Viewing planets

[John]

This sketch seems to me to be a reasonable representation of Jupiter seen at moderate magnification with a 10" scope (a decent 6" won't be too far off this either) - the colours are there but they are subtle:

http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/attachments/2611170-Jupiter%208-03-08.jpg

An out of collimation scope will loose contrast and crispness but poor viewing conditions can also cause those effects.

[Keiran]

That is a fair representation i think. If you use a barlow... this is about what you should see.

[kmce]

This sketch seems to me to be a reasonable representation of Jupiter seen at moderate magnification with a 10" scope (a decent 6" won't be too far off this either) - the colours are there but they are subtle:

http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/attachments/2611170-Jupiter%208-03-08.jpg

An out of collimation scope will loose contrast and crispness but poor viewing conditions can also cause those effects.

that is basically what i see apart from jupiter is just a shiny star colour and is a tad smaller

[John]

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "shiny star colour" ?

Stars vary in colour and many have quite distinctive hues.

Do you mean that Jupiter is just a featureless white disk ?.

[kmce]

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "shiny star colour" ?

Stars vary in colour and many have quite distinctive hues.

Do you mean that Jupiter is just a featureless white disk ?.

like if you look at any star with the naked eye its like a silver shiny colour thats the way jupiter is when i look through the scope

[John]

like if you look at any star with the naked eye its like a silver shiny colour thats the way jupiter is when i look through the scope

I'm wondering if what you are seeing IS actually a bright star rather than Jupiter

Even with the smallest scopes I've used, Jupiter is distinctly not like a star - it has a clear disk and even a 60mm scope will show the 2 main cloud bands (though 1 has faded considerably at the moment).

It really does look like the sketch I posted earlier in this thread, albeit on a smaller scale and with a little less detail in smaller scopes.

[Daryl]

This sketch seems to me to be a reasonable representation of Jupiter seen at moderate magnification with a 10" scope (a decent 6" won't be too far off this either) - the colours are there but they are subtle:

http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/attachments/2611170-Jupiter%208-03-08.jpg

An out of collimation scope will loose contrast and crispness but poor viewing conditions can also cause those effects.

Been nagging me what im likely to see with a 10" scope.. thx for posting that pic.

[abumuhannadh]

I'm wondering if what you are seeing IS actually a bright star rather than Jupiter

Even with the smallest scopes I've used, Jupiter is distinctly not like a star - it has a clear disk and even a 60mm scope will show the 2 main cloud bands (though 1 has faded considerably at the moment).

It really does look like the sketch I posted earlier in this thread, albeit on a smaller scale and with a little less detail in smaller scopes.

err.. he has explained before that he sees the disk, four moons and even the NEB. just not the color of it.

[LukeSkywatcher]

Must be a combo of bad seeing and bad collimation.

[John]

err.. he has explained before that he sees the disk, four moons and even the NEB. just not the color of it.

OK - thanks - I missed that

[Worzsel]

I'm a completly nobody and might be way off the mark but could you try a moon filter ?

Maybe your seeing it so bright because it is so bright. Possibly toning it down a big might help ?

[CrazyCloud]

Hey,

As an absolute beginner I couldn't possibly comment on whats gone wrong, But last night I managed to see Jupiter and 2 moons with my finderscope (it cleared up for around 10mins, shot outside and got a cheeky squint in, no time to set the scope), which looked like a star with two much tinier stars around it (apologies if this ISN't Jupiter, but it seemed to match up with Stellarium). So surely you should be able to get a far better view with your scope?

But like I said, I'm a newbie

Dan

[DarkerSky]

Hey,

As an absolute beginner I couldn't possibly comment on whats gone wrong, But last night I managed to see Jupiter and 2 moons with my finderscope (it cleared up for around 10mins, shot outside and got a cheeky squint in, no time to set the scope), which looked like a star with two much tinier stars around it (apologies if this ISN't Jupiter, but it seemed to match up with Stellarium). So surely you should be able to get a far better view with your scope?

