What telescope do you own?

[Five]

When I was just a young kid my older brother had a telescope and I remember looking at the moon and thought it was amazing. I always wondered what a planet would look like. So just recently I purchased a 100 mm Orian skyscanner table top telescope with a x2 barlow lens. I was wondering if anyone has any tips on how and when to get a view of Jupiter or Saturn. I know the image is going to be blurry but IDK.

 

[Donnager]

Celestron NexStar 6SE.

It is pretty nice, but I don't use it enough. I am on the gulf coast in a rural area, so despite generally dark skies, I see lots of clouds at night.

I have looked at Jupiter and the Galilean moons with a 35X spotting scope. You should be able to see them with what you have. They will be small, though. Saturn will likely be more disappointing than Jupiter. I still find it to be pretty cool.

There's others here that have built these things. You should get good feedback.

If you don't, I'd suggest https://www.cloudynights.com/ for some discussion.

 

[DigBaddy]

We have this and a few more eypieces.
https://www.celestron.com/products/powerseeker-127eq-telescope
Put the motor drive on it and that's nice to have (but not all the time). Sometimes manual adjustments are less hassle than dialing in the motor. Need to use it more, but for a basic scope it does really well.

 

[mo2872]

Celestron NexStar 6SE.

It is pretty nice, but I don't use it enough. I am on the gulf coast in a rural area, so despite generally dark skies, I see lots of clouds at night.

I have looked at Jupiter and the Galilean moons with a 35X spotting scope. You should be able to see them with what you have. They will be small, though. Saturn will likely be more disappointing than Jupiter. I still find it to be pretty cool.

There's others here that have built these things. You should get good feedback.

If you don't, I'd suggest https://www.cloudynights.com/ for some discussion.

We have the same scope, and several eyepieces......my kids could tell you more than I can. It was a gift to them from my parents, so I don't get to fiddle with it much, other than, "Hey, come look at this!!!"

 

[watheyak]

We have an Orion XT10 Dobsonian. It's actually my wife's.

The large mirror is great. The dark skies at the club launches, coupled with some nice, wide angle eyepieces make for a great viewing experience.

We vastly prefer the simplicity of no motor or tracking. Stuff is easy enough to find with the apps available these days and even randomly pointing it to areas of the night sky to see what's there is pretty fun.

 

[Tech 68]

Meade ETX-90
Originally bought it for Hale–Bopp and never used it all that much afterwards. Kinda "clunky" to set up and the "clock drive" leaves a lot to be desired.
Here's an FYI for 'ya... If you own one of these, store it vertically. Stored horizontally, eventually the secondary mirror's light shield's adhesive will allow the shield to travel/slide across the mirror. Meade provided me with a replacement adhesive "pre-form", and even though I had worked in a seeker lab before, removal, cleaning, and replacement was pretty stressful.

 

[Five]

Is there is a specific time of the year to look at Jupiter or the Saturn?

 

[prfesser]

I have a 4" Orion Maksutov retrofitted onto a Celestron go-to mount. Jupiter and Saturn aren't hard to find, usually. Make a star finder (the first comment on that page is pretty useful) and learn some of the constellations especially the twelve of the Zodiac, which is where the planets appear. When you see a bright "star" that doesn't fit a constellation, it's probably a planet.

There are many sites that will show you where the planets will appear. Moonless nights are best, full moon worst.

I suggest investing in a longer focal length eyepiece, say 40 mm, for lower power. A wide-field eyepiece if you can afford it. High powers in astronomy are overrated, unlike in rocketry. It's very satisfying to look at a wide field with lots of stars, and it's much easier to find objects with a low-power eyepiece.

The Andromeda galaxy is fairly easy to find, but don't expect to see a spiral. The Orion nebula is excellent and readily visible to the naked eye. The Ring Nebula in Lyra can be a bit challenging to find but it's neat to see a smoke ring in the sky.

Is there is a specific time of the year to look at Jupiter or the Saturn?

Give this site a shot. It's as much a matter of what time as it is time of year. For example, the "winter" constellations in the US include Orion, Taurus, and several others...but they're visible in the summer as well if you get up really early. Jupiter and Saturn move pretty slowly, so if they're in X constellation tonight, they'll likely be in the same one next week.

Best -- Terry

 

[BravoIndiaLimaLima]

Five, here are my two favorite resources for stargazing. First, skymaps.com, they have a monthly star chart and list of what is in the sky to look at/for each month. http://skymaps.com/skymaps/tesmn2105.pdf . The second one that I really like is heavens-above.com , you will have to put in your location, but then you can look at the interactive star chart for any day and time that you are interested in. https://heavens-above.com/skychart2.aspx?lat=42.4598&lng=-93.8305&loc=Unnamed&alt=0&tz=CST
Bill

 

[Five]

Thanks everyone for the info.

