How to look at planets?

[KatieG]

Hello and happy new year! 

I've added a couple of photos - the moon one I took a few weeks ago, the other 2 this evening. I'm new to astronomy so I would love some advice if possible, please! 

I have a 130 Reflector telescope and get great views of the moon, but the first picture is Mars (with the 80a filter attached) No matter which eyepiece I use, and Barlow or no Barlow, this is what I get. The last one is a star (I've not worked out which one!) 

There is a fair bit of light in my back garden from a streetlight right over it, but it was behind the telescope when I took these photos. 

I'm not sure what to expect for how much detail I should get of a planet, and I don't know how to get rid of the circle from the mirror so any help with any of those things would be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks so much 😁

[Ricochet]

In astronomy you must always turn the focuser to make the object look smaller. Planets will all be very small, Mars may not appear as more than an orange disk, perhaps with some dark areas or a polar ice cap visible. Stars will always be point sources. In your first photo you are so far out of focus that you are only observing the inside of your own telescope. 

[wibblefish]

You may find something like https://astronomy.tools/calculators/field_of_view/ useful here you can plug in your scope and EP and get a rough idea what it might look like. 
 

Mars to my 90mm refractor is a very small bright dot normally but on a clear night I can make out an edging of the red colour and some shadowing on the surface. I usually locate it with the longer eyepeice (25mm) then try the 10mm once its centered but it doesn't usually yield much more detail than sitting for a while and looking with the 25mm.
 

My guess on the images is focus problems, if you were focusing on the moon beforehand you may need to readjust for further targets.

Edited January 2, 2021 by wibblefish

[KatieG]

Ah, that's really helpful, especially the website link - because I didn't know what I should be able to see, I  was getting the focus all wrong. Right, now to wait for a clear night again for another go! 

Thanks for the help, both of you 😊 

[wibblefish]

More than welcome I am sure there are older heads who can help more I have only been out a handful of times myself since getting a scope in Nov!
 

Hope you get clear skies and be good to know how you get on  

[jonathan]

The star in the last photo could actually have been Venus, it's a very bright object that's best viewed with a filter to reduce the glare, or if your main cap has a smaller cap that you can remove to reveal a small hole then use that to reduce the amount of light entering the telescope (can also be used when viewing Mars which is still quite bright at the moment as it slowly moves away from us, and Jupiter too).

Use the free program Stellarium to check what you can observe in your next session, or what you might have seen once you come back inside.  There's a facility whereby you can add your telescope and eyepieces, once correctly configured Stellarium can show you how things should look through your scope.

When observing planets you should try to get comfortable, sit down if you can, make sure the image isn't too bright and dazzling (use a moon filter or the smaller aperture cap if necessary), relax and then just keep looking - even if the planet is a small disc in your eyepiece you may still eventually be able to make out surface patterns, colouration, or cloud bands, patience is the key.  Some nights will be better than others, and keep in mind that you're looking at other planets with their own weather patterns, orbits and rotations, so you won't necessarily always be viewing the same side and if there's a dust storm on Mars you might not see anything but brown dust.

Edited January 2, 2021 by jonathan