help veiwing saturn please

[stick]

i have only had my first scope for a few days and last night and tonight have had 2 great nights viewing the moon (hey i had to start somewhere !)

been trying to find (and view Saturn) but have been unable to locate it

using a skywatcher 130pm with a super 25mm wide and a super 10mm EP (the eps that came with the scope)

should this setup be ok to see Saturn ?

do i need better / diff eps ?

any help appreciated

cheers

stick

[SuperMassive]

Best advice I can give you to locate Saturn, is by using the excellent (and free) Stellarium software from here;

Stellarium

Right now, (22:56) Saturn is just to the left of the moon, so you may not be able to see it as the moon is quite bright at the moment.

[stick]

cheers supermassive

i have Stellarium on my pc and kind of know where i was supposed to look, but you could be right about the moon....very bright

i have also just realised that i still had a moon filter on the ep whick i assume didnt help finding saturn !!!

beginners **** up i suppose !

[Capricorn]

You will need 100x and above for Saturn and any detail such as the rings. For your scope that means a 6mm eyepiece or a 5mm eyepiece.

The 10mm that is supplied will give 65x and that is a bit low and the 10mm eyepiece is usually not great. As the barlow, if one was supplied, is usually equally poor the combination is worse.

The 130P is an f/5 so you may have to get a reasonable eyepiece, although some have had good results with standard plossl's by GSO I think. Maybe a 5mm or 6mm planetary would be OK, have no idea if they are rated at f/5 or not. Skys the limit do a range at reasonable cost.

Is the scope collimated, it will need to be. Again a consequence of being f/5.

As to finding Saturn, Stellarium, planosphere or a good book. If you find out where it should be, then check first with binoculars that it is a planet - tiny disk. I cannot give you an idea as I have no idea where it is myself at this time.

Saturn will get better as it rises higher. It will always be SMALL.

[Lux1]

I looked at Saturn last night and in my sky-watcher 130p dob with a 9mm GSO Plossl and an Astro Revolution 2x Barlow giving me a magnification of 144x. I could not quite make out the cassini division, but the ring;it's shadow on the globe and the gap between the ring and the planet was noticeable.

However, you need to realise that Saturn is a billion miles away and is small to visibly view in even larger scopes. It takes time at the eyepiece to see more detail.

Look at the moon (which is like a pea by a baseball compared to Saturn) - the moon will always look impressive, then look at Saturn, it will be tiny. Makes you realise how big the Solar System really is.

BTW I took the photo below at 144x mag and a 3x optical camera zoom and still not detail. (However also no tracking so very difficult to capture).

[dod]

I got great views of Saturn with my 127mm Mak with 25mm and 9mm eyepieces a couple of nights ago, so you should defo be able to get a good view with your set up, although you may be better with higher magnification than the eyepieces you have provide (Edit: just realised Capricorn gave a much more expert response around this above - teach me to skim read). I can't give any good advice other than to persevere, it's soooo worth it when you bring Saturn into focus. Breathtaking.

[mikeknowle]

Dod is so right. A couple of years ago, Saturn was occulted by the moon, and I captured a movie of it appearing from behind. It was awesome (for me!).

Just keep playing, and looking, and chatting...on the forum......

[JamesM]

Saturn should be easy to recognise (doesn't twinkle) but you really want to view it a little later on (1:30am) when it is higher in the sky otherwise the details viewed lower down through a thicker atmosphere will be hard to focus on. You could benefit from a little bit more magnification although a smaller image which is sharp is better than a large but blown out image. Capricorn's point regarding collimation is important because the focal length and type of mirror (parabolic) will make higher demands on collimation accuracy which you must have if you want to pick out any details. Lux's example gives you some indication of the magnification that you're after although I suspect the image you will see will be more focused than his captured image might suggest.

So, Stellarium will provide you with the optimum time to view, the moon won't make any real difference to what you see as Saturn is a bright object in itself but check the collimation and perhaps get hold a good 5mm eyepiece and you're sorted!

Clear skies

James

[RobSay]

I've got a similar scope - except it's the 130 (non-parabolic) .. this means I get higher magnification for a given EP (longer focal length). I was out last night and picked out Saturn with a 15mm EP - at 60x I could make out the ringed shape but not much more. Switching to a Barlowed 10mm (180x) I get moons and just got some ring features.

With the 130P, your 25mm EP gives 24x - you won't see much with this. 10mm gives 60x and adding the Barlow should give you the chance of moons & ring features. But at this point, your collimation on the faster scope needs to be spot on. Poor collimation may mean you are actually looking at the telescope wall rather than out of the end.

Moon filter won't make a difference .. in fact the Full Moon is a pretty good marker for finding Saturn at the moment, washes out most stars except for clear signposts - I just went due East from the Moon, find two stars slightly 'below' the imaginary line and vertically aligned with each other. Saturn is the higher visibly yellow one...

[Defender]

I saw Saturn for the first time last night, what a sight!!, i was using my new 395 Meade refractor (picked up the scope for $100 brand new from a garge sale, never used , also bought a 60mm meade for $50 from the same bloke which came with 3 EPs and a 3x barlow, both have EQ mounts), i used a 15mm EP and didnt use a barlow, i was temped to pull out my 12'' dob but couldnt be bothered setting it up, might do that tonight, i used stellarium to find saturn also, it's a must have in my book, just enter your GPS co-ordinates and you're away, i had a good look at the moon as well last night, very impressive (im a noob at astronomy) good luck.

