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Old 23-04-2016, 12:50 AM
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KISSMAD (Bruce)
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Saturn

I'm going to be looking at Saturn on the 3rd of June but I was wondering if this is the best time to view Saturn and it's rings?

When I looked at Jupiter months ago, I could see the cloud belts but not in detail. It was a major improvement over the white dot I used to see with my Tasco 6T!

I've been looking forward to this for a very long time.
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Old 23-04-2016, 06:08 AM
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Atmos (Colin)
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If you look at Saturn even now you'll get a good look at Saturn

If you were unable to see detail in the cloud bands, that either means that your telescope hadn't acclimated, or, along with, the seeing conditions didn't allow it.
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Old 23-04-2016, 08:44 AM
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Rigel003 (Graeme)
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Saturn is in opposition then but it's so far away from us that it doesn't make a great deal of difference to the visual impact, in terms of size of the planet in the eyepiece. It's good for viewing right now and riding high late in the night. At opposition Saturn is about 8 times the distance from the earth to the sun away from us. However even at its most distant, it's only ever about 10 times the distance from the earth to the sun away, so there's not a massive advantage in observing it at opposition. Mars, on the other hand, is so close that there's a world of difference between viewing it at opposition and other times.

Both Saturn and Mars are great targets this year, so high in the sky that when you observe them you're looking though less atmosphere and less likely to suffer from image degradation from air movement. If you have a poor view of Saturn it's likely due to seeing conditions on the night. Keep observing and you will eventually find a calm, still night when the detail snaps in. It looks magical in even a small scope.

Last edited by Rigel003; 23-04-2016 at 08:56 AM.
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Old 23-04-2016, 10:16 AM
SkyWatch (Dean)
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You should get great views of Jupiter, Mars and Saturn now with your scope: just remember to let it cool to ambient temperature for a while: if you take it straight outside and start observing it will take a while for it to cool, and you might find that the views aren't as good as later on when it has settled down. Also, let them get higher in the sky for the best views, and don't try to go too high power at first- often the sky conditions will dictate that a lower power gives the clearest views. For example, last night there was a fair bit of upper turbulence from my place, and 150x was about the limit of sharp viewing. This was easily enough to see the Cassini division on Saturn, lots of cloud detail on Jupiter, and a fair bit of detail, including what looked like clouds on Mars.

I second Rigel003: anytime is a good time for Saturn and Jupiter (except when they are behind the sun! ), but now and over the next couple of months is particularly good for Mars.

Don't wait for June 3- get out there tonight!

Happy viewing,

Dean
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Old 23-04-2016, 10:43 AM
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iborg (Philip)
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Hi

My Father and I got up early morning to look at Saturn a few weeks ago.

His response was 'Oh wow!!!'

Philip
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Old 23-04-2016, 01:10 PM
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KISSMAD (Bruce)
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How long should I let the scope settle before using it? Do I leave the lense cover on

I'm going to try and use the Goto feature so that I can find Pluto. I've yet to use the Goto feature properly.

I got home late last night and I thought of getting the scope out then but I thought the Moon was too bright and would spoil the view.

I'll see what happens tonight and tomorrow night. It's suppose to be clear. Next weekend is supposed to be raining.
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Old 23-04-2016, 01:23 PM
raymo
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About an hour is good. Remove cover to allow the glass to radiate it's heat away. The beauty of viewing the planets is that the moon doesn't matter.
much.
raymo
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Old 23-04-2016, 06:10 PM
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dreamstation (James)
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What time should one venture outside to get a good look at Saturn and Mars at the moment? I do most of my observing earlier in the night so neither have been high enough for viewing just yet. We have some trees sort of on the eastern side as well which wouldn't help.
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Old 23-04-2016, 06:22 PM
SkyWatch (Dean)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dreamstation View Post
What time should one venture outside to get a good look at Saturn and Mars at the moment? I do most of my observing earlier in the night so neither have been high enough for viewing just yet. We have some trees sort of on the eastern side as well which wouldn't help.
I reckon around 10.30pm: Saturn will be around 30 degrees up then. Either that or wait another month if you don't want a late night!
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Old 23-04-2016, 06:34 PM
SkyWatch (Dean)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KISSMAD View Post
How long should I let the scope settle before using it? Do I leave the lense cover on

I'm going to try and use the Goto feature so that I can find Pluto. I've yet to use the Goto feature properly.

I got home late last night and I thought of getting the scope out then but I thought the Moon was too bright and would spoil the view.

