Jupiter and it's moons - what lens?

[dragnscalearmor]

Hello everyone. I'm absolutely brand new to telescopes and amateur astronomy. I purchased the Meade Instruments 209006 Infinity 102mm AZ Refractor Telescope from Amazon several months ago. It came with a Barlow lens, 26mm, 9mm, and 6.3mm lenses. I have purchased a black moon filter lens as well. I have an app on my phone to help locate celestial objects (Star Walk 2, paid version). I really have no idea what I'm doing, so I've been reading posts and things, but with a limited budget, I wan to be careful and order the correct equipment. Can someone recommend a lens so that I can see Jupiter and it's moons? According to the telescope documentation, I should be able to see these things with the included lenses, but is there a better lens for these things? Also, I want to capture images with my phone, and I'm wondering if the camera attachments are good for this. If so, any recommendations? 

Here's the Amazon link to the scope I have purchased:  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LY8JWAQ/

Thank you all very much for any assistance.

[rl]

Providing the quality of the big lens at the front  ( called the objective) is ok, you will see Jupiter and its moons with what you've got.  Also the rings of Saturn, lots of craters on the moon.

Now, to manage expectations, take a dime and hold it at arm's length. That's a bit bigger than the size of Jupiter in the scope, but you can still read the writing. That's the sort of image scale to expect. Saturn is half the size again.....

You can detect a lot of galaxies and deep sky objects from a non-light-polluted sky with what you've got. Note the word "detect"....most of them will look like faint fuzzy patches of cotton wool. You have to learn to spot the detail with averted vision and a lot of patience...but half the thrill is in understanding what you're looking at rather than the brilliance of the view. 

As for cameras, all you can really do with what you've got is take pictures of the moon. There are adapters available to suit most SLR cameras (but Canon is the astronomer's favourite). To take pictures properly you need a telescope that tracks the stars with a driven mount (equatorial mount). The optics need to be a step up on what you've got for general good results. You need to do some reading on this....but a fast apochromatic refractor will be good for wide field shots of deep sky objects. For planets...bigger is better scopewise and you will need a different camera....modified webcams are popular or their better astro cousins. The idea is to take a lot of frames and then select the best. Then add them up so the details comes out better........

If you're going the astgrophotography route then welcome to a difficult, expensive, frustrating and occasionally very rewarding hobby with a phenomenal learning curve.....the standard recommendation is a book "Making Every Photon Count" By Steve Someone whose name escapes me at the moment. 

Don't rush into buying kit....take some time reading first. It's just not possible in a single reply to go through all the options. And people would need to know more about your likes and circumstances before giving useful advice. 

Welcome to the forum, RL

[Raph-in-the-sky]

Hello,

First thing you have to know is that Jupiter is not visible right now as it is behind the sun for us poor earthlings. Next opposition (ie. the best time to view it) will be on 14 july 2020. So it should be visible in the morning 2-3 before this date and in the evening 2-3 months after this date.

Now regarding the items that would help viewing it, I would suggest a 4mm or a 5mm which should give you respectively a magnification of x150 and x120. As for what to buy, it will depend on the budget you want to allocate to this but one thing to keep in mind is that Plossl design at these focal lengh will have a very short eye relief and will not be comfortable to use. My advice would be to go a little more expensive and get either a BST starguider  (https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bst-starguider-eyepieces/bst-starguider-60-5mm-ed-eyepiece.html) or a skywatcher UWA Planetary (https://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-eyepieces/skywatcher-uwa-planetary-eyepieces.html). They offer about 60° AFOV and have comfortable eye relief.

Regarding filters, I would not get any colour filter but I would get a Baader Moon & skyglow neodymium filter (https://www.firstlightoptics.com/light-pollution-reduction/baader-neodymium-filter.html). That's far from mandatory and I would advise not to get it right away but only later if it still makes sense.

 

 

[laudropb]

Hello and a warm welcome to the SGL. You should be able to see Jupiter and it’s moons using your 9 mm eye piece. This will give you a magnification of just over 60x. A smart phone holder does make taking photos easier

[dragnscalearmor]

Thank you all for the information. I'm extremely new to this (first telescope), so any advice is definitely appreciated. I will be watching the skies in July  and after for Jupiter and it's moons (evenings). I'm very excited to see them. I ordered a cell adapter from Amazon a few minutes ago so I can get some good pictures of the moon. I've been spending a lot of time looking at the moon, and it's just incredible. What a terrific hobby I have discovered! I have also purchased a telescope for my 8 year old granddaughter, because she's so fascinated with mine. I'm anxious to see how she does with it.

Thanks again, and I'll check out the 4mm and 5mm lenses. Really appreciate it!

