First telescope- scope alignment and viewing jupiter

[Taleah]

Hey! I just got my first telescope and have viewed the moon...which is amazing! Ive found jupiter and can clearly see 3 of its moons but the planet itself is lacking detail. Not sure what im doing wrong...was hoping to see cloud rings and red spot. Can anyone help?

Also having trouble aligning scope properly ??

[Sunshine]

what kind of scope?

 

[John]

It takes time to train your eye to see planetary detail. At first glance you might see the 2 main cloud bands crossing Jupiter but beyond that you need to keep practicing and keep observing to train your eye to tease out further details.

The Great Red Spot is often not on view because it rotates around the planet. Even when it is on view, this famous feature does not jump out at the novice observer, particularly if the seeing conditions are mediocre. Jupiters low position in the sky (depending where you are observing from) does not help either.

The best detail will come and go as the conditions fluctuate. Sometimes you just get a couple of seconds of clarity before things go mushy again, then perhaps another brief glimpse of the good stuff. The longer you observe, the more chance you have of catching these good moments.

It would be good to know what scope you are using and what eyepiece you were using as well. Using very high magnifications on Jupiter does not usually give the best results.

Keep at it and the more subtle detail will appear in time, with practice.

 

[MarsG76]

Like mentioned by John.. seeing conditions plays a MAJOR role in how much you will see.... Jupiter starts to really come to life at 150X, and as you keep looking at jupiter, you will see detail coming and going into and from view, atmosphere permitting...

Filters are the other way you can tease out more detail, light blue or orange will help to see detail BUT my favorite filters are the Baader Neodymium and contrast booster filters stacked... during the best seeing those make the planetary details pop.

[Taleah]

Thanks guys! Im using a F70076. I first found jupiter with 20mm lense then moved onto a 12.5 mm and a 4mm. Im in Canberra, Australia....how do i know when the conditions are good for viewing? 

[John]

The 4mm eyepiece is unlikely to give good results on Jupiter even if the seeing is good - 175x is just too much power for the 76mm aperture scope. Stick to using the 20mm and 12.5mm for now. At some point you might find a 2x barlow lens useful - used with the 12.5mm eyepiece you will get 112x which is probably as much magnification as will be useful on the Moon and planets with your 76mm aperture scope.

With lots of practice you should start to see more than just the main 2 cloud bands on Jupiter and even the Great Red Spot when it is on our side of the planet. The image below shows how Jupiter might appear through a scope similar to yours at around 80x-100x magnification. If you can see more then you are doing well !

 

[Sunshine]

well, assuming your scope is set up properly, collimated and so on, just having a look through several nights will give you a good idea of the role "seeing" plays in observing, sometimes you'll see stars bubbling and boiling and you'll have a hard time focussing.

those are the days where atmospheric conditions cause images to look like you're watching a coin in a wishing well distort and shimmer, hot air pockets make the moon look like the limb is vibrating and shimmering, its effect on planets is even worse.

you'll soon recognize bad seeing within seconds of looking at an object, oh and very important, let your scope reach outside temperature before using it.

[Taleah]

Thanks everyone. This is all very helpful. I really have no idea what im doing yet ? How long should i leave it outside for before viewing? Its freezing out there at night at the moment....can it be damaged by bringing it back into the heat afterwards?

[John]

2 minutes ago, Taleah said:

Thanks everyone. This is all very helpful. I really have no idea what im doing yet ? How long should i leave it outside for before viewing? Its freezing out there at night at the moment....can it be damaged by bringing it back into the heat afterwards?

Pop the scope out about 15-20 minutes before observing. They are robust things and, while they might get some condensation on them bringing them back in, this will soon clear. Don't be tempted to wipe the optics clear though, let them clear of their own accord.

 

[Taleah]

THANKYOU! 

[cletrac1922]

Taleah

Welcome from a fellow down under

Aren't you in for a treat over the next 3 night

Stargazing Live on the ABC with Prof Brian Cox and Julia from Rockwiz

Tomorrow night we are aiming to break the Guinness Book of Records, for most people viewing through a telescope at the same time

Attempt is at ANU site in Canberra, Mt Stromlo Wednesday night

If you take your scope to Mt Stromlo, be lot of people only too happy to assist you with your scope

Australia set the record back in 2015, with over 8,500 people

My own club, is doing a presentation as well, for the record attempt, at a school on the Goldcoast  

My own club, Southern Astronomy Society, is also co-hosting Star Stuff 11 at Byron week-end 7-8 July

Happy Viewing

John

 

  

 

 

[Ruud]

3 hours ago, Taleah said:

I'm in Canberra, Australia....how do i know when the conditions are good for viewing? 

Hi, welcome.

I like Meteoblue for astronomy: https://www.meteoblue.com/en/weather/forecast/seeing/canberra_australia_2172517
Meteoblue shows cloud cover, sky darkness, seeing (stability of the atmosphere), temperature, et cetera.

To plan observations I use Stellarium. That's a free planetary program: http://stellarium.org
You can set Stellarium so that it only shows objects in reach of your telescope, or go a bit deeper and play Hubble telescope.

NASA has a great tool for finding out what the Moon has to offer at any time: https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4604
Works like a great atlas. Set the time you want, click update, and click on the updated preview to download an accurate, annotated Moon map.

Clear skies and see you again soon.