 

[Five]

Keep posting what telescopes you guys and gals have. I’m interested in seeing what types of telescopes there are out there.

 

[Steven]

All I have is a magnifying glass.

 

[mhanna]

I have an 8" Newtonian dating back to the Mid 80's. Its like moving a hot water tank around to view things. You could see a lot with it. I used to look for Nebula's.

 

[BravoIndiaLimaLima]

I didn't actually post my scopes, but we have a homemade 8" f/6 dob, an Orion 6" SkyView Pro, several small/cheap telescopes, 10x50 and 15x70 binoculars.

 

[Zeus-cat]

Check out local astronomy groups and science museums. You may be able to use someone else's equipment for a small fee (or even free) and they can probably find stuff a lot easier than you can.

 

[teepot]

I have an Orion 8" Dobsonian. With it I can see the color bans of Jupiter the ring around Saturn the Orion nebula etc.
I use an app called star chart.

 

[Troy3003]

I bought a 10" Sky Watcher last year. I knew it wasn't a high quality brand but I've been rather pleased with it's construction and abilities. I do need some better eye pieces for sure.

 

[GalantVR41062]

I tried to buy my daughter a small telescope from the hobby shop a few years ago but received the look from my wife.

Here is a thread from last year:

https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/amateur-telescope-reccomendations.161798/#post-2044030

 

[DaHabes]

Celestron NexStar 11, Williams Optics Zenithstar 80mm apochromatic refractor, Apogee 88mm Right Angle Semi-Apo Binoculars, Canon 15x50 Image Stabilized binocs. I don't get under the stars much because I've literally seen everything I can in the Northern Hemisphere with my 11". My goal over the next 18-24 months is to: buy a bigger vehicle; buy a trailer; outfit the trailer for HPR and Astronomy (dual AC/DC electrical, computer station, desk, bed, rocket racks, lighting (both red and white); sell the Celestron and buy an Obession 22" ultra-light and hit the road in the summer for combined big rocket shoots (daytime) and star gazing (nighttime). Sleep is optional.

Oh, and a solar scope for daytime, as well, for when I run out of rocket motors.

+1 on Heavens Above...

 

[Five]

All I have is a magnifying glass.

I once lite a cigarette with a magnifying glass. It’s been about five years since I’ve smoked one. I felt like I had to add that.

 

[mket]

LX65 and Meade 8 inch dob.
Here's my LX65

 

[RICHARD COLARCO]

When I was just a young kid my older brother had a telescope and I remember looking at the moon and thought it was amazing. I always wondered what a planet would look like. So just recently I purchased a 100 mm Orian skyscanner table top telescope with a x2 barlow lens. I was wondering if anyone has any tips on how and when to get a view of Jupiter or Saturn. I know the image is going to be blurry but IDK.

This time of year Jupiter and Saturn are up in the SE to south before dawn. In the fall and winter they will be up at dusk and for most of the night.

No reason your image should be blurry. That's a focus issue which you solve with the focus knob.

What eyepiece focal length do you use? For Jupiter and Saturn, the higher power the better. However, higher powers make finding the planets harder, focus more critical, atmospherics more of an issue, etc.

For $500-$600 you can get a computerized reflector in the 5" to 6" range that will make your life so much easier. Perfectly adequate for planet finding.

Get an astronomy app for your phone that will show you where to look for everything. The one I use is StarTrackerLite and it's free.

Subscribe to Sky and Telescope magazine. Every month they will tell you what is visible and where to look.

 

[Troy3003]

I also use Star Walk 2 app. Its fairly accurate if your phone is calibrated. You can look up individual stars, planets, comets, etc. It also gives you a "What's Visible today" tab to click on. Multiple modes of visuals and light settings.

 

[Greg Furtman]

If you have a smartphone there are astronomy apps that will show you what your phone is looking at. Comes in handy. Also there is a good, free astronomy program for computers called Stellarium. This is a screenshot of where Jupiter and Saturn were this morning around 4:30 AM





I make telescopes. I grind, polish, & figure mirrors. Most of them are 8". I then build a Dobsonian Mount for them & sell them. My main scope is a 12.5" f5 Newtonian mounted on a motorized German Equatorial Mount. I have a roll-off roof observatory on my land which is an old dairy farm in NW Wisconsin. I still have fairly dark skies but the light pollution seems to get a little bit worse every year.

 

[prfesser]

Caution when thinking about a larger telescope. It often sits unused after the first few sessions unless you're pretty enthusiastic. Lugging a heavy telescope outside takes its toll.

