Planets seem so small

[Louis D]

Keep looking up.  I got some really good Mars views last night around 1:30am with my 8" Newt and binoviewers.  The latter made details pop into view that were only hinted at before at the same power in monovision.

Edited October 7, 2020 by Louis D

[Stu]

23 hours ago, Louis D said:

Anyone using an 8" scope is going to have to have tempered expectations.

Quite happy with the views through my 8” f8. I would not use a scope much bigger than that, so little point feeling hard done by. I had my best ever views of Mars just recently, really great detail. With the seeing conditions in the U.K., smaller scopes often perform as well as big ones on planets.

[markse68]

Hi Semmite, with the planets you never really get a big image but to see detail sharpness is key. As others have mentioned the atmosphere “seeing” will make or break a good image no matter what scope you have but you should be able to get decent amount of detail with 8” . I use an 8.75” scope and have had amazing views of the larger planets this year. Don’t know where you are but it’s getting a bit late for Jupiter and Saturn but still plenty of time for Mars which is the best it’s going to be for 15 years right now! 

Sharpness and contrast are everything with the planets to make the most of that small disk- don’t know what zoom you have but it may be compromising there. As you have a driven scope and interested in the planets I’d suggest you maybe try an orthoscopic eyepiece. These are about as sharp and contrasty as you can get only falling down on narrow apparent field of view and they have quite tight (some find uncomfortable and could be a problem if you need to wear glasses observing) eye relief at higher powers. But you can pick them up quite reasonably and they might help you see more. Baader Classic Orthoscopics are about £50 new and often around 30 second hand and very very sharp. I was using my 10mm and 6mm last night for wonderful views of Mars.

Good luck and clear skies,

Mark

[johninderby]

Why do some of the posts above remind me of this. 😁

 

Edited October 7, 2020 by johninderby

[jonathan]

I have the 8SE and I've found the best views of Mars by far were with the Baader Planetarium Hyperian 8-24 Zoom at the 8mm setting.  This outperformed all of my other eyepieces, a moon filter helped to reduce the glare and reveal a bit more definition and surface detail contrast.  I compared the views to a 12" telescope and they were very close indeed, so no need for bigger scope envy on this occasion.  Keep on viewing Mars every opportunity you get over the next few weeks, that one super clear night will be the one to cherish and remember forever.

Saturn and Jupiter can be observed probably from twlight, they will be higher in the sky and won't be quite as dazzling.  You can probably also catch Uranus and Neptune, they will be tiny discs or points of light in your scope (same as in mine) but ones you can feel proud to have observed personally rather than in a book.

Edited October 13, 2020 by jonathan