some basic questions

[mjcoward]

1) Is the trailing limb or the leading limb of a planet the east or west please?

2) Then which is north and which is south?

3) Which filter do you recommend to enhance Jupiters atmospheric bands?

Mike:help:

[koputai]

The bottom, and the top respectively when using the naked eye.


A distance filter works best.

Cheers,
Jason.

[iceman]

Hi Mike and :welcome: to IceInSpace.

It depends which type of telescope you're using, as newtonians and refractors will show a different view.

But the leading limb will be East - it will rotate to the West. In my Newtonian, East is on the right and South will be up.

Personally I don't use any filters on Jupiter but I'm sure others who do may be able to provide some suggestions. Observing Jupiter is a skill though, one which you get better at with practise.

The more you observe it, in all sorts of different conditions, you'll get better at identifying and picking up the smaller features so you see more than just two brown belts.

Be patient, keep observing and wait for the nights of good seeing. Obviously the higher in the sky, the better the view will be, too.

Use a program like "Jupiter 2 (http://www.astrosurf.com/rondi/jupiter/)" to help you identify when the GRS will be visible and what moons are visible at the time you are going to observe (or did observe).

You can then click the "east/west" "north/south" boxes to make it match up with the view you get in the eyepiece.

Keep at it!

[Dujon]

Hello, Mike. Unlike the other Mike (our host extraordinaire) I do tend to use a filter when viewing Jupiter. The reason for that is that if I stick my eye to the eyepiece for any length of time and then withdraw to ease my back I find that I'm blind in my viewing eye for a short while. That, though, is not to say you should use a filter. I've read that some people prefer a particular 'coloured' filter for Jupiter and, although I've tried a couple of the 'el-cheapo' varieties, I don't seem to see any particular aspect better than without such.

Oh, yes; I just use the 'moon filter' (it seems to be reasonably neutral) to cut down the glare.

[Matty P]

Hi Mike,

I sometimes use a green or yellow colour filter when observing Jupiter. They really help to cut out the glare and increase surface detail.

I highly recommend using no filter and get your eye used to looking for small details. It's amazing how much more you will be able to see.

:thumbsup:

[iceman]

Matt your 2 statements appear to contradict each other? :shrug:

With regards to brightness, using a higher power will cut down the brightness and any glare. Obviously in bad seeing Jupiter will look mushy and soft. If you keep it at low power then, just give your pupil time to contract so it doesn't hurt your eyes :)

[Matty P]

Unless the seeing is extraordinary I like to keep the magnification down.

Most of the time I only have a quick look see at Jupiter because I spend most of my time imaging. I find that the view in the EP is quite bright and I can't make out the subtle detail on the surface. Even though my eye is adjusted I find that using a colour filter helps to increase detail and makes it much easier to see.

:thumbsup:

[AstralTraveller]

Mike,

I've read that blue filters help on Jupiter as they darken the orange belts. I've only tried it with a basic achromat and I can tell you it is NOT a good idea. It just accentuates the false colour. I've found yellow to light orange filters work well on Saturn.

Dave