[stick]

cheers one and all

I'm sure a lot of my issues stem from being new to all this and also maybe the eps i have.

I bought the scope 2nd hand from a friend (he'd only used it a handful of times) so the kits in good condition, although as far as collimation concerned i have still to get my head around all the jargon and methods (goes for the rest of it really !)

I have a birthday coming up in a few weeks so am hoping to have some spare cash available to maybe buy some extra eps / filters or maybe both in a kit

Anyone got any suggestions on the kind of thing i need to be looking at ?

thank again for all the responses

Stick

[Ags]

I had a look at Saturn last night with my 100mm Mak, and the view was good at 220x. I could make out a hint of the division in the rings and could clearly see the storm band that we have seen in so many photos - I did not think my scope would be capable of revealing this detail. Titan was easy to see, and there was a hint of something between Titan and the planet. I later discovered on Stallarium that two faint moons (Tethys and Dione) were close together at that location. On other occasions, I've seen Rhea clearly.

The usual advice is to not buy a kit as they tend to have either some EPs you can't use, or duplicates of ones you already own. My own experience has been that TMB clones are good for the shorter focal lengths and Hyperions are good for wider field views - but that opinion is based on an F13 scope and the ePs would perform differently in an F5 scope like yours.

[Defender]

cheers one and all

I'm sure a lot of my issues stem from being new to all this and also maybe the eps i have.

I bought the scope 2nd hand from a friend (he'd only used it a handful of times) so the kits in good condition, although as far as collimation concerned i have still to get my head around all the jargon and methods (goes for the rest of it really !)

I have a birthday coming up in a few weeks so am hoping to have some spare cash available to maybe buy some extra eps / filters or maybe both in a kit

Anyone got any suggestions on the kind of thing i need to be looking at ?

thank again for all the responses

Stick

I used a 15mm plossl to view saturn though my 90mm refractor (i have no idea of the speed of that scope?), it was an amazing image, saturn wasnt even that high in the sky either, it was as clear as i couldve hoped for, i cant use that EP though my 12", apparantly i need an extension bar?, cant wait to get one, im sure i'll be blown away when i do.

[Astro_Baby]

You should get saturn easy enough with a 130 scope even with the supplied EPs. Look in the south east, quite low on the horizon about 10pm, I can usually spot it from its yellowish tinge.

[junior]

just thought i would offer my 2p

I have a heritage 130p and using the 10mm ep (65x mag) i can clearly define what im looking at is saturn and you can see the rings.

Granted at this mag there is NO detail and you cant see any break between the rings and the surface.

I have some new eyepieces on the way so will be taking another look soon.

My family and I have found this inspiring even at low mag.

[Viv]

Being a beginner myself, I have found reference points to help lots.

For me, Saturn is behind the house at the bottom of the garden, and just a little left of the aerial.

Also a compass !

Good luck.

[Andyfx]

Yep you should be able to see Saturn nicely with your scope. I have the Skyhawk 1145P and was able to see it nicely the other night using my 5mm BST Explorer eyepiece, I dare say that if I'd had the time and barlowed my 8mm BST then I may have had an even better look!

Use Stellarium for the location, I'm in Essex and Saturn is at a good point in the sky from about 10 in the evening at the mo.

[wolfytom]

Saturn is behind the house at the bottom of the garden, and just a little left of the aerial.

That made me chuckle!

Of course, it's miles out..

It's currently hiding amongst the branches of my neighbour's blumming leylandii.

[MorningMajor]

Saturn is in opposition on April 4th about 1am and the rings should look the best (brightest) then, due to the Seeliger Effect

Guess who's been reading Sky at Night mag!!

[BazMark]

That made me chuckle!

Me too!

A few weeks ago I looked out into my garden late one night and there was this fairly bright object real low down framed in a small patch of sky between a chimney pot on the opposite side of the car park and a tree trunk in my neighbour's garden. Out came the scope and there was Saturn. Bit fuzzy as the scope hadn't cooled but Saturn nonetheless. That was my first view of Saturn this year but I've since had some real good views. Twice this last week the seeing was good enough for me to get pretty good views with my 6mm TS planetary HR. It's nice to see the rings opening up again.

The seeing has been so good that I was even able to make out the rings, though very very tiny with my 10x30 Nikon sportlite binos I kid you not.

[stick]

Being a beginner myself, I have found reference points to help lots.

For me, Saturn is behind the house at the bottom of the garden, and just a little left of the aerial.

Also a compass !

Good luck.

nice one

if only somebody would have told me that earler i would have it sorted !!!

[Viv]

A chuckle is what's it all about.

But trust me - it drove me mad !! lol

For a few clear nights, i stopped up very late (late for me - but I do get up at 5:30am), then realised the neighbours house was in the way.

Keep at it stick - you'll get there.

[stick]

cheers Scarlet

will keep at it...as soon as the cloud clears !!

[sooren]

There are plenty of iphone and ipad apps that will help you find saturn

Regards

Paul

[stick]

cheers sooren

i know where its supposed to be but i think i was having trouble lining up the scope !

complete newbie problems i think !!