Quote:
Originally Posted by N1
If details on the Moon look really sharp at mid to high powers, then you absolutely will see Saturn's rings too, assuming it's sufficiently high in the sky. Things turn crap when your target is low in the sky. A dark sky will improve things but is not a must for this. In good seeing, the 10" will bring out some beautiful details, such as the Cassini Division or the planet's shadow on the rings. Not sure what went wrong there. Perhaps the dew you mentioned in another thread was screwing things up somewhere in your optical path? I know it might sound silly, but it happened to me.
Mars, however, can be a difficult target. A stable atmosphere is pretty much essential for enjoyable views there. Plus it must be reasonably close to us. Its distance to Earth varies immensely. Now is still a good time to see it, although it's moving away already (or Earth is, I should say). I understand there are some filters which will improve things further, but haven't tried those yet.
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Thanks very much for the information. The moon definitely looks sharp. I start with the 25mm plossl that will allow the entire moon and a little more in the FOV and it looks great. Not the craters of the 9mm but you see the contrast of dark and light, the streaks from ancient crater impacts - really great. The 9mm FOV is much smaller but then the detail increases. Everythingstill looks pretty sharp. The Cheshire collimator is showing all rings and reflections are pretty much centered. I'll try the star test tonight. I'm leaving the scope outside for at least a couple of hours before trying it.
I was wondering if it was possible I wasn't actually looking at Saturn? I'm pretty sure I was looking at Mars though - the red tinge was clear. I've been looking at things I can see with the naked eye, just trying to learn as much as possible. I only just found out I could focus the finderscope! Is the next to do to try to find objects of range of the naked eye? I'm sorry for these basic questions. I just want to stay patient so I can learn this well before trying anything too drastic. Thanks again.