lens with the 10mm but dont expect alot afterall its a small scope ,but i think u could see jupiter belts if its dark enough around you  
Clear skies.

[MarsG76]

Planetary detail is completely seeing condition dependent.. The planet needs to be at least relatively high and with still atmosphere to see the fine details. Detail on planets are tiny and so easily washed or blurred out.

You just need to stick with it and occasionally you will get views of planets that will be jaw dropping.

Jupiter for example, usually I see little more than a yellow disk, bands and its moons. But during the best seeing I saw multiple various shades belts, details within the belts, little whitish and darkish points, moon shadow, the GRS with a darker central shade, fine shades in the polar clouds and the moons were tiny little discs as opposed to just star like point.... that was WOW.

Saturn is usually a ball with a obvious ring around it, with 1 or 2 moons faintly visible around it, but clearest views are a distinct globe with cloud bands, shadow on the ring behind it, and the ring shadow on the globe clearly visible as well as a razor sharp Cassini division, the most moons I have seen were 6 from memory.... couldn't take my eye of the eyepiece.

On the best seeing Venus shows shading near the terminator on a large bright crescent/half Venus, to the point where I use a ND filter to knock down the intensity... and Mars also revealed polar caps (white patches) faint hints of cloud and dark marking on the surface....

You just need to stick with it and there will be times when you will have the WOW seeing moments, but anyone in this hobby will  tell you that those moments are quite rare for the vast majority of us... unless you live in the Atacama desert or similar...

Uranus and Neptune only show tiny blue/green/grey discs, and no surface detail at all, they're simply too far away... some have spotted one or Uranus moons through the eyepiece in 12" scope though... 

Good luck with planetary detail hunting.
 

 

[Charic]

2 hours ago, MarsG76 said:

You just need to stick with it and there will be times when you will have the WOW seeing moments, but anyone in this hobby will  tell you that those moments are quite rare for the vast majority of us... unless you live in the Atacama desert or similar...

......even with larger scopes, the above statement still applies, its often just a waiting game, but scope size matters, as does the seeing conditions and your local conditions, street lights?

Its like looking at a coin in a swimming pool during swimming lessons, difficult to see! but later when the waters are calmer, the coin becomes obvious, no different to the sea of air above your head!

[MarsG76]

41 minutes ago, Charic said:

......even with larger scopes, the above statement still applies, its often just a waiting game, but scope size matters, as does the seeing conditions and your local conditions, street lights?

Its like looking at a coin in a swimming pool during swimming lessons, difficult to see! but later when the waters are calmer, the coin becomes obvious, no different to the sea of air above your head!

With larger apertures, seeing is much more critical.... I find that with my 8" SCT I get more detailed views of Jupiter and Saturn much more often than through the 14" Dob... but when its clear, the views through the dob are AMAZING... big, bright and detailed like the 8" cant deliver... rare as it is tho.

[dweller25]

Hello Rohit.

Some tips for best results.

1. Make sure the scope has settled to ambient temperature - a good 30 minutes for a 100mm scope.

2. Observe when the planet is due south - it will be at its highest.

3. Be patient - Jupiter is quite low in the sky for a few years

4. A little bit more magnification (x100) would help

Hope that helps

[DirkSteele]

Also make sure the scope is accurately collimated to get the best performance which is another critical factor alongside those mentioned above.

[Jeetu]

Hi All,

Thanks for quick responses do appreciate it, will follow you suggestions . Actually this is 1st time I have seen Jupiter through my telescope but trust me it was amazing can see it like that with eyes .

One more help will a 3x or 5x barlow lens better the magnification

[Ricochet]

The Skyscanner has a focal length of 400mm so your 10mm eyepiece will give you a magnification of 40x. Ideally, you would want to observe the planets at a higher magnification and an f4 scope should be capable of using eyepieces as short as 4mm so yes, adding a 2x barlow to your 10mm (to simulate a 5mm eyepiece) or buying a shorter eyepiece should also help your views. The 10mm MA is generally considered the weaker of the two eyepieces supplied with telescopes so I would be inclined to look more at shorter eyepiece options. A 3x or 5x barlow are less likely to be of use as you can only use longer focal length eyepieces with them, they will not allow you to reach a higher useful magnification, because that is a characteristic of the telescope. Be aware though, that in any telescope the planets will still be quite small objects and not as large as those images sent back by spacecraft orbiting those planets.

[MarsG76]

2 hours ago, Jeetu said:

One more help will a 3x or 5x barlow lens better the magnification

At most a 2x Barlow would be best if wanting to go the Barlow route. Although the eyepieces that come with telescopes are really only average, so as mentioned above, a better quality eyepiece for high power would be the best option, whether you get a high quality shorter eyepiece or the same focal length and couple it with a high quality Barlow, that is up to you.

using a 3x Barlow will only see use very very rarely since the perfect seeing conditions are as rare as honest lawyers and the 5x Barlow would NEVER see light... All views through it would be blurry and you'd never use it.

[Jeetu]

Thanks for the suggestion. I think I should go for better quality eye piece 

[MarsG76]

3 hours ago, Jeetu said:

Thanks for the suggestion. I think I should go for better quality eye piece 

Very good decision.

 

[Victor Boesen]

1+ for an eyepice upgrade instead of a barlow. I have a barlow, and I never use it.

[Littleguy80]

If you're looking at a barlow and/or eyepiece upgrade have a read of the article below. It was a great help to me when I was in your position. Don't feel you have to spend a lot of money on an eyepiece. The Revelation Plossl's have a good reputation and are very reasonably priced. I personally went for BST Starguiders which are also good value for money but a bit more expensive than the Revelation's.

http://www.swindonstargazers.com/beginners/eyepieces.htm

 

[Jimtheslim]

I can understand that buying a Barlow is tempting as it can effectively double your eyepiece collection (or even triple, if you can unscrew the elements). However when the seeing is good and allowing you to see the kind of details that make your draw drop, for me personally, the last thing I want to do is start messing around with eyepieces. 

For example, I have two very nice wide fov eyepieces that give me about 85x and 135x (if memory serves me correctly and I don't have a calculator to hand). When seeing gets really good I'll go to 135x and stick with it. I find the longer you look, the more you see. So take your time and do some research into buying a nice eyepiece that will be comfortable to use and allow you extended time observing those details when they become available. 

 

Definitely avoid a 3x or 5x Barlow. Just my opinion, but I don't think you'd get as lot of use out of it. Put that money into your eyepiece budget. 

[Sunshine]

Its a hit or miss with planets, some days i've seen amazing detail while the very next day though it seemed clear enough i could not make out much more than a washed out bubbling blob!

[Charic]

9 minutes ago, Sunshine said:

Its a hit or miss with planets, some days i've seen amazing detail while the very next day though it seemed clear enough i could not make out much more than a washed out bubbling blob!

I agree......and this is not fixed with 'better' eyepieces?

Its fixed with patience and having the right conditions.

 

[JOC]

Have you checked out the pictures on the first page of this thread - well worth a look through if you haven't already done so

 

[Stu]

On 05/03/2018 at 23:56, Jimtheslim said:

Definitely avoid a 3x or 5x Barlow

Totally agree. The only purpose I can see for these is in planetary or lunar imaging, not needed for visual.