I'll see what happens tonight and tomorrow night. It's suppose to be clear. Next weekend is supposed to be raining.
I think you will need to wait until the moon is out of the way before you go for Pluto. It is fine to look at the other planets even with a full moon, but Pluto is a bit too faint for that. Currently around 14th magnitude means it is a real test for a 9.25" scope and a novice astronomer even when the moon is out of the way, especially with some light pollution.

Regarding the cooling: if you put your scope out at sunset it should have cooled nicely by the time it is dark. Don't face the glass straight up though, keep it horizontal while it is cooling- otherwise you might get dew (or dust) on the objective. (It is a good idea to get a dew shield if you don't have one already.) BTW, this applies any time you leave a scope with glass at the front (SCT, refractor etc) out and unattended- try to make sure the glass can't see the sky- otherwise if there is any dew around it will get you! (That may mean covering it with a cloth even if there is a dew shield.)

Good luck!

Dean
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Old 26-04-2016, 03:41 PM
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KISSMAD (Bruce)
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I'm planning on viewing tonight. What else should I look at? Bare in mind that I'm a novice! I have a 9mm, 25mm and a 2x barlow lense.
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Old 07-05-2016, 04:19 AM
AEAJR (Ed)
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Cool

Quote:
Originally Posted by KISSMAD View Post
How long should I let the scope settle before using it? Do I leave the lense cover on

I'm going to try and use the Goto feature so that I can find Pluto. I've yet to use the Goto feature properly.

I got home late last night and I thought of getting the scope out then but I thought the Moon was too bright and would spoil the view.

I'll see what happens tonight and tomorrow night. It's suppose to be clear. Next weekend is supposed to be raining.
If you have a garage or some place you can keep the scope outside safely you can put it out earlier and give it more time to adjust. I keep mine in an unheated garage so I don't have a cool down period.
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Old 07-05-2016, 11:25 AM
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OICURMT
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KISSMAD View Post
I'm planning on viewing tonight. What else should I look at? Bare in mind that I'm a novice! I have a 9mm, 25mm and a 2x barlow lense.
Download the southern hemisphere skymap for May from http://www.skymaps.com/downloads.html

Second page, right hand side gives a list of naked eye objects, bino objects and easy telescopic objects. All of them should be in your telescopes database for easy go-to.

Direct link for the PDF

OIC!
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Old 08-05-2016, 07:22 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KISSMAD View Post
How long should I let the scope settle before using it? Do I leave the lense cover on

I'm going to try and use the Goto feature so that I can find Pluto. I've yet to use the Goto feature properly.

I got home late last night and I thought of getting the scope out then but I thought the Moon was too bright and would spoil the view.

I'll see what happens tonight and tomorrow night. It's suppose to be clear. Next weekend is supposed to be raining.
If it is a clear night, don't waste any of it waiting for the scope to cool, just don't expect perfect views until the scope has cooled. I usually start viewing as soon as it is dark enough. I also check the time, then pay attention to the change in 'stability' of the view. This way you get to know how long your scope takes to cool in your location/climate.

I spent 4 hours on Jupiter, Saturn and Mars on Friday night using my 5" refractor, the 'boiling' was immediately seen in the views but all but disappeared after the first hour. The fourth hour gave me the finest views of Saturn I have ever had in a refractor.

Last edited by Kunama; 08-05-2016 at 07:43 AM.
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Old 12-05-2016, 10:05 AM
Bendy (Ben)
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On 10 May I had the best views of Saturn to date by far. Got all the way down to 375x with almost no 'boiling'. Could clearly dilineate between the planet and rings with the planet clearly spherical and some surface detail evident e.g. Equatorial cloud belt, various colours etc. The Cassini Division was clear for almost its entire length. I could also discern Titan, Rhea, Tethys and Dione.

Is this a typical viewing experience for others??

I've viewed Saturn 5-6 times before and have never had anywhere near that clarity. Ordinarily I can't push the mag down past 150x. Having said this, I've only just started properly cooling the scope for an hour or so before viewing. Although I do note that it was a particularly still, clear night with no wind, minimal dew and surface pressure of 1027hPa.

I'm so stoked to have had such great views of the planet, definitely up there with my best visual experiences thus far in the hobby!
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Old 12-05-2016, 11:31 AM
raymo
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It is an experience that most of us have had, but is certainly not typical;
those nights are to be savoured, they don't come along all that often.
raymo

Last edited by raymo; 12-05-2016 at 12:44 PM. Reason: correction
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Old 12-05-2016, 11:51 AM
Bendy (Ben)
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Ah, thought as much. Thanks Raymo, although I'm now wondering whether I should have stayed out longer!
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