|
I would also add that it is possible to see surface details on Mars Jupiter and Saturn with that telescope, but it is dependent upon atmospheric conditions (seeing). It requires a steady atmosphere to see such tiny details.
In addition, you will notice the image shifts and wriggles about a bit. The details you will see through the eyepiece will come and go as the atmosphere shifts and the refractive index changes. Therefore, the finest details tend to be transient.
When you see a photo taken of mars with a 12", All the fleeting moments of details have been gathered and stacked together to create a final image. Those details *are there in the eyepiece, but it takes time pick them out as they flash by. Only occasionally are the details rock steady as in a photograph.
Your observing site has a bit to do with this too. Ideally you don't want to be on concrete or asphalt or bitumen - they radiate heat after the sun goes down. Grass is better, but prone to dewing up the optics. A nice dry patch of earth is best. And get away from the city. All the houses being heated creates a thermal plume that disturbs any steady seeing, like heat rising from a campfire.
Also, Mars is past opposition and shrinking now, so that will work against you. Jupiter is a better bet, or Saturn. See how you go with them.
Hope that helps.
Markus
|