At what magnification is it best to observe planets like Saturn and Jupiter?

Question

I have an 80mm refractor by skywatcher

Answer 1

You do not mention the size of the objective (either mirror, or lens in the case you are using a refractor). If you get good still atmospheric conditions, *and if* you have good optics, *and if* you have an objective of good size, then the higher the better. That's a lot of "if's".

In general, I find the best way is to start with the lowest power eye piece you have (that's the one with the largest mm focal length, so a 25 mm eye piece gives wider view at lower power than a 4 mm eye piece, say).

Spend time with that eye piece patiently picking out all the fine detail you can. Then move to the next eye piece. If you have a barlow, then repeat the exercise all over again after inserting the barlow. You will soon discover the limit of your scope.

I have a 10" dobsonian mounted scope with a focal length of around 1372 mm. Thus, my 40mm eye piece gives me a magnification of about 35. This is good to be sure I have the right planet! My 25mm eye piece show good detail and high color for Jupiter. Saturn generally seems a uniform golden color with faint banding (might be my imagination, too!). My 5mm coupled with my 2x Barlow has never, ever produced decent results because I am never blessed with still air at high altitudes. I am usually stuck in the 100X range.

Works for me.

HTH

Charles

Answer 2

In general, planets should be observed at the highest reasonable power, but no higher. An 80mm might do to 160x in good seeing. If you have the f/5 Skywatcher, it's designed more for low power viewing, and you might be happier at a lower power. A yellow, green, or minus violet filter may help somewhat.

What's reasonable depends on the size and quality of your optics, and the stillness of the air. Eventually, you reach a point where increasing magnification is like using a magnifying glass on your TV screen - the image gets bigger, but you have a harder time making out details. Just keep boosting the power until the image starts to blur, then go back to the previous power.

Don't be too hasty about thinking your magnification is too high. Study the image carefully for a while to see if there are brief moments of clarity. Also, make sure you are exactly in focus. I find that Saturn will take a little more magnification than Jupiter. The details on Jupiter are very subtle and often look sharper at a slightly lower power.

Answer 3

Depends on what you want to see. Jupiter's 4 Galilean satellites can be seen with binoculars; But 100X - 300X is a good power to see them clearly. Same for Saturn - the bulge of the rings can be seen with a good set of binoculars, but to SEE them - I'd recommend at least a 100X scope.

Answer 4

The higher the better. What you can go up to will depend on the seeing and the size and quality of your 'scope. My best view of Saturn was at 800x, but that was a one-off.

Answer 5

Hi. about 50x will show surface detail and some ring structure. Both are beautiful! 100x will also work well. Any higher and the details start to blur, at least on my 6" Schmidt-Newtonian.

Answer 6

You can see them with your naked eye