Finally Saw Saturn with a scope

[John]

I was viewing Saturn through a 6" refractor a few days ago at 240x and 320x. The seeing was resonably good and the planet was well defined and pretty crisp. On this occasion I could not clearly see the Cassini Division although there were hints of it during moments of better seeing. In previous years I have been able to pick it up with my 4" refractor. The main cloud belt on the planets disk, the sharp black shadow of the planet cast on the rings where they passed behind it and 5 moons were seen quite nicely.

There should be no doubt when you see the planet though, even in a small scope (ie: 60mm). It is quite unlike anything else !.

[Tigaroo]

how do you delete messages!!!? Posted two by mistake...sorry

[Tigaroo]

i had a 114mm skywatcher [4.5"]

and even with a 25mm eyepeice you could see saturn was saturn

Yes same here, and same gear, the planet is only a few mm diam but is unmistakably Saturn with its rings! Blows me away every time! cant wait to see it again....come on clear skies!!!

[spaceboy]

I found a picture that shows a view similar to what I saw at 112x, just the rings are a little more open now.

The Random Lifestyle: Understanding the Universe

The picture is taken by a group in Singapore led by a Professor Strom (sorry, don't have better credit than that) so my thanks to them.

Dam that's small I can see the concern now. TBH I have never had to look through a scope under 200mm but I thought it would still have the same proportions no matter big or small it's just the details became more apparent the larger the aperture.

[russ]

Saturn is quite small at the moment. So far this year i have found it comes alive at around 150x. Both the 90mm refractor and 12" dob gave a nice view at that power showing the banding clearly and a lovely shadow from the rings. But best view was at 200x. Hints of Cassini in the better moments of seeing.

107x will clearly show the rings but Saturn needs a bit more oomph. Will have to have another look at that power, i'm sure it would still be special at that power?

[malc-c]

Cassini division in a tasco 4.5"

The thing was I was using a decent eyepiece (pinched from a mate) and if I remember correctly, the angle meant that the rings were very open and the planet might of been closer to us in 1984.. I give you the image wasn't huge, but you could make out the the darkness of the division on the disk ring.

May of been lucky, might of been the expensive eyepiece I borrowed, or that back then the 11T Tasco scope had better optics than they do now ? But having seen this I couldn't wait to get a better scope, and ended up with a 102mm Vixen...

[John]

The older Tasco's had pretty decent optics (my 1960's vintage refractor is of Japanese manufacture and, optically, rather good). They were usually let down by wobbly mounts, poor eyepieces and extravagant marketing claims (ie: 633x magnification !). Get a decent eyepiece in one and mount it steadily and they can often surprise at their performance.

[malc-c]

John, have to agree.. the mounts were **** If you sneezed near them the thing wobbled !

I can't remember what type the eyepiece was (too long ago) but it did make a big difference compared to the stock. In fairness, you could achieve the claimed magnifications with the barlow etc... but you couldn't see diddly squat as it was so impractical - even if you could bolt the telescope down and stop it moving !

I ended up sinking a 6"x6" post into the ground and made a plate up to do away with the tripod... it still wobbled due to the EQ mount, but it made it a bit more stable.

[russ]

The thing was I was using a decent eyepiece (pinched from a mate) and if I remember correctly, the angle meant that the rings were very open and the planet might of been closer to us in 1984.. I give you the image wasn't huge, but you could make out the the darkness of the division on the disk ring.

May of been lucky, might of been the expensive eyepiece I borrowed, or that back then the 11T Tasco scope had better optics than they do now ? But having seen this I couldn't wait to get a better scope, and ended up with a 102mm Vixen...

I use to drool over the 11T I had the Tasco 66TE 50mm refractor and in 1984 i would have given anything for the 4.5" 11T. I was only 13 mind, so not aiming high. By 1986 i found out about homemade dobs and set my sights on an 8" one of those.

