What's the coolest thing you've ever seen through a telescope (and please don't say your neighbor!). About a week ago, my husband got his telescope out and found Saturn. That was so cool... I'll remember that for a lifetime
2007-05-29 16:54:00 · 5 answers · asked by Malaika 5 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
I'm coming up to the 50th anniversary of my first look through a telescope, and I've seen hundreds of cool things. One of the coolest was on that first night, July 4 1957: Saturn. All I could do was stare at it and say, "Wow! It really has rings!" Another cool thing has been seeing two planets in the field of view at the same time. It doesn't happen often, but it will happen next on July 1 when Venus and Saturn will be only 40 arcseconds apart. Another cool thing was seeing Pluto, the farthest object in our solar system visible in a small telescope, and 3C273, a quasar in Virgo, about the farthest object in the _universe_ visible in a small telescope, on the same night in April 2000.
May you enjoy your future sights as much as your first view of Saturn! Check out Jupiter and its moons, now rising around 11 p.m. in the southeast.
2007-05-30 02:29:16 · answer #1 · answered by GeoffG 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Hi. The coolest thing I ever saw was the comet that broke apart and hit Jupiter. I saw the "String of pearls" in a 6" telescope before the impact in 1994 or so. But the planets are cool too.
2007-05-30 00:02:16 · answer #2 · answered by Cirric 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Saturn is a real treat indeed, and Jupiter with its four moons is also great. Looking at the shadows cast from lunar mountains and crater cliffs is pretty cool too. If you have lots of aperture, like a ten inch reflector then the ring nebulae and other elusive Deep Sky Objects are the biggest thrill for me.
2007-05-30 00:07:50 · answer #3 · answered by screaming monk 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you have a telescope of any size, there are many stunning views available. My favorite is the Orion Nebula (M42-43). Pther great sights are the Hercules Cluster (M13) and the Andromeda galaxy (M31).
Check some of these out. www.seds.org has lots of good info on these and many more. Better yet, hook up with your local astronomy club.
2007-05-30 00:06:32 · answer #4 · answered by Pretzels 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Saturn is most definatly cool, but so is Jupiter, Mars, nebulas, galaxies, comets, etc.
2007-05-30 01:02:44 · answer #5 · answered by minuteblue 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