view of Jupiter with 4.5;lm13

I viewed Jupiter last night in my Skyquest 4.5 and was disappointed.

Although I could see three moons, Jupiter appeared only white, and I
could not see any details. Is this due to atmospheric conditions, my
viewing site, and/ or limitations of the scope?

I also tried to find m13 and was also disappointed. Even with
magnification, M13 looks similar to m31 in binoculars- unless I was
looking at something else I could see no details.

Also, I have been thinking of cleaning the primary mirror which has
not been cleaned since I bought the scope a year ago. There is a lot
of dust on it, and the views at night don't seem as clear. Should I
bother with the cleaning? The scope is collimated. There seems to be a
lot of opinion towards not cleaning the primary mirror unless
necessary.

Suggestions?
Bruce

"brucegooglegroups" wrote in message
oups.com...
I viewed Jupiter last night in my Skyquest 4.5 and was disappointed.

Although I could see three moons, Jupiter appeared only white, and I
could not see any details. Is this due to atmospheric conditions, my
viewing site, and/ or limitations of the scope?

I would try a colored filter to bring out more detail. Google "Jupiter
colored filters" for a bunch of info.


I also tried to find m13 and was also disappointed. Even with
magnification, M13 looks similar to m31 in binoculars- unless I was
looking at something else I could see no details.

M13 should look much better than this.


Also, I have been thinking of cleaning the primary mirror which has
not been cleaned since I bought the scope a year ago. There is a lot
of dust on it, and the views at night don't seem as clear. Should I
bother with the cleaning? The scope is collimated. There seems to be a
lot of opinion towards not cleaning the primary mirror unless
necessary.

Don't clean the mirror - this is not your problem.


Suggestions?
Bruce


Find your local astro club, wherre you will find folks who can evaluate your
scope and help you to get the most out of it. It may be that the optics are
not very good, or it may be that the collimation is not as good as you
think, or it may by something else. They can help you, and you will have
some fun observing with others.

Dennis

On Jun 19, 11:29 am, brucegooglegroups
wrote:
I viewed Jupiter last night in my Skyquest 4.5 and was disappointed.

Although I could see three moons, Jupiter appeared only white, and I
could not see any details. Is this due to atmospheric conditions, my
viewing site, and/ or limitations of the scope?

I also tried to find m13 and was also disappointed. Even with
magnification, M13 looks similar to m31 in binoculars- unless I was
looking at something else I could see no details.

Also, I have been thinking of cleaning the primary mirror which has
not been cleaned since I bought the scope a year ago. There is a lot
of dust on it, and the views at night don't seem as clear. Should I
bother with the cleaning? The scope is collimated. There seems to be a
lot of opinion towards not cleaning the primary mirror unless
necessary.

Suggestions?
Bruce

Did you consider buying some filters to add some colors into the
planets? They do not perform much of a miracle but if you are looking
for colors it might make you happier.

Another thing to consider is that the human eye cannot catch so many
colors from too distant objects, they are there though your eyes can't
see. I am color blind for green and brown, but my wife can see really
well and she says that Jupiter is fairly white with my 4" reflector
though she can spot some colors out of it.

On Jun 19, 12:06 pm, galwacco wrote:
On Jun 19, 11:29 am, brucegooglegroups
wrote:



I viewed Jupiter last night in my Skyquest 4.5 and was disappointed.

Although I could see three moons, Jupiter appeared only white, and I
could not see any details. Is this due to atmospheric conditions, my
viewing site, and/ or limitations of the scope?

I also tried to find m13 and was also disappointed. Even with
magnification, M13 looks similar to m31 in binoculars- unless I was
looking at something else I could see no details.

Also, I have been thinking of cleaning the primary mirror which has
not been cleaned since I bought the scope a year ago. There is a lot
of dust on it, and the views at night don't seem as clear. Should I
bother with the cleaning? The scope is collimated. There seems to be a
lot of opinion towards not cleaning the primary mirror unless
necessary.

