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Old 26-04-2019, 12:46 PM
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Atmos (Colin)
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Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Melbourne
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My second best views (absolute detail) of Jupiter have been through a 4" refractor under pretty darn good seeing. This was bested briefly by a 32" dob with a filter; although the 4" showed more detail overall I saw glimpses of detail within the equatorial bands with the 32" that I've never come close to seeing with a 4".
I've had some really nice views with my Mewlon 250 but never had the seeing while I've had it out to support beating what I've had with the 4".

My point being that the three most important aspects of planetary viewing are good optics, excellent collimation and good seeing. On one night my 12" dob almost approached what I saw detail wise in the 4". The larger aperture helped make the details easier to see but the seeing at the time didn't support the fine details. Under equal seeing conditions I know that my 12" dob would have bested my 4" refractor in every respect. My 12" dob on one night threw up better Jupiter images than my Mewlon 250 has as of yet but I know that's all to do with the seeing conditions I've been observing under.

So, making sure your mirror has cooled and getting the collimation correct would be your first port of call to getting better planetary views.
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