Amazing sights...

[george7378]

Hi all,

Since getting my telescope for Chrismas, I have seen some amazing and unforgettable sights I would like to share. Here they are in no particular order (they are all equal in awe to me!):

- Saturn's rings - crisp and clear
- The ice caps and sandy textures of Mars
- Jupiter's cloud belts and moons
- The Andromeda galaxy's swirls, and two satellite galaxies
- Amazing detail on the Moon - craters, mountains and rilles
- The amazing Orion Nebula
- Double stars and variable stars

These views stick with you forever, and are very influential - at least, on me.

 

[Quick_Nick]

Wow! Mars? How big is this telescope?!

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

Wow!

That's way cool! :thumbup:

 

[george7378]

Wow! Mars? How big is this telescope?!

It's only about 130mm, and you can see the ice caps at about 130X magnification. Even at that magnification, the disc is still a little washed out by the light it reflects - ideally, a bit closer would be better. You don't need much to see these things though - just a clear night and a will to discover. :thumbup:

Yes Pete - Astronomy is now a mainstream hobby of mine, and one I will continue for the rest of my life - and Orbiter started it

 

[Quick_Nick]

I've only ever seen Mars as a red point of light, but I haven't tried recently.
I've seen Orion nebula, the moon, Jupiter, Saturn (the most amazing thing you will ever see), Venus (also a really bright light), and ISS (again, a light >_<). I really want to see Andromeda and I haven't looked for double stars myself.

 

[george7378]

I've only ever seen Mars as a red point of light, but I haven't tried recently.
I've seen Orion nebula, the moon, Jupiter, Saturn (the most amazing thing you will ever see), Venus (also a really bright light), and ISS (again, a light >_<). I really want to see Andromeda and I haven't looked for double stars myself.

I'm yet to see Venus or Mercury, or an asteroid - I would like to see one of those. I should have a go at Vesta, but I have been too busy looking at Mars and Saturn

The Orion Nebula is great - I can see the trapezium and the bright nebulosity surrounding it, as well as two long tendrils extending out to either side. This is at about 65X.

I've seen satellites too - I managed to track one with the scope (manually - very hard!) but it still stayed as a point of light. Iridium flares, and the ISS are my favourite.

I agree about Saturn - it is so magical! It's almost sci-fi - you don't get sights any more 'Star-Trek' than that. :thumbup:

 

[T.Neo]

Mars was particularly bright/close/big back in August 2003 (no, NOT that stupid hoax that goes around on the 'net every year) during a spectacular close approach. It was pretty close to the Moon in the sky at the time.

I also remember seeing vague features on the surface, although this is probably a false memory owning to a youthful imagination.

 

[george7378]

Mars was particularly bright/close/big back in August 2003 (no, NOT that stupid hoax that goes around on the 'net every year) during a spectacular close approach. It was pretty close to the Moon in the sky at the time.

I also remember seeing vague features on the surface, although this is probably a false memory owning to a youthful imagination.

Yes - it was bright very recently at opposition too - that is when I could see the most detail and when I first saw the ice caps and large surface features.

The air has to be still for much detail to be seen through my 'scope though, but it is great when you are out of a calm night.

I also found that it is a matter of how you look at Mars which determines what you see - I remember when I first saw it and I could not make out any detail at all, and then, a couple of nights later, I focused in on it, and saw the ice caps and contrasting reds on the surface. You have to look quite hard to see anything at the 130X magnification I have - I would liek a larger magnification for Saturn and Mars, as well as Jupiter.

 

[Artlav]

Nice.
Magnification isn't everything - i got a 465x telescope, but it's so shaky built that the maximum i can get is quarter of the moon or blurry Saturn.

 

[Fizyk]

Whoah, so much with a 130 mm telescope?! I have a 200 mm (8 in) telescope, and Mars this year was only a bright disc, Andromeda galaxy is just a fuzzy spot and the Orion nebula pretty much too (though the trapezium is awesome). I saw Mars in August 2003 too, but back then I only had an 80 mm telescope, so no stunning views either.
But maybe that's because I live near a large city (Warsaw) and the light pollution is quite high.

 

[Quick_Nick]

Whoah, so much with a 130 mm telescope?! I have a 200 mm (8 in) telescope, and Mars this year was only a bright disc, Andromeda galaxy is just a fuzzy spot and the Orion nebula pretty much too (though the trapezium is awesome). I saw Mars in August 2003 too, but back then I only had an 80 mm telescope, so no stunning views either.
But maybe that's because I live near a large city (Warsaw) and the light pollution is quite high.

Collimate! :thumbup:

 

[Fizyk]

Hmm, do you think that's the problem? Anyway, worth checking, thanks for the suggestion

 

[Hmuda]

Hm, I have a pretty basic telescope (don't know the specs, but it's more suitable to spy on the neighbors than stargazing ). The best thing I could squeeze out of it was a Jupiter sighting with barely visible cloud layers (not entirely convinced that I really saw them) and four extremely small dots for moons. One time I thought I saw a very faint smudge that resembled a galaxy, but I'm not sure about that either.

Once I have enough money, I'll be sure to invest in a better, more permanent telescope as the night sky was always a fascination of mine, ever since early elementary school.

 

[bwog]

How expensive are those telescopes?

 

[Hmuda]

How expensive are those telescopes?

Did a quick search and found this page.
http://www.telescopes.com/

As far as I can tell, they range from ~100$ to above 1000$. Prices also depend on what kind of telescope you want, the size, the zoom, the manufaturer, etc.