At last WOW

[Neil H]

Hi all at last had my big WOW moment got Saturn and Jupiter for the first time this morning  it was amazing , I am still amazed how newtonian telescope work 

[miguel87]

Quite something isnt it. It's real and it's right there! 

 

[banjaxed]

I don’t think anyone can deny that the first sighting of Jupiter and Saturn is a truly unique moment.

[RT65CB-SWL]

They, (and Venus), never fail to impress. I always get a quote: "...big WOW moment..." too... especially Saturn.

Edited May 7, 2020 by Philip R

[DaveL59]

Well done Neil, way too early for me lol.

Just wait till you see them higher in the sky on a dark night, spectacular

[andrew s]

16 minutes ago, Neil H said:

Hi all at last had my big WOW moment got Saturn and Jupiter for the first time this morning  it was amazing , I am still amazed how newtonian telescope work 

In my opinion a slow ( above f5) good quality Newtonian is the perfect planetary scope. Far superior to those expensive toy telescopes by Takahashi 🤪

Regards Andrew 

Edited May 7, 2020 by andrew s

[DaveL59]

couldn't possibly comment on the toy scopes Andrew, all of mine are somewhat long tubes, the TAL100RS gave fabulous views of both Saturn and Jupiter last year and the SW130 wasn't at all bad either, the little TAL-M was pretty good too   Didn't have the TAL-1 to compare with at the time I think.

[andrew s]

4 minutes ago, DaveL59 said:

couldn't possibly comment on the toy scopes Andrew, all of mine are somewhat long tubes, the TAL100RS gave fabulous views of both Saturn and Jupiter last year and the SW130 wasn't at all bad either, the little TAL-M was pretty good too   Didn't have the TAL-1 to compare with at the time I think.

I was just having fun with the Tak lovers society on SGL. I am sure refractors can give nice views. However, for sheer simplicity, perfectly achromatic (IR to UV), and diffraction limited across a planetary field what's not to like about a Newtonian.

Regards Andrew 

[John]

24 minutes ago, andrew s said:

In my opinion a slow ( above f5) good quality Newtonian is the perfect planetary scope. Far superior to those expensive toy telescopes by Takahashi 🤪

Regards Andrew 

For less than £100 (used) you can get £2K views

(and I own a Tak !)

[DaveL59]

5 minutes ago, andrew s said:

I was just having fun with the Tak lovers society on SGL. I am sure refractors can give nice views. However, for sheer simplicity, perfectly achromatic (IR to UV), and diffraction limited across a planetary field what's not to like about a Newtonian.

Regards Andrew 

oh I so got that Andrew  

Just wondering with John's comment is he offering a TAK for £100?  

[Star101]

Everyone I have shown Saturn to through my scope have all gone WOW!. I think its that they have all seen it in books and on screens but to see it there, in the sky, floating and those rings...I mean...just WOW

A similar experience is had when I have people watch Jupiter over an hour or two. Have friends round, show them Jupiter and its moons. Wait 30 mins, ask them to look at Jupiter and its moons again...WOW They have moved!! lol

Always a fun evening when its that time of year

 

[John]

Nobody forgets their first view of Saturn - I can remember thinking it looked so "artificial" when I first saw it with my old 60mm refractor that I could hardly believe what I was seeing.

I have to be honest though, Jupiter is my favourite of the two planets. Always something changing on the surface of Jupiter as well as the moon and shadow transits. You never know quite what you will see there.

Surface detail on Saturn is rather indistinct at best I find. 

[markse68]

It’s weird though how Saturn usually appears sharper to me yet it’s twice as far away!

[JOC]

23 minutes ago, markse68 said:

It’s weird though how Saturn usually appears sharper to me yet it’s twice as far away!

Deleted as I know nothing  I've also seen them both regularly, but I'm looking forward to seeing them through my set of Morpheus EP's later in the summer.

Edited May 7, 2020 by JOC

[markse68]

Hi Joc, Saturn is a gas giant like Jupiter! I wonder if it’s just because it’s smaller in the ep so the illusion is it’s sharper/more contrasty 🤷‍♂️

Edited May 7, 2020 by markse68

[CraigT82]

2 minutes ago, JOC said:

That's probably because Saturn is a solid lump of rock

Umm.. you might want to look into that

[JOC]

😳😳😳😳😳😳

[dannybgoode]

Honestly I spent £130 on my first setup - a second hand f5 150P and an AZ4 mount  and if my astro journey has begun and ended at my first sight of that pair I still feel I would have got my money’s worth. 
 

Never get bored of the sight either. 

[DaveL59]

10 minutes ago, JOC said:

😳😳😳😳😳😳

nice of the guys to quote you so you couldn't totally get away from that one  

[DaveL59]

9 minutes ago, dannybgoode said:

Honestly I spent £130 on my first setup - a second hand f5 150P and an AZ4 mount  and if my astro journey has begun and ended at my first sight of that pair I still feel I would have got my money’s worth. 
 

Never get bored of the sight either. 

So true, my reflectors all cost me around the £70 mark apart from the tiny one, the frac even was only £260 so to me were great value for money a given for the lovely views. No plans to spend the earth on the top end kit but then again those seriously into the hobby a long time I'm sure can appreciate the benefits far more than I with my slowly fading eyes  

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Saturn will always supply a WOW moment. I had my first view of Saturn through our school's 70mm F/10 achromat in the fall of 1978. It was special then, and remains special to this date. My best views have been with my Celestron C8, from my back garden, on a night of just magically stable seeing, using the Vixen 7mm LV EP I had at the time.

[TerryMcK]

I remember the first time I saw Saturn "live" and was blown away. Glad you saw it too.

[John]

Jupiter does not respond to high magnifications as well as Saturn does but that is because of the nature of the features we are trying to detect. With Jupiter we are looking for subtle contrast and tone variations which are what defines the surface features. Such features seem to stand out better if you back off the magnification. Also observing the planet with some sunlight still in the sky seems to enhance the tints and contrasts. I've had some of my best view of Jupiter under such conditions.

I suspect that trying to make the best of Saturns disk detail would also be better at slightly lower magnifications while the ring system features, in the main, have strong contrast variation so higher power works well.

Each of the planets needs a slightly different approach to get the best from it.

 

 

 

 

[jetstream]

3 hours ago, andrew s said:

Far superior to those expensive toy telescopes by Takahashi 

Yeah but my 130mm newt won't show the Horse Head- we need one of those magic Taks for this lol!😂

[JeremyS]

5 hours ago, andrew s said:

I was just having fun with the Tak lovers society on SGL.

Don't mess with us Andrew: we're armed to the hilt with fluorite and all kinds of exotic glass corrected to within a fraction of a wavelength of light of its life

🙂