[Raph-in-the-sky]

5 minutes ago, dragnscalearmor said:

Thank you all for the information. I'm extremely new to this (first telescope), so any advice is definitely appreciated. I will be watching the skies in July  and after for Jupiter and it's moons (evenings). I'm very excited to see them. I ordered a cell adapter from Amazon a few minutes ago so I can get some good pictures of the moon. I've been spending a lot of time looking at the moon, and it's just incredible. What a terrific hobby I have discovered! I have also purchased a telescope for my 8 year old granddaughter, because she's so fascinated with mine. I'm anxious to see how she does with it.

Thanks again, and I'll check out the 4mm and 5mm lenses. Really appreciate it!

Also you should download Stelarium. It shows you the sky you should be able to see from anywhere at any time. It's great to plan you evenings ahead.

And you should also consider getting "Turn left at Orion". It's a great book and is beginner friendly.

[dragnscalearmor]

Thank you! I've downloaded Stellarium, and I'll get the book from Amazon. I appreciate it!

[joe aguiar]

with that scope and the eps you will see Jupiter and its moon even at the lowest power BUT as said above Jupiter and Saturn are pretty much gone for now BUT will be back in 6 months.

try the moon maybe orion nebula etc see what your apps says. I kinda like night watch book and it was 20 pags of charts that shows every kinda items in what constellations etc to start looking for.

Also not sure u know most new people don't understand the order of using the eps in what order

some think u use the 4 then 12 then 26 When its the opposite. First use the 26mm then 9mm then the 6.3 of course you need to focus until its clear normally the image will keep getting smaller to focus.

joejaguar

Edited January 13, 2020 by joe aguiar

[John]

Hello and welcome to the forum

You can actually see Jupiters 4 bright Galilean Moons with 10x50 binoculars if you hold them steady so practially any scope with more magnification than that is going to show them clearly.

The moons change position and formation each night so all 4 are not always visible. Watching them pop in and out of view as they pass behind the planet is great fun (there are several tools and websites that give you the timings of these events) but even more interesting is observing the shadows that the moons cast on Jupiters cloud tops and watching as the moon and shadows creep across the disk is fascinating. You do need a scope and 80x magnification or so to see these events.

Have fun !

 

[Floater]

Welcome to the party! Seems like you’re going to have fun. And you’re good to go with the kit you have. 👍🙂

[cletrac1922]

Welcome from across the ditch, Pacific Ocean

One of the best things you can do before racing out and buying something which might not work for you, is rock up to your local astronomy club

Members there are only too happy to assist, and Meade is a popular brand with many club members

My own club, we have a loan LX90 for club members, including an assortment of eyepieces and barlow

Our club Dobs, also have case of eyepieces

You can then try different eyepieces belonging to club members to give you the  view of Saturn and Jupiter you are seeking

I am out couple of times per month also doing presentations in primary schools and scout groups, and I use 17MM wide angle eyepiece with my Dob

John 

[maw lod qan]

Yes, welcome to a great forum with an incredible group of people. Lots of help here.

There is a thread here on the forum about what you will see compared to what you see in the professional images.  One of the more knowledgeable members might link it here, I'm not sure how to do it.

All I can say for certain is enjoy what you see with your own eyes and take a moment to think of all the history you follow as you do.

I get excited every time I view Saturn or Jupiter. I still like viewing the moon as it goes through its phases.

It's a big sky above our heads. Enjoy it and also enjoy what the members here show you too!

[Alan64]

10 hours ago, dragnscalearmor said:

Thank you all for the information. I'm extremely new to this (first telescope), so any advice is definitely appreciated. I will be watching the skies in July  and after for Jupiter and it's moons (evenings). I'm very excited to see them. I ordered a cell adapter from Amazon a few minutes ago so I can get some good pictures of the moon. I've been spending a lot of time looking at the moon, and it's just incredible. What a terrific hobby I have discovered! I have also purchased a telescope for my 8 year old granddaughter, because she's so fascinated with mine. I'm anxious to see how she does with it.

Thanks again, and I'll check out the 4mm and 5mm lenses. Really appreciate it!

I have the same eyepieces and 2x-barlow that you have, and that came with my Meade kit...

Those eyepieces and the barlow are not very good.  The telescope itself should be, however.

These are the same as those of the BST "Starguider" line...

https://agenaastro.com/eyepieces/1-25-eyepieces/shopby/agena_dual_ed.html

Plossls... https://agenaastro.com/eyepieces/1-25-eyepieces/shopby/gso-gso_plossl-gso_superview.html

Plossls shorter than 9mm have small eye-lenses through which to see, and short eye-relief.

The BST flat-field and planetary eyepieces... https://agenaastro.com/eyepieces/1-25-eyepieces/shopby/bst.html

To reach the higher powers, I would suggest a 3x-barlow and a 12mm Plossl... https://agenaastro.com/meade-128-3x-barlow-07278.html

 

[Phillips6549]

Hi and welcome to the forum

As others have said, use the equipment you have first before spending more money on stuff you may not need or use.

To understand what you may be able to see, this thread is really useful: 

 

Clear Skies

Mark