Suggestions?
Bruce

Did you consider buying some filters to add some colors into the
planets? They do not perform much of a miracle but if you are looking
for colors it might make you happier.

Another thing to consider is that the human eye cannot catch so many
colors from too distant objects, they are there though your eyes can't
see. I am color blind for green and brown, but my wife can see really
well and she says that Jupiter is fairly white with my 4" reflector
though she can spot some colors out of it.

Hi ,
I may upgrade my telescope, so I may not buy the filter.

About colors, on occasion, I do see red and blue in stars. In a recent
article in Sky News, it seemed that I would be able to see colors of
Jupiter. Perhaps I am expecting too much.

A good article on skynewsmagazine http://skynewsmagazine.com/pages/jupiterguide.html
is a good guide to viewing Jupiter. I reread the article, so I may
need to buy filters.
Clear Skies.
Bruce

Bruce,

Don't despair...

1. Jupiter - Even with larger and.or more expensive scopes... Jupiter will
be a difficult target because it is very low in the sky for most of us
(presuming you are in the northern hemisphere). That means detail (with or
without a filter) will be challenging, but not impossible if you observe for
long periods where moments of atmospheric stability provide good sharp
views.

2. Filters - Spend some time (and $) here thinking this through, as the
common inexpensive colored filters don't usually live up to their advertised
feature enhancements (they can actually distort the subtle features you're
trying to tease out or block too much light for your modest aperture scope).
For an example of an alternative look at Alpine Astro Baader Filters. There
are others manufacturers and distributors as well... look in any astronomy
magazine. Spending a little more cash here is worth it.

3. M13 - Can in-fact look blob-like (no stars resolved) in light-polluted
skies and/or using a small aperture scope and/or when positioned low in the
sky. Since you have a fixed aperture scope, the most immediate solution for
you get to a darker site, wait for more favorable sky seeing/transparency,
and when it approaches the zenith. One or more of these factors can make a
huge difference.

The bottom line is... that the quality of what you can see is a function of
a chain of factors from your brain, to the eyepiece, to the filters, to the
scope aperture/optical quality, collimation & mechanics, to the mount, to
sky conditions, to the type of object. You have to work all of these
simultaneously... and the bad news is that any degradation in the chain will
degrade the view.

Jim M.
Northern Virginis

brucegooglegroups wrote in
ups.com:

On Jun 19, 12:06 pm, galwacco wrote:
On Jun 19, 11:29 am, brucegooglegroups
wrote:



I viewed Jupiter last night in my Skyquest 4.5 and was disappointed.

Although I could see three moons, Jupiter appeared only white, and I
could not see any details. Is this due to atmospheric conditions, my
viewing site, and/ or limitations of the scope?

I also tried to find m13 and was also disappointed. Even with
magnification, M13 looks similar to m31 in binoculars- unless I was
looking at something else I could see no details.

Also, I have been thinking of cleaning the primary mirror which has
not been cleaned since I bought the scope a year ago. There is a lot
of dust on it, and the views at night don't seem as clear. Should I
bother with the cleaning? The scope is collimated. There seems to be
a lot of opinion towards not cleaning the primary mirror unless
necessary.

Suggestions?
Bruce

Did you consider buying some filters to add some colors into the
planets? They do not perform much of a miracle but if you are looking
for colors it might make you happier.

Another thing to consider is that the human eye cannot catch so many
colors from too distant objects, they are there though your eyes can't
see. I am color blind for green and brown, but my wife can see really
well and she says that Jupiter is fairly white with my 4" reflector
though she can spot some colors out of it.

Hi ,
I may upgrade my telescope, so I may not buy the filter.

About colors, on occasion, I do see red and blue in stars. In a recent
article in Sky News, it seemed that I would be able to see colors of
Jupiter. Perhaps I am expecting too much.

