R.frankish Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 What do I need to be able to see venus other than like a star I have the skywatcher skyliner 250mm dob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
x6gas Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 (edited) I'd have thought that you should be able to observe the phases of Venus at your focal length of 1200mm. It will depend on how well the scope is collimated, of course, and on your seeing. Chucking a 2x barlow - or better still a Televue Powermate - in to your image train will definitely give you enough focal length... Edited February 26, 2020 by x6gas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.frankish Posted February 26, 2020 Author Share Posted February 26, 2020 I have used the lazer to collimate it I shall have a look in to the televue powermate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Presland Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 Should be quite easy to see the phase, even considering how bright Venus is. Maybe try a few different filters to dim the brightness a little? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbo! Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 Yep defo filter time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 No need for a PowerMate for the moment. Your scope should easily show you Venus with it's phase clear although it can be very bright and flaring, with lots of CA due to the atmosphere. Best to catch it as early and high as possible. What eyepieces do you have? It will appear non stellar even at relatively low power, but high power will show it more clearly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.frankish Posted February 26, 2020 Author Share Posted February 26, 2020 I have tryed a few different 6mm and a 14mm82°es Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.frankish Posted February 26, 2020 Author Share Posted February 26, 2020 Shall try it with filters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbo! Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 If it came with a moon filter or neutral density try that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soldave Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 Good discussion, and was just going to start searching for something on this myself, as tonight was my first night in using my 130M to take a look at the moon and Venus. I've got a 25mm, 10mm and x2 Barlow. Tomorrow I'll try once more. @R.frankish good luck with your viewing. Are you going to try again tomorrow, if the skies are clear? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 1 hour ago, R.frankish said: I have tryed a few different 6mm and a 14mm82°es What did you see with the 6mm? That should be x200 in your scope, plenty high enough to see the disk and phase. I saw it clearly this evening in my 4" at similar powers (and lower) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry-W-Fenner Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 (edited) I have been viewing Venus at either x150 or x240 mag through the 8" dob with a visual polarizing filter. Controlling the contrast to reduce the glare has made viewing the disc very enjoyable. That said with last nights sky haze I didnt need to use a filter at all to view Venus. Baz Edited February 27, 2020 by Barry-W-Fenner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.frankish Posted February 27, 2020 Author Share Posted February 27, 2020 14 hours ago, Stu said: What did you see with the 6mm? That should be x200 in your scope, plenty high enough to see the disk and phase. I saw it clearly this evening in my 4" at similar powers (and lower) Just a little white spot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.frankish Posted February 27, 2020 Author Share Posted February 27, 2020 15 hours ago, soldave said: Good discussion, and was just going to start searching for something on this myself, as tonight was my first night in using my 130M to take a look at the moon and Venus. I've got a 25mm, 10mm and x2 Barlow. Tomorrow I'll try once more. @R.frankish good luck with your viewing. Are you going to try again tomorrow, if the skies are clear? I try every night I can so much to try find its amazing what is out there an every night I look at orion neb atleast once 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.frankish Posted February 27, 2020 Author Share Posted February 27, 2020 4 hours ago, Barry-W-Fenner said: I have been viewing Venus at either x150 or x240 mag through the 8" dob with a visual polarizing filter. Controlling the contrast to reduce the glare has made viewing the disc very enjoyable. That said with last nights sky haze I didnt need to use a filter at all to view Venus. Baz One of my friends is taking me some where dark again tonight went last night but by time we was there is was cloudy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.frankish Posted February 27, 2020 Author Share Posted February 27, 2020 15 hours ago, Ibbo! said: If it came with a moon filter or neutral density try that. Didn't get anything except 2 standard eyepeices been buying new stuff as and when I have a little extra money Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 36 minutes ago, R.frankish said: Just a little white spot So, you see it as a disk, not an airy disk with diffraction rings like a star, that's good. Could you see that it was oval rather than round? It is around half phase currently so looks like a mini half moon. This is a bad smartphone shot through my 4" which shows the phase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.frankish Posted February 27, 2020 Author Share Posted February 27, 2020 That pic is about what I could see it as Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Scarlet Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 If you can try for it during daytime or very early evening, it won't flare as much and the phase should be highly evident. The problem then is actually finding it in the first place. The technique I use is to fix the elevation of the scope at the altitude my App says it should be, point it in roughly the right direction, and pan from side to side only at, say, 30x magnification to begin with. You should find that bright dot reasonably quickly, then you can start upping the magnification. Cheers, Magnus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 17 minutes ago, R.frankish said: That pic is about what I could see it as So, you could see the phase then at least. In my scope visually it was much more sharply defined than the picture. Some people can see subtle shading on Venus but it's not something I can honestly say I've seen. I think it depends to a large degree on how sensitive your eyes are to light towards the UV end of the spectrum, mine obviously aren't! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RT65CB-SWL Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 21 hours ago, R.frankish said: Shall try it with filters 21 hours ago, Ibbo! said: If it came with a moon filter or neutral density try that. I use either a variable polarising or #47 (violet). 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry-W-Fenner Posted February 28, 2020 Share Posted February 28, 2020 10 hours ago, Philip R said: I use either a variable polarising or #47 (violet). Plus 1 for the VP filter here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry-W-Fenner Posted February 28, 2020 Share Posted February 28, 2020 13 hours ago, Stu said: So, you could see the phase then at least. In my scope visually it was much more sharply defined than the picture. Some people can see subtle shading on Venus but it's not something I can honestly say I've seen. I think it depends to a large degree on how sensitive your eyes are to light towards the UV end of the spectrum, mine obviously aren't! I am in the same boat as you Stu, I can see the phase very clearly. No shading for me either. Perhaps the longer I observe this will become apparent? Baz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted February 28, 2020 Share Posted February 28, 2020 3 hours ago, Barry-W-Fenner said: I am in the same boat as you Stu, I can see the phase very clearly. No shading for me either. Perhaps the longer I observe this will become apparent? Baz I guess that's the only option really! I don't regularly observe Venus for that long, probably because once I've seen the phase I don't see anything else. But..... if I spent more time, would my eye adjust more to the brightness and would I see more? Just don't know. I do have a variable polarising filter so really should give that a go, I normally just use a Neodymium filter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeDnight Posted March 1, 2020 Share Posted March 1, 2020 On 27/02/2020 at 16:18, R.frankish said: That pic is about what I could see it as I'm struggling to understand why the image in your scope is tiny? Unless you're using a low power eyepiece Venus should easily show itself as a relatively large object. It might seem like a silly question, but are you sure you are looking at Venus and not a near by star? Is your finder scope accurately aligned? Attached is a sketch of Venus made using my 4" refractor at 118X, so you should be seeing a definite phase to the planet. The cloud detail is much more subtle visually, so don't worry if you don't see that at first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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