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Old 07-10-2020, 02:25 PM
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mental4astro (Alexander)
kids+wife+scopes=happyman

mental4astro is offline
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: sydney, australia
Posts: 4,979
Hello Adam,

to IIS!

As has been mentioned, Mars, all the planets for that matter, are always going to appear like a small dot. Never will they appear as a big round ball like the Moon - they are just too far away. This is often a big trap for newcomers to astro who have no experience with telescopes other than what they see on the TV.

However! The same amount of detail can be seen through an eyepiece, but it means giving your eyes a little time to adjust to looking through an astronomical telescope. We are all accustomed to using our eyes in bright light, but using an astronomical telescope is a totally different proposition, and we actually need to learn how to see again! And with the planets, because they are bright & small, and set upon an ink-black background the image is a high contrast one, the details on the planets are low in contrast, and we just need to be patient with our eyes so they can come to terms with the new situation.

I have started a thread that talks about how to view the Moon and planets, giving tips and pointers on how to make the best use of our HUMAN eyes and do's & don'ts in making the most of your scope - and there are a lot of conditions that affect how the image appears through the scope, many of which are totally out of our hands to control:

Observing the Moon and planets - the good juice and cheats

I have also started another thread specifically about nebulae, but what it discusses applies to all other deep sky objects:

Understanding nebulae - what it is you are looking at

And a third thread aimed specifically at the bane of all newcomers to astronomy, galaxies:

Observing galaxies - where are they??? A how and why guide

Adam, you have a very capable scope and mount set up. The challenge for you is learning how to see again! So just be patient with the scope AND yourself. The details are all there.

Alex.
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