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Help with Saturn please

crabbiT Scot

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crabbiT Scot

crabbiT Scot

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Good morning all,

Well, I set the alarm for 5am today so I could get an hour or so looking at Saturn. I woke up and looked outside and amazingly, it was clear! So quickly got dressed and popped the scope outside while I had a nice cuppa.

Anyway, I got outside and for the life of me I couldn't find it :) Is it visible to the naked eye? I spend the next hour and 45 minutes moving my telescope about in the region of the sky it was supposed to be in, but nothing. Does anyone have any good tips on locating it with a scope easily. As you can tell I'm very new to this (but thoroughly enjoying it!!!).

Cold and frustrated

Scott

PS I did see some nice stars and a satellite, so not a completely wasted time :D

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russ

russ

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That's a real shame you never got to see it having gone to the trouble of getting up early. I can imagine your frustration.

Unfortunately, unlike Jupiter and Venus which blaze like beacons in the sky, Saturn just blends in with the other bright stars. Alan's suggestion of Stellarium is the best bet. As a quick quide, Saturn is almost due south at 6am and 34deg above the horizon. You'll see the constellation of Leo to it's upper right. No mistaking once in the scope :)

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crabbiT Scot

crabbiT Scot

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Thanks very much for the replies, appreciate it! It was a bit frustrating (and it felt like -80 C), but I know my limitations at the moment, and having just started, I'm expecting a lot more disappointing times ahead, but practise makes perfect :)

I'll have a look at Stellarium tonight and plan for an early rise again tomorrow! I'll be in my bed by 7pm today lol Try try and try again as they say :D

I'll post a wee report once I eventually spot it!!

Thanks again

Scott

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magic77

magic77

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I was lucky enough to see Saturn with my new scope about 3 weeks ago...I found it quite easily which suprised me...I used Venus to locate it..But Venus isnt visible until about 6.15am here now because of a mountain..If you can find Venus which stands out a mile, its so bright..From Venus i went right and up to the next truly visible star which is Spica(..Saturn is up and to right of that(very technical talk here!!)...Good luck...:)

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Astro_Baby

Astro_Baby

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Even with the LP it was satnding out yesterday. I can usually spot it beause it always looks a bit elongated to me and has a sort of dull yellow tint.

Unfortunately it was only gimpsed through scudding cloud here and I wasn't preparec to lug the scope downstaits for poor seeing conditions which would only last a few minutes.

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crabbiT Scot

crabbiT Scot

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Thank you very much for all your replies!! You've helped me out a lot. I'll have my laptop alongside with stellarium - and i'll look out for Venus too!!

Fingers crossed I see it tomorrow morning :) I'll let you know how I get on!!

One final question, if, and when I find it, should I use my Barlow x 2 with my 10 mm EP?

Many thanks again!

Scott

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LukeSkywatcher

LukeSkywatcher

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Thank you very much for all your replies!! You've helped me out a lot. I'll have my laptop alongside with stellarium - and i'll look out for Venus too!!

Fingers crossed I see it tomorrow morning :) I'll let you know how I get on!!

One final question, if, and when I find it, should I use my Barlow x 2 with my 10 mm EP?

Many thanks again!

Scott

You can try it but planets such as Jupiter and Saturn look just fine with a 10mm EP. If you barlow the EP you could end up spending more time chasing them across the sky as they pass through your field of view rather then just looking at them.

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Renaissance2010

Renaissance2010

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Haha that's why Jupiter was moving so fast!! Learn something new everyday :icon_eek:

I hope you found Saturn in the end - I was lucky enough to get a good view on 6th Jan. - always stunning - but I am fortunate in having an LS6, so I've seen a lot of objects that I would never have found in the past! I attempted a few images with a LPI but not too great - more practice needed!

Best Regards

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crabbiT Scot

crabbiT Scot

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Still not seen the beast yet!!! Weather in the mornings has been awful!! Fingers crossed this weekend though. Was lucky last night though and got some pictures of the moon, so I'm well happy!!

Will it become an evening object anytime soon - i.e. before 11pm?

Cheers,

Scott

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