Uranus

[Mike_S]

Hi,

I viewed Uranus for the first time tonight. It was very small like a pale dim star even at X 320. Viewed it further out too.

Is this normal or is it much further away than it can be at the moment? 

[Mike_S]

I would say it looked like this 

[Buzzard75]

Very normal. By comparison, Jupiter is almost three times as large and currently Uranus is almost four times as far away from Earth as Jupiter. So really small and really far away means it will be very small in the eyepiece at just about any magnification. That being said, you should still be able to see some faint color in it and you should be able to resolve it into a disk rather than a point like a star.

[Mike_S]

Yes it was a disc and slight colour to it. Thanks .

[maw lod qan]

On my to find list. 

I haven't put a lot of effort in it being the skys have been so bad this summer.

[Stu]

Yes, Uranus is 3.6 arc seconds across vs 40 for Jupiter currently, and it doesn't really get any bigger. I guess its distance from the sun dwarfs our orbit so it doesn't make that much difference where we are in our orbit, the size is pretty much the size. It looks a kind of greyish green to me and is definitely a disk. Neptune looks a lovely blue colour in comparison and is smaller still.

[John]

Looks like you got Uranus there. It does not vary much in apparant size - it's always a long, long way away !

There are 4 Uranian moons that it is possible, though challenging, to see with amateur telescopes. I've managed 2 of them with my 12 inch dobsonian - Titania and Oberon.

Neptunes disk is smaller again but it's largest moon, Triton, is visible with moderate aperture telescopes at high magnfications. Triton is a little easier to see than the brightest Uranian moons.

 

 

[Mike_S]

It wasn’t my photo lol. The colour was better through the eyepiece. I lost it out of view then just went to find an image online. That matched what I saw through the eyepiece. Just wanted to check that it was right as it was so small.

Edited August 25, 2019 by Mike_S

[chris2]

its good to know that you have seen Uranus, its rather disappointing to see the planet in one way (lack of detail etc) but an achievement all the same.

I aim to find Neptune when I can, and tick it off the list. 

 

Mars was my most disappointing object! 

[Stu]

13 minutes ago, chris2 said:

Mars was my most disappointing object! 

Have a look at it next year at opposition, hopefully without a dust storm and you might be surprised!

[chris2]

Morning, I most certainly will

The last time I looked it was through a 105 ETX, hoping that my 200mm skywatcher will afford better views!!

[Stu]

5 minutes ago, chris2 said:

Morning, I most certainly will

The last time I looked it was through a 105 ETX, hoping that my 200mm skywatcher will afford better views!!

You should definitely get good views through the 200P. Seeing, cooling, good collimation and patience are all key to getting good views of Mars. When it is good though, I think the views are amazing, almost like looks a twin Earth with dark surface markings, polar caps and frosting all on show.