[Jed.]

im using a dob 200p , so 1200 focal length with 10mm eyepiece would give me what? x300? or less or more? I dont know how to work this out lol but saturn looks good through that!

[russ]

1200 / 10 = 120x

Eyepiece focal length divided into the telescope focal length. So a good power for looking at Saturn as you have found out.

8mm and 6mm are also good planetary eyepiece sizes, giving 150x and 200x respectively in your 200P.

[Jed.]

would I get a better view with a 5mm eyepiece?

[sammy1404]

going outside in a minute to go see saturn cant wait!

[russ]

I would personally go with something slightly lower powered. The 5mm will give 240x and a bit much most nights. You'll get more use from say something in the 7-8mm range. But the 6mm would also be good giving a nice 200x.

[Jed.]

Thanks a lot Russ, im looking to order some eyepieces now so that helps a lot

[russ]

Not sure what the budget is but the TV Plossls are excellent for planetary. As are the Baader Genuine Orthoscopic. Both are quite narrow field, so a fair bit of nudging needed in the dob.

If the budget is tight, you can't really do better than the TMB Planetary (and the clones).

Or if the budget is above £100, there is the Pentax XF8.5.....absolutely cracking. I personally think you'd be hard pushed to say the Baader Ortho was sharper but the Pentax does it with a 60deg apparent field of view and a lovely 20mm eyerelief. Had one myself and should never have sold it.

[russ]

going outside in a minute to go see saturn cant wait!

Have fun and hope it's steady for you.

[Jed.]

There's A LOT of eyepieces out there, its so hard to choose the right one!

Nope I don't really have a budget so any recommendations on eyepieces are much appreciated im looking at the Pentax XF8.5 now!!!

[sammy1404]

Have fun and hope it's steady for you.

Yeah i gave up, its only just rissen, well 20 mins ago so it is still too low to see through all the light polution in the distance. theres a thick cloud right where it would appear and i am absolutely shattered after a hard week at school. Saw the moon, jupiter, andromeda and orion nebula so im happy and im off to bed lol. Ill try tomorow night!

[Manok101]

That pic a few posts up is close to what I thought I saw, I'll wait till my goto scope gets here, then I'll know for sure I'm looking for Saturn but as I've also said I was unable to get a good focus.

[pvaz]

If you saw the same as that pic then thats it. Nothing else in the sky looks like that.

However the sharpness of the view varies a lot with seeing conditions, EP/barlows quality, etc, that can change the experience. But the size on that pic is about right for around 150x. I usually go with 240x for planets.

[Neilius]

I have yet to see Saturn clearly. It was 'out' last saturday, but no sooner had I set up my scope and got it in view I then felt a spot of rain on my cheek, so I only saw it for like 2 seconds. What I saw was a yellowish disk with no other distinct features, although I think I saw Titan. This was using a 20mm in an Astromaster 130eq - really low magnification.

I really need some eyepieces!

[Patbloke]

i had a 114mm skywatcher [4.5"]

and even with a 25mm eyepeice you could see saturn was saturn

Hi Steve,

Newbie here who also has a skyhawk 1145p... Were you using the 25mm lens provided with the scope? I got a 25mm a 10mm and a 2x Barlow with mine when bought... I read an article on here saying for my scope I should have an 8mm, 18, and 25mm now I'm not sure whether they should be plossls or other types? just want the best possible within my budget...

[John]

Newbie here who also has a skyhawk 1145p... Were you using the 25mm lens provided with the scope? I got a 25mm a 10mm and a 2x Barlow with mine when bought... I read an article on here saying for my scope I should have an 8mm, 18, and 25mm now I'm not sure whether they should be plossls or other types? just want the best possible within my budget...

Whats your budget ?.

[LukeSkywatcher]

One thing i have noticed with Saturn is that when the ring system is edge on or just opening as it is now that the planet disc looks tiny in the EP. When the ring system is open much wider then the planet disc appears to be much bigger. Of course this is not possible. Its the brain playing tricks on the eyes.