Why does Jupiter appear white through my Celestron 130EQ telescope?

[Armaan Sandhu]

I have been trying to see Jupiter for a while now, but all I am seeing is a whitish blob with a tinge of yellow and blue at the ends. 
I have tried several filters, but to no avail. 
I am using an Astromaster 130eq, Celestron with magnifications ranging from 20mm to a 6mm plus a 2X Barlow lens. 
many suggestions would be greatly appreciated. 
regards, Armaan. 

 

Edited July 1, 2020 by Armaan Sandhu

[Freddie]

Related to the image you have posted, it is over exposed. You need to reduce gain and or exposure duration. Aim for a histogram of 50-70%. 
Are you saying this is also what you see visually?

Edited July 1, 2020 by Freddie

[RT65CB-SWL]

Hi @Armaan Sandhu and welcome to SGL. 

Is your 'scope new or secondhand?
What eyepieces are you using? 
...i.e. are they the ones that came with it?
...or purchased elsewhere/different brand? 

Depending where you are, Jupiter is low down for northern hemisphere observers at time of writing and the reflected light photons have to go through a thicker atmosphere before reaching your eye. Have you tried looking at any stars and see if they are pin-points? - if the stars do not appear as pin-points and are slightly elongated/squashed then your 'scope will need collimating.

The image below shows how Jupiter appeared in my mis-collimated re-modded ETX105 from a few years ago...

...though it is not as quite as bad as yours.

Edited July 1, 2020 by Philip R

[Armaan Sandhu]

Hi all, yes, the same thing appears when I look through with my naked eye. 

I am unable to see any detail on Jupiter - It just appears white.

My scope is new, only bought it a year ago, and I am using the Plossl eyepieces and filters that I bought as a kit from Celestron (https://www.celestron.com/products/eyepiece-and-filter-kit-125in). I have also tried the 10mm and 20mm lenses that came with the telescope.

Also, I am in the southern hemisphere.

So far the stars I look at do appear to be relatively pinpointed.

Regards, Armaan

Here is a vid with the iso reduced (Not exactly sure what it is though...)

I am using an iphone 7 camera (Would it be better to use an iphone 11 pro camera in this instance?)

[Armaan Sandhu]

I think I accidentally sent you a pic of Jupiter without a telescope in the first pic, sorry 🤦‍♂️

The video should give you a better impression with the iso turned down.

[Armaan Sandhu]

I think I accidentally sent you a pic of Jupiter without a telescope in the first pic, sorry 🤦‍♂️

The video should give you a better impression with the iso turned down.

Here is the best pic I have taken with the telescope (Just wish I could see more😞:

[Geoff Barnes]

Hi Armaan, I am in Australia and Jupiter here rises very high in the sky in the early hours of the morning and is very sharp and clear with great detail and colours visible.

I am tending to think that your telescopes mirrors are badly out of collimation. Have you checked them since you got your telescope?

Edited July 2, 2020 by Geoff Barnes

[johninderby]

Jupiter has been very good in the last couple of weeks although not that high and have had the best views of Jupiter this year. Plenty of detail visable.in an 80mm refractor.

As above collimation is the most likely culprit. With 130mm you should be seeing good detail and colour. 

Edited July 2, 2020 by johninderby

[RT65CB-SWL]

@Armaan Sandhu - if your 'scope is out out of collimation; (as 'we' above suspect); and have access to a collimation tool there are plenty of tutorials here on SGL, and elsewhere... and if you have access to a laser collimator, this will need to be checked for collimation too... especially it it is one of the 'cheaper' branded laser collimators. 

[AstroMuni]

Hi Armaan, I have the same scope and I have seen the bands on Jupiter visually. They are faint and could vary depending on the light pollution in your area too. Using the phone camera is a bit more tricky and does not always give you the result you expected. BTW, can you see the moons of Jupiter?

 

[Armaan Sandhu]

Hi All,

Thanks for replying.

Yes, I can see the 4 moon using a lower magnification.

I have attempted to collimate my telescope using the instruction that came with the telescope, but I'm not sure what I have done wrong...

[Waddensky]

Great suggestions here. I'd like to add two other aspect of planetary observing that are sometimes overlooked: skill and patience.

At first glance, Jupiter can be a very bright dot at lower magnifications. It takes some time and effort to learn to recognise the subtle details on the disk of the planet, especially when one expects to see an image comparable to the colourful pictures rich in contrast found online. Jupiter will always be small at useful magnifications.

Make sure you are comfortably seated, and take your time, a lot of time, to study the planet. Sometimes the seeing just suddenly improves for a few seconds, and concentrating on the disk for a while will reveal details not seen at first glance. It may take a while to master the 'craft', but it is very rewarding. Good luck!

[Karan05]

Hi guys !

I bought celestron 130Eq a 15 days back and being viewing Jupiter and Saturn daily... Jupiter is much sharper with 20mm stock EP than 10mm stock....