The shorter the telescope the easier it is to use and the more likely it will actually be used. DO NOT buy one of those short 6" scopes seen on flEbay or Amazoff unless you're certain it's not a Jones-Bird Newtonian type. (A Maksutov or a Schmidt-Cassegrain is good, though.) Jones-Bird usually have crappy optics; the mirror is spherical; the "correcting" lens just before the eyepiece often doesn't. A Mak or S-C has the correcting lens at the front of the scope.

It's said that the worst part of any telescope is the atmosphere. Not much can be done about it except to choose good nights. Take the scope out at least an hour before you want to observe so it can cool down; the mirror/lens contracts as it cools and makes for lousy viewing. If the image moves in and out of focus, cuss at the atmosphere.

Best -- Terry

 

[Michael L]

I'm not home at the moment so I can't look at the model number. It's a Celestron 8" Newtonian reflector. I've had it about 15 years. I will also occasionally photograph "things" with my 600 f4 and DSLR. Shorter focal length lenses work great too. The quickest way to learn and enjoy the sky is to buy a planisphere, go outside (at night ), and find "stuff". Once you know where "stuff" is THEN add binoculars... then a telescope. Or start with binoculars.

These are all shot with a DSLR and camera lens.

Pann-Starrs Comet (and the moon)

Moons

Skinny moons are the most fun due to the challenge of finding it

Sometimes things line up, like Jupiter and the Moon

Jupiter and some of it's moons. 600 f4 very tight crop, no mount, just a tripod

Full moon. Best detail comes with exposing 2.5 - 3 stops under

Sun, don't try this without a proper filter

Eclipses are cool

Saturn (very tight crop)

I have a shot of the Andromeda galaxy but can't find it. From decently dark skies you can see Andromeda naked eye. Easy to see in binoculars. I highly recommend getting familiar with the sky before investing in a telescope.

An astronomy club, like HAS (I'm a member) is invaluable. We have international members as well as out of state members.

The Astronomical League is a good resource

 

[RICHARD COLARCO]

Michael L,

That is some nice photography! I have had good luck with the moon with my Canon DSLRs and a 500mm lens, but nothing like what you achieved with Jupiter and Saturn. What was your ISO and exposure?

Thanks.

Rich

 

[Steveclay]

Skywatcher 120 Ed refractor on a Rowan AZ100 mount. Skywatcher Ed 80 with Quark on a solarquest mount for solar viewing, on the odd occasion we get any sun in the UK.

 

[Michael L]

Thank you.

I copied the EXIF from the photo site. It should be correct but I've seen errors before.

I used to own an 800 f5.6 but I got rid of it. The IQ from the 600 f4 beat the 800 and I could always drop a 1.4x tele on if I just had to have 800mm (I don't)

Moon and Jupiter

Photo Info
File name:Moon and Jupiter_MLL0527 January 21, 2013.jpg
Dimensions:1280 x 989
Shooting Conditions
Camera make:Canon
Camera model:Canon EOS-1D Mark IV
Focal length:800 mm
Exposure:1/320 at f/5.6
Flash:Not fired
Exposure bias:0 EV
Exposure mode:Manual
Exposure prog.:Manual
ISO speed:ISO 400
Metering modeattern

Saturn (I almost never spot meter... so I think that's an error from the photo website)

Photo Info
File name:Saturn_MLL0858 May 02, 2014.jpg
Dimensions:4200 x 3299
Shooting Conditions
Camera make:Canon
Camera model:Canon EOS-1D Mark IV
Focal length:600 mm
Max lens aperture:f/4
Exposure:1/100 at f/4
Flash:Not fired
Exposure bias:0 EV
Exposure mode:Manual
Exposure prog.:Manual
ISO speed:ISO 400
Metering mode:Spot

The best night landscape lens ever made imho is the Zeiss 21mm f/2.8 Distagon T ZF.2. Sadly they don't make it anymore but on the upside it's cheaper to buy used than it was new. It has a real infinity stop. It's manual focus but when you focus to infinity the stars are pinpoint sharp.

 

[alexzogh]

I backed an all-digital telescope on Kickstarter that is surprisingly good, the Vaonis Stellina. They have a lower-cost version as well the Vespera which was also recently pre-sold on Kickstarter.



It's about as simple as it gets... throw it out in the backyard, it will auto-orient itself then control via your mobile phone or computer. Uses a lot of computational photography to get really impressive results. I'm not sure it's worth the retail price, as you could get a much larger, more traditional telescope for a lot less money, but it certainly points to where telescopes are likely going in the future.

https://vaonis.com/