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big white ball with a little red. I am looking at it when it is low in the sky. do i need a filter( if yes please tell me what kind ).
Again I am using a meade 4.5" reflector with my 8 mm eyepiece. i am sure that i am looking at jupiter.

2007-11-10 10:00:22 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics Astronomy & Space

I am completely sure that it is Jupiter!

2007-11-10 10:13:56 · update #1

And if i use higher mag. it will only get worse.

it is just so bright!

2007-11-10 10:15:34 · update #2

stars look fine great only jupiter

2007-11-10 10:31:51 · update #3

7 answers

Jupiter is setting very early these days. Objects low on the horizon are going to be affected more by seeing conditions than items that are higher.

I wouldn't worry about a filter, but the best filter I've found for planets is a photographic FLD. It's sort of a magenta/violet color. But it's likely to be hard to find for 1.25" eyepieces. If your scope has a 2" to 1.25" adapter that is threaded for filters, a 48mm photographic filter would fit it.

This web site will let you check seeing conditions for your area.

< http://www.cleardarksky.com/ >

Since stars look OK, I'm guessing your collimation is OK.

Mars is starting to rise earlier, and odds are you'll be able to get a decent view of it by about 11pm.

I also suggest looking at the Orion nebula. (M42) It would be the "middle" star in Orion's scabbard.

Good luck with your scope.

Regards,

Mark

2007-11-10 11:04:20 · answer #1 · answered by Mark H 5 · 0 0

If it is low in the sky you cannot get a good view, no matter what kind of telescope you have, because of the distortions of the atmosphere. That is why the Hubble telescope in space can see more clearly than much larger telescopes on the ground; because it doesn't have to look through the air. So you will need to wait until next year when Jupiter comes around again in its orbit so you can look at it when it is high in the sky to get a good view. Using a telescope is a lot of work, and only 10% of that work in actually about the telescope at all. The other 90% is knowing when and where and how to look. And what to expect. Probably 50% of that is the what to expect part. You cannot get Hubble like views with a home telescope, but so many people don't fully accept that and are so massively disappointed by the view they get from their new telescope that they stop using it.

2007-11-10 11:18:14 · answer #2 · answered by campbelp2002 7 · 2 0

I know you won't have much of a chance to see it higher up, but being low can cause some distortion. It sounds like it's just too bright, though. If you don't have a filter, try a higher magnification. That will cut some of the glare. If that doesn't work, cut a 2" hole in a piece of cardboard and mount it on the front of your telescope, off center. Experiment with hole sizes. You might want to try this when looking at the moon, too. I did it with my telescope a lot because I was too cheap to buy filters.

If it gets worse at a higher magnification, then it is most likely a problem with your optics and not just a matter of glare. See how stars look. Also check out terrestrial objects and see if the images are distorted. It could be the collimation of your mirror.

2007-11-10 10:10:54 · answer #3 · answered by Brant 7 · 0 0

You need a filter. Some manufacturers sell filters with some sort of suggestions as to what to use it with, such as a moon, or mars, or jupiter filter. I suggest, however, using a moon filter which is, simply, a neutral density filter, which causes no change in color at all.

You might also try projecting the image onto white or gray paper, but I doubt your image would be large enough to see well. If you have a higher power eyepiece that will help, but with Jupiter where it is in the night sky atmospheric distortion is going to be a problem. Also, with your scope, don't go over a magnification of 225..anything more is not going to be effective (like looking at an old newspaper photo with a magnifier).

2007-11-10 10:25:24 · answer #4 · answered by David A 5 · 0 1

Jupiter is now so low in the sky that's it's impossible to see more than you're seeing. I'm afraid you're out of luck until it reappears in the morning sky in the spring. Now's the time to turn your telescope to Mars or, in the morning sky, Saturn, Venus, and Mercury.

By and large, filters don't help in viewing the planets. I'm a pretty serious observer of planets, and I almost never use filters, except for specialized observations of Mars. Save your money!

To piggyback on what Peter (campbelp2002) says about expectations, here is an article I recently wrote on the subject:
http://www.gaherty.ca/tme/TME0708_Great_Expectations.pdf

2007-11-10 13:32:57 · answer #5 · answered by GeoffG 7 · 0 0

if Jupiter is low in the sky, atmospheric distortion is probably your biggest problem. No filter can help you there. But even under the best of circumstances, detail on Jupiter is quite subtle. It takes good focus and collimation, and careful study, to make out any detail beyond a couple of bands in a small scope.

2007-11-10 10:40:24 · answer #6 · answered by injanier 7 · 2 0

are u positive that u r looking at jupiter and not at one of it's 27 moons?????

2007-11-10 10:08:11 · answer #7 · answered by ♥HCO ♥1922♥ Twin Chinchillas 4 · 0 3

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