help with a new scopey pants!

[spikeface (Peter)]

hello fellow astronomers! i have been gone from the warm embrace of these forums for so long, indeed, even from astronomy! i was getting frustrated with my ongoing efforts to improve my slowly developing skills, and have taken a(n?) hiatus. what an idiot! my reason? i'm now competant enough to find my way around the sky and my scope (12'' lightbridge) but i can't seem to progress! e.g. my viewing of planets esp. jupiter is not resulting in delicious bands of clouds which i crave...

so i went to the 'scope guy i go to and he told me my big 'lightbucket' (as he called it) is good for deep space but bites for planetary adventures. "buy another scope as well" he says (from him, no doubt)... so, irritated future wife's concerns brushed eloquently aside, i believe i shall... BUT WHAT SCOPE, EYYYY??

please have a go at telling me... a refractor apparently is appropriate... sorry for the excess dithering, but i'm excited to be looking upwards again!

[dannat (Daniel)]

what ep's are you using with the 12" to view planets

[mental4astro (Alexander)]

Hi spikeface,

mate, what are you thinking about? A 12"er and already thinking of another puppy without training this one!

Here's a tip on how to get TWO scopes for the price of one. Your 12" 'light bucket' can be tamed by getting a sheet of black card board to cover its top, and, with some simple maths, cut out a hole in this card to the diameter needed to give you a higher f/ ratio. This will effectively give you a "refractors" properties, and not killing the piggy bank (and saving face with the better half!).


Let us know how you go.

Mental

[Blue Skies (Jacquie)]

1. Patience. And practise. I'm not the only one on here that advocates giving yourself about a year to learn how to see. It takes time to get used to what its like up there in the sky. Keep looking.

2. Collimation. Collimation is crucial to get high power in a short focal length telescope. So keep practising that too.

3. Eyepieces might also make a difference, as hinted at above. A good eyepiece, and I'm talking $300-$500 price range (don't spare the cents) will make a big difference - BUT eyepieces are individual things, and by that I mean everyone seems to like something different, but a quality eyepiece can't be beat. Make sure its a design suited to the telescope, though.

4. Where are you observing from and how high is the planet when you are? Looking over a lot of houses or a multi-lane highway is never going to give you good results, too much heat rising off them to disturb your local seeing. Also if the planet is low its never as good either.

A 12" should give you good planetary views, even though you've lightbridge which is a relatively short focal length. Don't ditch the scope just yet, there are a many factors to think about to get that crisp image you want, but at the same time you might also have to realise and accept that sometimes thats as good as you get (and thats why people turn to imaging....)

[Jen]

if you dont like your 12inch i will gladly take it off your hands
Welcome back to astronomy buddy keep looking up cheers

[spikeface (Peter)]

i'm not saying i'm ditching my lightbridge!!! i love that big guy! i live in the sticks and i know enough about the heat etc i've been scoping for a year or more (which isn't saying much)... i admit focal length has me befuzzled... but the 'cardboard with small hole' idea intrigues me... i shall investigate further! now i just need it to stop raining! stop raining i say!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jen]

good luck Peter when your skies are clear

[ngcles]

Hi Peter,

Originally Posted by spikeface

... so i went to the 'scope guy i go to and he told me my big 'lightbucket' (as he called it) is good for deep space but bites for planetary adventures. "buy another scope as well" he says (from him, no doubt)...

As others have said, a 12" should give you very good planetary views assuming:

(1) the mirror is cool and at ambient temprature before you expect it to show fine detail. Make sure it is cooled down outside for about an hour before expecting it to really perform.

(2) the 'scope is properly collimated -- are you using collimating tools/laser? Are you sure it's right? f/4.5 is pretty twitchy and demanding on collimation: it has to be spot on to get the best out of it.

(3) if the above two are fine then question the quality of the optics. Have someone experienced check it out and star-test the optics to see if they are what they should be. It is not unknown for the odd mass-produced optic to be a mediocre performer. That's not to say all mass-produced mirrors are no good but from time to time a lemon can slip through.

Larger 'scopes are more seeing sensitive than small ones -- they reveal seeing imperfections more readily than small 'scopes do. But when the seeing settles, a good big 'scope will always beat a good little 'scope -- every day of the week. Give the off-aperture mask a go.

If the optics are good, the 'scope well collimated and cooled, a 12" will show more planetary detail than a small refractor every day of the week. Check all this before you shell-out on another 'scope.


Best,

Les D