A good article on skynewsmagazine
http://skynewsmagazine.com/pages/jupiterguide.html is a good guide to
viewing Jupiter. I reread the article, so I may need to buy filters.
Clear Skies.
Bruce


Jupiter is great for us down under as it is a winter opposition for us. i.e
Jupiter gets to a very good altitude above the horizon where the seeing
conditions are much better. Can you make out the bands, even if you can't
detect colours which are very subtle anyway?

Klazmon.

On Jun 19, 7:17 pm, "jimandlaura26" wrote:
Bruce,


3. M13 - Can in-fact look blob-like (no stars resolved) in light-polluted
skies and/or using a small aperture scope and/or when positioned low in the
sky. Since you have a fixed aperture scope, the most immediate solution for
you get to a darker site, wait for more favorable sky seeing/transparency,
and when it approaches the zenith. One or more of these factors can make a
huge difference.

The bottom line is... that the quality of what you can see is a function of
a chain of factors from your brain, to the eyepiece, to the filters, to the
scope aperture/optical quality, collimation & mechanics, to the mount, to
sky conditions, to the type of object. You have to work all of these
simultaneously... and the bad news is that any degradation in the chain will
degrade the view.

Jim M.
Northern Virginis


Jim,
Thanks so much for your reply. I feel better about the situation after
reading it. I have been spending the past year learning the sky- I am
new to this- and I want the maximum enjoyment without the hassle.

Despite reading, and looking at charts- getting to the deep sky can be
challenging.

I own a skyscout, which makes navigating much easier, Orion Vista
Binocs and the Orion 4.5 Dob. - but I was leaning towards eventually
buying a Nexstar 8 .

The best times I have in skygazing are usually with the binocs, the
Skyscout or just looking at the sky and recognizing new stars and
constellations.

However, I want the same experience with the telescope. So far, aside
from the moon viewing, it's been disappointing. I want the same hassle
free enjoyment with a telescope as with the skyscout and the binocs.

I will consider the filters. However, the mechanics in my scope are
the big drawback. I did collimate the scope. The mirror spot is dead
center. But the views seem not as clear as when I first got the scope.
There are one or two bits of debris on the the primary and I have
toyed with the idea of cleaning it.

Also- I will admit that there was a bit of light in the neighborhood.
I could only see Jupiter from one place, and a number of lights were
on.

Clear Skies.
Bruce

On Tue, 19 Jun 2007 07:29:24 -0700, brucegooglegroups
wrote:

I viewed Jupiter last night in my Skyquest 4.5 and was disappointed.

Although I could see three moons, Jupiter appeared only white, and I
could not see any details. Is this due to atmospheric conditions, my
viewing site, and/ or limitations of the scope?

Two things that come to mind: Where are you observing from and what
magnification are you using when viewing jupiter or M13?

AY

On Jun 19, 10:09 pm, egdbert wrote:
On Tue, 19 Jun 2007 07:29:24 -0700, brucegooglegroups

wrote:
I viewed Jupiter last night in my Skyquest 4.5 and was disappointed.

Although I could see three moons, Jupiter appeared only white, and I
could not see any details. Is this due to atmospheric conditions, my
viewing site, and/ or limitations of the scope?

Two things that come to mind: Where are you observing from and what
magnification are you using when viewing jupiter or M13?

AY

Hi Ay,
I am viewing Jupiter and M13 from New England.
Clear skies.
Bruce

On Jun 19, 10:09 pm, egdbert wrote:
On Tue, 19 Jun 2007 07:29:24 -0700, brucegooglegroups

wrote:
I viewed Jupiter last night in my Skyquest 4.5 and was disappointed.

Although I could see three moons, Jupiter appeared only white, and I
could not see any details. Is this due to atmospheric conditions, my
viewing site, and/ or limitations of the scope?

Two things that come to mind: Where are you observing from and what
magnification are you using when viewing jupiter or M13?

AY

Also- the magnification was 25, and I also tried viewing both Jupiter
and M13 with a 10plossl eyepiece, and the 25 with a 2x Barlow.

Bruce