But like I said, I'm a newbie

Dan

Hi Dan - what magnification did you go up to? With a 200P a magnifcation of x200 would reveal the NEB as a dark band across a small disk at the very least. The size of the disk would be small - like holding a 5 pence at arms length

For best viewing of any planet you will need to let your scope tube temperature equalize with ambient outdoor temp to prevent boiling and bubbling of the image. For a 200P you'd need to leave it a good 45mins to an hour before you'd get a decent image in the eyepiece

[kmce]

I wonder what I am doing wrong , I don't think o am using a Barlow could that be why? I wish I new someone that knew about all this stuff so they can fix my scope for me

[stev74]

Hi kmce,

If your in Central Scotland I could be close enough to help you out?

Or check with others in my observing group who might be closer, as we have members throughout the Central Belt.

Cheers

[gareththegeek]

Second vote for using a moon filter. Really helped me bring out the detail; Jupiter is very bright and I think the detail gets washed out a bit.

[johnkirkpatrick]

i viewed jupiter last night and got no detail at all as it was much brighter than usual, think the full moon had something to do with it, so a moon filter is needed for me too.

[milkyjoe]

If you have an iPhone, I can highly recommend Carina Software's "Sky Voyager". Costs a few quid but is really excellent, much better than any of the other planetarium apps I have tried, and much MUCH easier to use. Has lots of great features and if you have the 3G S then it uses the compass and accelerometer to match up to whichever part of the sky you are looking at, so if you are unsure, point it at the object and it will show you what you are looking at! Really useful tool.

I have Google Sky for my Android phone, and it's free!

[John]

i viewed jupiter last night and got no detail at all as it was much brighter than usual, think the full moon had something to do with it, so a moon filter is needed for me too.

I'm really baffled by this John

I viewed Juipiter a couple of nights ago with my 4" and 6" refractors and saw lots of details on the planet - I don't use any filters on the planet even with my 10" scope. I was using magnifications of 130x - 240x (the latter with the 6" scope).

I would have thought you would get some really nice views with your 5" scope

[great_bear]

I'd say that sketch of Jupiter is pretty much bang-on in terms of what I see through my 180mm Mak. I can also see the different colours of Jupiter with no problem.

[kmce]

Hi kmce,

If your in Central Scotland I could be close enough to help you out?

Or check with others in my observing group who might be closer, as we have members throughout the Central Belt.

Cheers

HI I live just outside of Glasgow in east kilbride

[NizMakka]

I'd have to agree with others that it's possibly bad collimation.

I recently purchased the 5" Celestron 130EQ, took a look at jupiter and it was just a bright blob. It's moons seemed in focus but the planet wasn't even as good as the 3" version of the same scope (which could make out a band). So, I put it down to viewing conditions and tried again a few days later only to have the same result.

This time though I defocused the image and found I had an arrowhead rather than an airey disc. After making a collimation cap and aligning all the mirrors I had much better views, with colour and the band appearing.

I hope thats of some help

[kmce]

I was really hoping it was not needed to be collimated I am flighty scared to try fix it in case I make it a lot worse

[stev74]

HI I live just outside of Glasgow in east kilbride

OK we have a few members in East Kilbride I'll get in touch with one of the guys and see if he can have a look at your scope and check collimation etc.

I was really hoping it was not needed to be collimated I am flighty scared to try fix it in case I make it a lot worse

The best site I found to get your head round collimation is here - Astro Babys Guide to Collimation. Don't worry there are a couple of things you can do to check if the collimation is out without having to adjust anything such as a star test (scroll to the bottom of A_B's guide for info).

At least then you'll know collimation is the problem and not something else. I'd also recommend coming along to one of our observing session if you drive. It was a real help having experienced stargazers out at a dark site when I was staring out.

Cheers

[G1ZmO]

Hi Kmce,

We (CSOG) have a few members in EK including myself who, I'm sure, could help you with your collimation. I'm a bit immobile at the moment with a broken toe but I'm sure we can get someone to help you out.

PM me and we'll sort it out

Paul