Finally Saw Saturn with a scope

[spaceboy]

I have a couple of Televue EP's for the 82' AFOV but I prefer the views my cheap £38 TMB EP's give me. At the end of the day it's all down to personal preference but I am so glad I got my TMB's clones as I feel the image quality to cost ratio blows my TV's out the water. Although I have no experience of it myself I have read that the longer focal length TMB clones are not as good but I still feel for £38 you can't go far wrong given the cost of some of the competitor budget EP's IE: Celestron X-cel.

I agree push the boat out a little further and you will get even better views from TV Plossl's or Baader GO's but you will lose some of the FOV and if a Dob owner this could become a dance of flickering images if your AZ is a little sticky.

I take it the cassina divide will never jump out at you??? Or is it best when the rings are more open? I gave it a go the other morning and although I kind of made out difference in shade to the rings but I wouldn't have said there was a clear un-doubtable divide. 240x in a 200p

As for the TASCO revelation I am shocked. As they were from my era I know TASCO was a big player and they were considered the be all and end all at one time but my 1st experience of TASCO was not the best. I see from what you are saying that it was due to me having one of the later models in 2005. Either way my first glimpses of the moon through even a p*** poor scope had me hooked and out spending 3 figures on a 200K the year later

SPACEBOY

[Jed.]

is long eye relief better for planet viewing? I have a 200p dob

[John]

is long eye relief better for planet viewing? I have a 200p dob

Doesn't really make any difference. Some of the best quality eyepieces for viewing the planets are orthoscopics which have pretty short eye relief.

[Jed.]

im looking at the baader eyepieces now, which mm eyepieces would you recommend?

[perrin6]

is long eye relief better for planet viewing? I have a 200p dob

I find long eye relief more comfortable especially in very cold weather. Short eye-relief leads you having to push your eye right up against the freezing-cold tube to see most of the field of view. Plus with eyepieces with large eye lenses such as the 9mm nagler, my eyelashes leave grease marks so they need cleaning more often. I love the William optics 6mm SPL for the contrasty and sharp image but having long eye relief is a real boon too.

[johnkirkpatrick]

In most cases a mag of x250 is the utter most we in the UK can manage and even that needs a steady clear night, I have the TMB 6mm giving me x200 which is the most I can get on good nights, most nights I settle for my TV 15mm barlowed. With a DOB I must admit the SWA/UWA are the way to go. I'm hoping to replace all my eps with a nice set of WO UWANS and a set of genuine orthos..

[Jed.]

yeah the orthos are like £70 an eyepiece lol expensive but i would like a set of them myself after doing alot of research on eyepieces

[Neilius]

Got my scope out on the balcony ready even as I type. Just waiting for Saturn to rise over the block at the left of me. The shortage of eyepieces means I won't see a lot of detail, but at X100 in a 130eq Astromaster should show me the rings? yes?

[John]

Got my scope out on the balcony ready even as I type. Just waiting for Saturn to rise over the block at the left of me. The shortage of eyepieces means I won't see a lot of detail, but at X100 in a 130eq Astromaster should show me the rings? yes?

Yes, and more than one moon, although you will need to consult this web site to find which you have seen:

SkyandTelescope.com - Planets - Saturn's Moons Javascript Utility

Other than that, possibly one vaguely defined equatorial belt. And that's about it. Unless your seeing and eyesight is A1 and you might be able to spot indications of the Cassini Division in the rings - I could not see it with a 6" scope a few nights ago.

It's an amazing sight whatever !.

[Neilius]

Yes, and more than one moon, although you will need to consult this web site to find which you have seen:

SkyandTelescope.com - Planets - Saturn's Moons Javascript Utility

Other than that, possibly one vaguely defined equatorial belt. And that's about it. Unless your seeing and eyesight is A1 and you might be able to spot indications of the Cassini Division in the rings - I could not see it with a 6" scope a few nights ago.

It's an amazing sight whatever !.

Thanks for the reply. I have deduced that the X3 barlow that I bought off amazon for £10 is a piece of ****. However, with the 10mm eyepiece, I was able to make out the rings - a beautiful sight. Now I have finally seen Saturn through a telescope! I feel elated - seriously. What a buzz - no wonder you guys spend thousands on gear, I can see why now!

[Neilius]

Thanks for the link, I definately saw 3 moons, one of which I guessed was Titan (what else could it have been!lol!). Gosh, I love this hobby!

[LukeSkywatcher]

I'm going to wait a bit til Saturn rises at an earlier time (evening). I just tried to get outside without my dog waking up and failed. The dog tore off down the garden yapping her backside off. A neighbours bedroom light went on and i spent 10 mins trying to get the dog back inside.

[Patbloke]

Whats your budget ?.

Well, £30, £40 each or is it worth saving or investing in something more expensive?

[John]

Well, £30, £40 each or is it worth saving or investing in something more expensive?

You can get good eyepieces for that price. The TMB Planetary eyepieces and their clones are around that price. They come up on e.bay and on the Astro Buy & Sell site regularly. And on the SGL classifieds section, when you have 50+ posts and have been on the forum for a month to get access to it.

[LukeSkywatcher]

For £30-40 you can also buy very nice Vixen NPL EP's.

[johnkirkpatrick]

I you look about you could pick up some second hand TV Plossl's for around £40/45.

[Jed.]

Talking about eyepieces, i recieved my 13mm, 21mm and 8mm baader hyperions today, their really clear but when i use the fine tuning rings on the 8mm eyepiece, jupiter becomes slightly blurred! maybe 8mm with both tuning rings is too much magnification for my 200p,

even with the 8mm Jupiter is around the size of

this >>> O <<< in my scope maybee a little bit bigger, is this about right?

[Cellarman]

I remember my first view of Saturn. I was down in Cornwall for the solar eclipse in 1999. We had very dark skies. I was using a cheap Opticron 60mm spotting scope with an equally cheap 20-60x zoom eyepiece. I saw this object in the sky and finally managed to get the scope on it, wound the mag up to 60x and stared for several minutes at this eliptical "blob" which was shimmering in the scope. As I looked, the object wobbled about in the atmospherics, but every so often would clear and give a view which allowed me to realise that what I was looking at was Saturn and its rings. I was blown away!

[Patbloke]

Thanks for the advice on eps... It does seem that you all have your favs. I am bargain hunting and I will be buying some shortly. I was viewing the moon the other night and decided that even with my two (scope provided) eps 10mm and 25mm the views were clearer without using the 2x Barlow (also supplied)... I am soooo looking forward to taking the plunge and getting new eps and then I shall be researching filters!