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Planetary Vs Deep Sky - which and why?


Oat

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On 26/08/2018 at 13:20, Oat said:

As a relative novice to astronomy, i have pondered whether planetary or deep sky observing is most popular, why, and if one is considered as easier for novices to pick up first before moving on to the other? 

I am making some assumption that you also aim to become proficient at whichever you choose before attempting any imaging.

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts and opinions....

There's only 9 planets (yes, i include Pluto).

Mercury,Venus and Earth........lets forget them. So this leaves Mars, Jupiter, Saturn.

Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are nothing but stars in most scopes.

So out of 9 planets................you have 3 (Mars,Jupiter and Saturn).

DSO is the way to go

 

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To begin I will say the amount of light pollution or lack there of at your intended site for observations will have a steerage effect on how you proceed as some with severe light pollution often go directly into imaging first or after failing attempts at visual observations due to LP.

Next is again with the light pollution thing, visual success with planetary but limited dso success due to LP which if the LP is less severe a larger aperture can improve success but to tolorate the added weight and inconveniences of a larger aperture one may use a smaller aperture and move to imaging instead. But if the light pollution is severe skip visual and go right to imaging or EAA/Electronically Assistted Astronomy. Night Vision can double the aperture of a scope and cut through some LP but at a premium and costing much more than a reasonable imaging or EAA rig.

For visual I do not consider planetary and dso different entities even though techniques and applications for observing them can be quite diverse for me at least these are all just visual objects as are satellites, comets asteroids and the like. The moons phases will have you looking to planets and the Moon, Sun as Dso hunting has it's hill's and valleys for visual...

For imaging things really need some splitting up Solar, Planetary, Dso, Widefield and EAA ( am tempted to add Night Vision here too as I see this coming into it's own aside from EAA ) as now many more elements are being added and different scopes, mounts, cameras and other equipment can set an imager up to exploit a specific target section of imaging. 

I think though along the lines for a beginner some planetary and moon visual observations will indeed be a good way to embark and to get some hands on instrument experience with objects and help develope basic astronomy skills. I do not consider it a requirement as many very successful imagers just started out imaging and have proven well it can be done. 

Hope this helps ?

 

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8 hours ago, LukeSkywatcher said:

There's only 9 planets (yes, i include Pluto).

Mercury,Venus and Earth........lets forget them. So this leaves Mars, Jupiter, Saturn.

Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are nothing but stars in most scopes.

So out of 9 planets................you have 3 (Mars,Jupiter and Saturn).

DSO is the way to go

 

Of course in the end it all comes down to personal choice as it should be, there is no 'correct' answer. 

Mind you, I would have thought even the most diehard DSO person would take an occasional view of Venus in the evening sky, especially when it's a very thin crescent, it's a most beautiful object - Mercury too.  Many scopes will manage to get at least a small disk for Uranus and Neptune, and their blue/green hues (depending on the individual's perception)  are rather nice. 

I'd suggest any beginner reading this thread try at least to  take a look at all the planets before dismissing them out of hand. 

 

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8 hours ago, LukeSkywatcher said:

There's only 9 planets (yes, i include Pluto).

Mercury,Venus and Earth........lets forget them. So this leaves Mars, Jupiter, Saturn.

Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are nothing but stars in most scopes.

So out of 9 planets................you have 3 (Mars,Jupiter and Saturn).

DSO is the way to go

 

I image and view both DSOs and the planets. True there are only a few planets that show much in either the eyepiece or camera, but unlike DSOs they can appear different every time you look and for Jupiter in particular the view even changes while you are viewing, due to it's rotation and the orbit of it's 4 main moons.

Observing and/or imaging either DSOs and planets are rewarding persuits, but you're likely to need a large telescope for the planets, whereas a small telescope or even a camera lens can reveal a huge range of DSO targets.

The planets have been challengingly low from the UK this year, but being bright targets that can be observered and imaged in a blue sky, they have been my main astronomical diet over the summer months when astronomical twilight made observing, or imaging faint DSOs pretty much impossible. I will be back almost exclusively onto DSOs from September to March/April when Jupiter will come back around again albeit even lower than this year. I will probbaly also try more summer DSOs in 2019 as Mars will not be a worthwile target next year.

Cheers, Geof

 

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My ideal observing session is a mixed bag  of all types of astronomical objects. If there is a planet and/or comet in the mix then I find this very satisfying. I might only stick with any given target for a short time.  Explore it all!

Regarding where to start, peruse detailed star charts. Looking at a proper chart can be an exciting experience in its own right! There are books which you can use as references....no need to read cover to cover!  Sue French’s Deep Sky Wonders is just a collection of her articles and is a cracking reference. Add to that all the inspiration and shared findings on this forum and I think you’ve got more ideas than time to act them in. 

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