Is that all??

[stardad]

I've been using this site http://www.12dstring.me.uk/fov.htm to see what I am likely to see with my scope and choice of lens's. Its come as a shock to realise that Saturn is going to be about the side of a pea in the view finder at best when I do spot it.

To be honest I really expected it to be a lot bigger and more visible so feel a little let down by my choice of scope. So I played and no matter how big a scope I went to (up to 300mm) the image didn't get any better.

So I feel a little let down and what I can see. Does everyone feel like that or am I missing the point here?

[themos]

You need to try it with a 2x Barlow and a 5mm eyepiece, giving you a power of x260 and an exit pupil of 0.5 mm.

[eriwig]

I'd just be happy if I could manage to see it... bloomin cloudy skies!!!

I'm impressed being able to see any details on the planets from this far away and being able to spot Jupiters moons just blew me away! (even though they were tiny little dots due to my tiny scope and low power EPs lol)

We are so small in comparison to these huge planets and yet because we are so used to seeing them up close and in detail because of the likes of Hubble and other space telescopes we expect to see so much more from our back garden... I think it's important to think about exactly what you are looking at as much as how it looks though your eyepiece.

I hope when you see it for yourself you are as amazed as I have been with other objects

[sbooder]

It is not about size, it is about quality of image. Sometimes I take out my barlow and just use a 10mm EP because I get more detail than with a barlow, no matter that the image is much smaller.

Also, remember that you have not got your eye in yet, as you view more and more, you will see more in the image, this in turn makes the image look bigger, it is not bigger of course, it just appears bigger because you see more.

Remember too that on really good seeing nights, all the Planets you can see on that night will seem bigger.

[themos]

I think you are overestimating the importance of magnification. You could use more optical tricks to blow up the image and even with the best optics you would almost always be limited by the atmosphere smearing your image rather than your telescope. A big blur is no better than a small blur, you'll be surprised at how much detail your eyes can make out even on a tiny disk. The reason people go to 10-inch telescopes and beyond is a) because they can because they will take their scopes to better skies and (high mountains, deserts etc) c) because on the one night of the year with perfect co-operation from the atmosphere they will get a lot more out of it.

[sbooder]

And D, because they want more light gathering for DSOs not Planets

[kniclander]

if you think saturn's small, wait til you see Mars... (about the size of a lentil - a small orange one not a big dark one).

but saturn is about a billion miles away

[JamesF]

I shouldn't take that site as the absolute definition of what you'll be able to see or how it will look, tbh. When I've tried it in the past I've found that I can easily see things that don't even show up in the FOV calculator.

James

[sbooder]

I have just checked Saturn on their site and it is so misleading. I put in SW Explorer 250PX 10mm EP and 2x Barlow, and the return was too small. To get what I really see with that set up, I had to change the EP to 5mm, and the Barlow from x2 to x3.

So do not worry too much about what this site tells you.

[Big Jim Slade]

I have just checked Saturn on their site and it is so misleading. I put in SW Explorer 250PX 10mm EP and 2x Barlow, and the return was too small. To get what I really see with that set up, I had to change the EP to 5mm, and the Barlow from x2 to x3.

So do not worry too much about what this site tells you.

I concur. Feeding in the details for my 150p etc. it says all I can seen is a tiny dot. But even in a low power eyepiece, the rings are clearly visible.

Only way to know for sure it to get out there and have a look.

[stardad]

Only way to know for sure it to get out there and have a look.

I'I keep trying.

[sbooder]

I am not sure but maybe the site is built for lower screen resolution than is the standard, so the images look smaller. Mine is 1366 x 768, is there anyone with 480 x 640 or 800 x 600 who could check. I would but I have widescreen and it looks odd anyway with other settings.

[valleyman]

A lot of people see the pictures in the books and imagin that is what they will see with their scopes. But those pictures have been taken with specialiesed equipment on Saterlites. Please donr be disheartened, Just wonder at the beauty of it all, The fact that it is there and you can see it. I remember my first look at Jupitor. Just a small white dot, then after 20 minutes bands, then the BRS. all it takes time. But the wait is worth it.

[brantuk]

Are you sure you set 12dstring to "observing" mode and not "camera" mode.

[Mr Spock]

Look at that circle with one eye and hold an eyepiece to the other - it's about a quarter of the eyepiece field size.

Not very realistic.

[John]

The trouble is ............ Saturn is a long, long, long, long way away - over a billion kilometers in fact.

The fact that you can buy a scope for a couple of hundred quid, go out in your garden and see any detail of it at all is amazing I feel.

With a 10" scope on a good dark night you can make out the tiny 12th magnitude pinprick of light that is Saturns moon Enceladus. This icy object is just 500 km in diameter - that's a tiny world that you and I can see over a billion km away from us with equipment that costs the equivilent of a few tankfuls of petrol.

I think that is astonishing by any standard

[JamesM]

I agree with Simon and others above in that I wouldn't take too much notice of this simulation as it isn't accurate. My view of Saturn is larger than what they show so don't take the results too seriously. There are lots of things to see out there!

Clear skies

James

[Stephen]

For a free service I find it quite useful - granted it's not entirely accurate but so long as you've made sure the values are entered correctly (Note entering EP details and selecting an object will actually remove the EP details!) and pressed the submit button, I find the error to be only 20% max off actual results or so.

[eriwig]

The trouble is ............ Saturn is a long, long, long, long way away - over a billion kilometers in fact.

The fact that you can buy a scope for a couple of hundred quid, go out in your garden and see any detail of it at all is amazing I feel.

With a 10" scope on a good dark night you can make out the tiny 12th magnitude pinprick of light that is Saturns moon Enceladus. This icy object is just 500 km in diameter - that's a tiny world that you and I can see over a billion km away from us with equipment that costs the equivilent of a few tankfuls of petrol.

I think that is astonishing by any standard

Agree entirely

[Capricorn]

Welcome to reality!

They are all the size of a small pea, some are smaller.

[Hypernova]

It does seem to be quite a bit off in it's simulated view, even with my low power 32mm in the dob I can make out the rings and the planet's disk clearly, on the site it shows little more than a small dot of light which is far from the actual view I get.

I find I need to enter a 6mm Radian as my eyepiece to get anywhere near the view I get.

[brantuk]

Try CcdCalc for an alternative - it's stand alone (no internet connection required) and maybe a tad more accurate

The New CCD Astronomy Home Page

[The_PSY3NTIST]

The first time you see Saturn with your own eyes it will blow you away Becomes a burnt in memory the first time

I can make out the rings in the finder scope so would ignore that

[swamp thing]

The first time you see Saturn with your own eyes it will blow you away Becomes a burnt in memory the first time

Couldn't agree more. It doesn't matter what scope you see it in, the first time is special.

I have seen it with many different scopes of differing size and quality over my years in astronomy but none will ever beat the first time I saw it in a tiny 50mm frac. It's just stunning!

Regards Steve

[Ags]

The moon looked huge tonight, and it is only half a degree across. Jupiter at x70 magnification is bigger than that (in angular size). Jupiter at x200 dwarfs the moon...