frusterated new guy questions

I have a tasco 302911 (114mm mirror 500mm focal length advertised) that my
father gave to me when he moved, and seeing how Mars is just begging to be
looked at I decided to give it a go.I am new to all this and slightly
confised. Just to night (1am est) Mars looks like shiny golfball that was
spewing a rainbow.. I used an OR 5mm that was in with the other eye pieces
and the colors where gone (eye pice says multi colored on it btw - built in
filters?). I would like to know if there is hope of seeing Jupiter's cloud
bands or Saturn's rings, and mabey eaven a nebula (drool) etc. I hear of
people seeing this stuff, but all I see orbiting gulf ball, that suposed to
be Mars.

Any advice on the limits of this scope or perhaps a set of filters ( and any
newby links) would be a huge help.

Thanks all,
Matt

eye pice says multi colored on it btw

Is that "multi-coated"? to reduce surface reflections ?
Be sure your Tasco is collimated correctly,(see Steve Tonkin's site)
a gentleman near me asked me the exact same questions last week and
his was WAY off. Even so you're not going to get Hubble views, but you
should see the lighter polar caps and maybe some slightly darker
surface features if the seeing permits
jc


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On Sun, 24 Aug 2003 07:11:22 GMT, "Matt" wrote:


Any advice on the limits of this scope or perhaps a set of filters ( and any
newby links) would be a huge help.

I think you mean Multi-coated, not Multi coloured.

I only use a couple of filters for viewing mars, a minus violet one to
take out the fringing, or a red or yellow one to bring out certain
features, but even without a filter you should be able to make out the
polar icecap with a 9mm eyepiece.
If you want to see a Nebula, point your scope in the area of Deneb
(constellation of Cygnus) or even Orion, Galaxy M42 is quite clear in
there at the moment.
I dont know where in the world you are, but at the moment in my part
of the sky, I have some grest views of Mars, Neptune, Uranus and
Saturn
Get yourself some good starchart software, I use winstars
http://winstars.free.fr/english/
Its about the simplest I have seen

Looking for astro bits and pieces?
http://members.ebay.co.uk/aboutme/orpheus1959

Please read the following:

Telescope Buyers FAQ
http://home.inreach.com/starlord


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towards an east that would not know another dawn.
But elsewhere the stars were still young and the light of morning
lingered: and along the path he once had followed, man would one day go
again."

Arthur C. Clarke, The City & The Stars

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Telescope Buyers FAQ
http://home.inreach.com/starlord

"Matt" wrote in message
...
I have a tasco 302911 (114mm mirror 500mm focal length advertised) that my
father gave to me when he moved, and seeing how Mars is just begging to be
looked at I decided to give it a go.I am new to all this and slightly
confised. Just to night (1am est) Mars looks like shiny golfball that was
spewing a rainbow.. I used an OR 5mm that was in with the other eye pieces
and the colors where gone (eye pice says multi colored on it btw - built in
filters?). I would like to know if there is hope of seeing Jupiter's cloud
bands or Saturn's rings, and mabey eaven a nebula (drool) etc. I hear of
people seeing this stuff, but all I see orbiting gulf ball, that suposed to
be Mars.

Any advice on the limits of this scope or perhaps a set of filters ( and any
newby links) would be a huge help.

Thanks all,
Matt




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