Congrats ThunderChild on your new hobby. Like you I, and my family, were blown away with Saturn and felt ashamed that it had always been there and we have never bothered to look closer, earlier. I am now just as impressed with Jupiter and it's moons. Awesome. I remember reading that Callisto (one of the moons) could contain a salty lake beneath it's surface and is the place in our solar system where scientists believe they can prove that life, if it exists/existed there, is not a fluke and simply has to be evident anywhere else that has the environment to support it. Fascinating!
The discussion on Cassini's division is of interest to me and has sparked a few more questions from this hungry beginner.
While I could never get bored looking at Saturn, I am kind of over the initial rush that you get each time and am looking to push the scope or at least learn its capabilities. In saying, I have tried to resolve the division on a couple of occasions and for a split second feel that it appeared and quickly dissappeared.
With my 4" Mak (1350mm Fl) and 6mm ep (225X mag) does anyone think I must be imagining I've seen it (cos I am) or do I simply need more light gathering power. The F ratio is quite high (13) due to the smallish diameter.
I have also a 10mm ep giving 132X but feel the image would be too small.
2nd question. When using a barlow do you lose much light at the same time? i.e Should I expect a better image from a 10mm ep with a 2X barlow versus a 5mm ep for example. What is the difference in image using the two set ups?
Any help is, as always, greatly appreciated.
