Newbie Help, Looking through 130eq at Jupiter

[the_jimmy]

Hey All, complete astro newbie here...
I have just purchased my first telescope a Celestron AstroMaster 130EQ with the Celestron eyepiece and filter kit.

I have had a few attempts at viewing Jupiter using a 2x Barlow along with every eye piece I have, and the best I have achieved is very very faint lines of the cloud belts. It seems that it is just way to bright to see any detail and I have tested all the filters. Am I doing something wrong?
(I know I am looking at Jupiter and not a star before anyone says)
Can anyone provide any tips? I am really keen to see some detail of Jupiter and I really don't know what I am doing wrong :shrug:

I am in ACT for future reference....

Cheers:)
Jimmy

[Wavytone]

The belts are faint at the moment, I had a look a few days ago at 270X in a 180mm Maksutov. It takes some considerable practice before your eye becomes sufficiently accustomed to the subtle colours to see details.

Many years ago I recall the belts and the great red spot being much more vivid, but then my eyesight was probably better too.

[the_jimmy]

Thanks Wavytone, maybe its only half me then :)

[Blue Skies]

As you're only using a 5" scope, your resolution wont be that fantastic - nothing like what you might see in images going around at the moment.
There are a couple of things to think about when observing Jupiter (or any other planet, really)
1. focus on the moons, not the planet. The moons are small enough that they will be almost pinpoint in a small scope, so use them as a guide for focus.
2. Usually the atmosphere is unsteady - the air above your head and that your telescope is looking through will be moving around quite a bit. If you watch, every so often Jupiter should leap into view for an instant, then blur out again. On a good night the steady patches last a bit longer.
3. It takes time to learn how to see. Give yourself a year and you should be amazed at how much more detail you can see.

We are lucky at the moment that Jupiter is in the southern ecliptic and gets high overhead, so its worth persevering over the next few years.

[the_jimmy]

Thanks for the tips Jacquie, I'll keep at it. After I get the basics down I will look at putting a bit more money into my new found interest for a larger scope.

[Wavytone]

If you're looking at some of the images shown lately here on IIS, these have undergone a lot of enhancement to bring out the details and maximise resolution, they are far better than what you'll see visually in your small scope.

incidentally I was thinking of a smallish scope for a while earlier this year, but when I had a look through a 5" ETX at Jupiter I realised I'd have to step up to 180mm to see much.

[rmcpb]

Jupiter is a bit of a challenge for most of us unless whe have a large scope. I agree with Waveytone in that the belts seem to have become more subtle over the years.

However, after a bit of practice you will get your eye in and more details wil become obvious to the extent you will wonder why you didn't see them on the first night.

[Starkler]

It wont matter how stable the atmosphere is if your scope isnt at thermal equilibrium. Imagine the heat haze rising off a hot road in summer. Its the same effect when your scopes mirror isnt at ambient temperature and this will destroy any chance of seeing detail.

What all this means is that you should sit your scope outside for say an hour before you plan to use it.

[bluescope]

As "Blue Skies" Jacqui said you have to watch for a while and catch glimpses of sharp detail, atmospheric turbulence can cause a lot of distortion while visually observing. Also as "Starkler" Geoff said after your mirror has cooled it should look better.

As for images of Jupiter on IIS ... they are generally composed of hundreds of frames of data and aligned and adjusted with software to bring out those brief glimpses. It is highly unlikely you will ever see such details at such high resolution through your telescope visually.

Having said that I have recently bought a WO 110mm Apo Triplet refractor and on the couple of occasions I have viewed Jupiter lately I have been knocked out by the detail that that scope presents ... better than my 180mm Mak to date and I've been observing for several years now.

So it will only get better the more you do it.

Have fun ... you'll love it when Saturn returns to our skies as well.

:thumbsup:

[erick]

Monitor your planetarium software for a coming moon shadow transit across Jupiter. Those close to the equator can often be spotted because of the contrast between shadow and atmosphere. Those closer to the poles are a bit harder to see. And if you monitor it for an hour or so you can see the movement! That's worth trying with your scope.

I just checked - there should be a good Io shadow transit tomorrow night (20th) from about 7:30pm to 9:30pm UTC+10 hours - If I've read Jupiter 2 software correctly.

[the_jimmy]

I have had another look tonight with a mate about 8-10pm, skies were clear so I thought I would give it another shot. I manage to at least Identify the faint cloud belts which was cool and managed to see the moons, so although I couldn't get to much detail I was still happy with the result.
Overall it was still a good night for viewing, ill keep at it. Cant wait to get a chance to look at Saturn, does anyone have any tips on viewing Mars...? I had a look but it was close to the horizon after sunset and was a bit blurry.

Cheers
Jimmy

[Blue Skies]

I'd forget about Mars for at least a year at the moment (yes, a whole 12 months and more!) until it gets near to opposition again in January 2010. Even then, it will be a poor apparition with Mars near aphelion, but I'm hoping for some good icecaps by then. At the moment Mars is on the far side of the sun from us so its only going to look like a little dot at best.

Saturn returns to the morning sky at the end of the month.

[dhumpie]

Hey Jimmy,

I find the blue filter (80A) helps bring out some contrast in the bands. If you have this, try it on old Jove and you will see more. Unlike the rest I think a lot of detail can be seen in a 5" scope. I have seen quite a lot with my Orion StarBlast (4.5") despite it being a "small" scope (shadow transits, Great Red Spot and festooning as well). But of course my 10" blows it away everytime. Also you will have to be patient when observing Jove and keep playing with the focuser all the time to get a sharp image as our atmosphere is seldom steady...

Hope that helps..

Darren

[the_jimmy]

Thanks Darren, I did notice the other night my blue filter provided a little more contrast, Ill keep at it at this point, every night I try is getting a little better. :)

Thanks everyone for your input I have taken it all on board, Ill let you know how I go.

Cheers
Jimmy