Got my first view of Saturn through my XT8 tonight....I'm still speechless.

[MKHACHFE]

Hi all, 

I have been deeply into astronomy and all science my entire life. Studied physics at uni and have looked up at the sky constantly, as I'm sure mos of us do.For no reason that I can think of, i have never gotten a serious scope till now at the ripe age of 43. My XT8 is less than 6 months old but has reawakened a love of astronomy i forgot i had.

Long story short, I managed to catch Saturn at 00.30 today, low in the sky and through haze/light clouds. Nonetheless, i was almost in tears at the beautiful view in my EP. Standards 25mm Plossi, 2x Barlow and a £15 10mm EP from Amazon...All, of which, even the 10mm Barlowed gave me a view i never in a million years thought i would see with an 8inch scope. This telescope is amazing. 

I knew that i would see the planet/ring gap but never thought the view would be so clear. Bear in mind this was through light cloud that actually blocked my naked eye view at times, but still allowed me to see the planet with the scope. Add to that, the low angle and the fact that i was viewing directly over a roof...I cannot WAIT to see it again with clear skies...i expect i will cry with joy when i do.

What a great little telescope. In fact, my wife was so happy to see me so excited and amazed when i eventually came to bed that she told me to pick an EP up to £100 and she will buy it as an gift tomorrow. Sorry for the rambling post...What a great hobby we all have. 

Thanks for reading. Sorry i went on again like i did two weeks ago. 😛

Now to shop for a GOOD eyepiece!

 

Cheers

[Demonperformer]

3 hours ago, MKHACHFE said:

Sorry for the rambling post

And that's when you are "speechless"

Seriously, I know where you are coming from ... Saturn tends to have that effect on people - certainly did on me.

A moment to treasure.

[niallk]

Fantastic report!  It really is truly amazing what we can see with our own eyes and some precision polished glass for pretty modest money - we can follow in the footsteps of all the great astronomers, and discover so much for ourselves about this universe we live in

[MarsG76]

I'm very happy for you.. I'd say that most of us had a similar feeling.. the worst thing is that the tears blur the image.... 😉

 

[maw lod qan]

1 hour ago, MarsG76 said:

I'm very happy for you.. I'd say that most of us had a similar feeling.. the worst thing is that the tears blur the image.... 😉

 

And I thought I was the only one!!

[RT65CB-SWL]

Saturn never fails to impress...!

[Sunshine]

Saturn does that to people, especially first timers.

[MKHACHFE]

Thanks for the replies guys. I'd seen Saturn before with a cheap telescope that could just about make out the rings...so i thought i knew what to expect, but i was wrong. So very wrong. In a good way!

 I tried to explain it to my wife as "imagine you thought you were getting a gift of £1000 but ended up getting  1 million instead".  Not the best analogy, i know.

I also found out why she offered to buy me an eyepiece yesterday (I chose a Baader Classic 10m Ortho). It's because she thought the view of Jupiter i showed her earlier in the night through my £15 10mm was so blurry and fuzzy that she felt bad for me! Haha..I think its fine for the price, i can easily see detail.

I can only imagine how amazing the view of both giants will be when my BCO arrives tomorrow. Can't wait. 

 

Thanks for reading 

 

Cheers

[banjaxed]

Could you ask your wife to have a word with mine 😀

[MKHACHFE]

14 hours ago, banjaxed said:

Could you ask your wife to have a word with mine 😀

Believe me, this is the first time in 16 years she has done something like this. Maybe she's feeling guilty about something...hmmm...🤔

[Stu]

6 hours ago, MKHACHFE said:

Believe me, this is the first time in 16 years she has done something like this. Maybe she's feeling guilty about something...hmmm...🤔

Perhaps check the shoe cupboard? 😉

[Lurcher]

This has been so great to read. 

On 13/07/2019 at 01:54, MKHACHFE said:

For no reason that I can think of, i have never gotten a serious scope till now

That sounds like something I have said and certainly thought many times myself!

I saw an old photo (from the mid-eighties judging by the photo), of two club members who had bought a 12.5" scope jointly between them. Looked like a brilliant thing to have done.

Thanks for the infectious enjoyment. And for posting. I hope you get to try out your new eyepiece soon.

[StarryEyed]

My most memorable nights are the ones that make me feel something, amazement, wonder, .... or  just simply humble. Ocassionally there is a tear or two. .... we share a common awe and wonder for our extended enviroment.

Thanks for sharing !

[Marvin Jenkins]

The best Saturn moment for me, after the first time which was the same as MKHACHFE for emotion, came when a friend expressed an interest.

He looked through the eye piece for the first time and jumped like he had been shocked with electric. Ten minutes in he still couldn’t believe what he was clearly seeing. That old saying ‘you have to pinch yourself’.

Makes you realise that the vast majority of people have only ever seen a picture. A smaller percentage have seen a photo which is why the real thing makes such an impression.

M

[maw lod qan]

The same thing with my SIL's mom and dad.

Probably their first time looking through a telescope. Both stepped back to look up at the bright "star" in the sky and asked "that's what I'm looking at?"

Seeing how thrilled it made them, thrilled me!

[DaveL59]

finally got a clear night when its not a skool night and my first view of saturn tonight too, with the Tal100RS 3x barlow and 20mm Vixen NPL. Visibility seemed very good so a lovely clear view, could clearly see the rings and a moon (I think). Jupiter was in view earlier and also nice and clear so a good night and well pleased 🙂

Almost tempted to stay up and see if I get a view of neptune but with the moon just ahead of it I doubt it'll be worth it...

[RT65CB-SWL]

17 hours ago, DaveL59 said:

finally got a clear night when its not a skool night and my first view of saturn tonight too, with the Tal100RS 3x barlow and 20mm Vixen NPL. Visibility seemed very good so a lovely clear view, could clearly see the rings and a moon (I think). Jupiter was in view earlier and also nice and clear so a good night and well pleased 🙂

Almost tempted to stay up and see if I get a view of neptune but with the moon just ahead of it I doubt it'll be worth it...

My guess is you have seen Titan, (Saturn's largest moon), too. It is the only one I can see when I use my TeleVue Ranger & 6mm Radian, (or other TeleVue e/p), from my home. When I use my Celestron C6/SCT, I see the others. Good luck with Neptune. 

 

The image above is a screenshot from Saturn's Moons app.

Edited July 21, 2019 by Philip R

[ollypenrice]

A classic account. Saturn has seduced more people than any other object in the sky. While teaching an astronomy evening class at an Adult Ed college I set up an 8 inch scope in the car park, massively light polluted, and pointed it at the ringed planet. A retired miner took a good long look and when he stepped back from the eyepiece he fixed me with a gaze I remember more than twenty years later, shook his head, tried to speak but couldn't, and simply shook my hand in silence.

Olly

[wxsatuser]

First real scope I bought and could afford was a 6inch Celestron refractor, huge affair and thought what a mistake.

First clear night out it went straight on Saturn, wow, if that don't hook nothing can.
Mum came out was the second person to look, she loved it.

[MarsG76]

I found that theres not much that beats the view of Saturn on a extremely clear and stable night, where Saturn can be magnified 406X on a 8" SCT or 500X on a 14" Newt and the disc is massive and very very detailed....