But ever since i bought 3x GSO ED barlow terrestrial views are very sharp but none of astro views are sharp... .. are the stock EP worth replacing with Plossl ones... Or current windy weather playing spoil sport ????? TIA

[Waddensky]

54 minutes ago, Karan05 said:

But ever since i bought 3x GSO ED barlow terrestrial views are very sharp but none of astro views are sharp... .. are the stock EP worth replacing with Plossl ones... Or current windy weather playing spoil sport ????? TIA

No no, if your terrestrial views are ok, then your scope and accessories are fine. It's the atmosphere that's the limiting factor. As said in this thread, Jupiter and Saturn are not placed very well. Most likely the 3x barlow gives you way too much magnification, 130x is about the limit for your scope.

[Tenor Viol]

Jupiter and Saturn are no higher up than Capella is on the opposite side of the sky at 11.30pm here at the moment. Capella last night was scintillating like mad to the naked eye and was much worse though bins. From latitudes like the UK other planets are very poorly placed at the moment and it will be very difficult to get decent results as the seeing will be terrible. 

[Dippy]

On 01/07/2020 at 15:09, Armaan Sandhu said:

I have been trying to see Jupiter for a while now, but all I am seeing is a whitish blob with a tinge of yellow and blue at the ends. 
I have tried several filters, but to no avail. 
I am using an Astromaster 130eq, Celestron with magnifications ranging from 20mm to a 6mm plus a 2X Barlow lens. 
many suggestions would be greatly appreciated. 
regards, Armaan. 

 

I had this same problem with my 2.5 inch Gilbert reflector telescope when I was a kid. I built several “ off axis aperture stops” and it transformed my tiny telescope into a mighty planet killer! It practically reduces the glare and lets the faint details to be teased out. I am using this method even now and the details I see on Jupiter are very clear.

 In my childhood Gilbert  telescope I could see the main belts of Jupiter and even a darkening event of one of the main belts in Jovian atmosphere. It is easy to build aperture stops with cardboard and put it in front of your telescope’s opening. The problem you mentioned is partly because the secondary mirrors are too big and cause distortion of image.

Edited July 12, 2020 by Dippy

[Waddensky]

7 hours ago, Dippy said:

off axis aperture stops

These are efficient to reduce glare, I sometimes use them when viewing the Moon at outreach events. They do however reduce the telescope's resolution by a large amount and therefore the ability to see much detail...

[Moonshane]

Might be a silly suggestion but you are taking off the whole cap not just the smaller one? See image below. This whole thing comes off.

It's also possible that your secondary is rotated. Take the eyepiece out and if you see something like the second image, you will be effectively losing aperture. Both images from random internet searches.

[POANDY]

I have recently bought a used Meade computerised telescope (Meade AR6 LXD55 6" f/8 Refractor ) and have the same issue.

I am using the "diagonal" thingy and the 26mm eye piece that came with the scope.

Jupiter fills the eyepiece, but it just looks like a perfectly round white dot.  I am fairly sure it's Jupiter as the computer moves the telescope into roughly (another separate thing I need to figure out) the right position in the sky.

I can focus the scope on trees and distant landmarks, no problem.  Nice and crisp and clear.

it's a new moon right now, so I can't try looking at it for a few days.

[John]

If Jupiter fills the eyepiece then it is not in sharp focus.

It will appear small in the eyepiece when it is at focus. Something like this with a 26mm eyepiece:

 

 

[Karan05]

8 hours ago, POANDY said:

I have recently bought a used Meade computerised telescope (Meade AR6 LXD55 6" f/8 Refractor ) and have the same issue.

I am using the "diagonal" thingy and the 26mm eye piece that came with the scope.

Jupiter fills the eyepiece, but it just looks like a perfectly round white dot.  I am fairly sure it's Jupiter as the computer moves the telescope into roughly (another separate thing I need to figure out) the right position in the sky.

I can focus the scope on trees and distant landmarks, no problem.  Nice and crisp and clear.

it's a new moon right now, so I can't try looking at it for a few days.

Thru 26mm i guess even moon cannot fill up the entire eyepiece...try adjusting the focus knob...

[POANDY]

Thanks, Neutron!

I did see that!  Exactly like that!!!

Maybe my expectations were off.  When I saw the moons, I thought it was a distortion in the image!! Grrrrr.....

So, now I want a closer image of Jupiter.  If I use my 3x Barlow and a 13mm eyepiece, I should get a greatly increased image of the planet itself, right?

I know the math to determine maximum magnification, sorry...I am just using the barlow/13mm as an example of what I want to try.

 

[johninderby]

Worth reading this guide to observing Jupiter. Lots of useful info.

https://cosmicpursuits.com/2126/guide-to-observing-planet-jupiter/

[POANDY]

Thanks, johninderby...I have seen that article previously.  I think my inexperience/inflated expectations are the issue here.......I'm thinking Hubble-like resolution HAHAHAHAAAAAA

[johninderby]

There are books on the subject but can be a bit expensive unfortunately and perhaps for the more experienced observer.Have been thinking about getting this one. 🤔

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jupiter-Observe-Astronomers-Observing-Guides-ebook/dp/B001463XA8/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=observing+jupiter&qid=1594737521&s=books&sr=1-1

And on Saturn

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Saturn-Observe-Astronomers-Observing-Guides-ebook/dp/B000WEJIUM/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=observing+saturn&qid=1594737837&s=books&sr=1-1

Edited July 14, 2020 by johninderby