Is this all I'm supposed to see?

I have a Nexstar 114GT (4.5 inch aperture) and the link below shows
all l can see when I point to Saturn, is this all I'm supposed to see?
Maybe it's just a little sharper than the picture, the picture is just
a tiny bit fuzzy. It's not exactly a jaw dropping sight. Mars isn't
great either, just a little peach ball with no markings or polar cap.
I collimated the telescope too. If this is all a telescope this size
shows I'd like to know how much better is an 8 incher? If anyone has a
link to a picture of how Saturn or Mars looks in one please post it.
Also what brand is good and has good optics?


http://fire.prohosting.com/squirelx/

What you see in the image you posted is about right for a lot of
scopes...some even larger than yours. What you need to know is that a more
powerful eyepiece, combined with good seeing conditions would show you
_much_ more...even in a smallish 4.5".

An 8" telescope is a huge step up. These days you could buy a good 10"
scope for about $500, and 10" is certainly respectable aperture. Take a
look at the Orion 10" Dobs for openers.

Al


"Gladiator" wrote in message
...
I have a Nexstar 114GT (4.5 inch aperture) and the link below shows
all l can see when I point to Saturn, is this all I'm supposed to see?
Maybe it's just a little sharper than the picture, the picture is just
a tiny bit fuzzy. It's not exactly a jaw dropping sight. Mars isn't
great either, just a little peach ball with no markings or polar cap.
I collimated the telescope too. If this is all a telescope this size
shows I'd like to know how much better is an 8 incher? If anyone has a
link to a picture of how Saturn or Mars looks in one please post it.
Also what brand is good and has good optics?


http://fire.prohosting.com/squirelx/

Well its probably the quality of the optics. I'd bet the mirror is not
even parabolized. 40 years ago I received a Montgomery Ward 3.5 inch Newt that
had a spherical corrected mirror. Well what did you expect for 50 bucks Years
later I sold the scope at RTMC in pieces and got nearly a hundred bucks out of
it. I guess you could say that was money well spent.

If you spent some real money like on a Televue 4 inch refracotr or got
yourself a Celestron 8 SCT you would see more. Right now Mars is a tiny disk
and we or it is pulling away from us depending on your point of view. Don't
fret when Mars was close even in you timy import Newt the image won't be much
to right home about. Saturn and Jupiter always shows real nice detail though.

How does your scope do on the moon or the sun those were two objects that
did pretty good with my Spherical corrected Newt from 4 years ago. These two
objects should do OK with you 4.5 inch Newt or how about out at the beach
checking out the young ladies.

Yes aperture helps but quality which you really have to pay for is never
cheap you just cannont convince too many people about that.

Basically it boils down to this. Celestron 8 inch SCT's and larger SCT''s
are getting pretty good. The nextstar line up is primo here. Any of the
Televue scopes like the Televue 102 or the NP101 well operate as advertised.
Then there is the Takahashi equipment be prepared to spend some bucks.
Astro-Physics is a top Amercian made product but they are very limited
production with a juge waiting period up to 5 years now for a scope. However
that may soon change.

Last you can buy yourself a cheap Dob although I've seen some real sorry
examples again the ole Spherical mirror trick is in play. What you need to do
here is go to your local Astro Club and see what others are using.

If you should come across an Old Edmond or Criterion 6 or 8 inch scope
made in the sixties to early seventies buy it there have been some real
bargains lately. They almost always had very good parabolized mirrors.

Basically in this buisness it is Caveat Emptor let the buyer beware!

Clear Skies
Dwight L Bogan

"Gladiator" wrote in message
...
I have a Nexstar 114GT (4.5 inch aperture) and the link below shows
all l can see when I point to Saturn, is this all I'm supposed to see?
Maybe it's just a little sharper than the picture, the picture is just
a tiny bit fuzzy. It's not exactly a jaw dropping sight. Mars isn't
great either, just a little peach ball with no markings or polar cap.
I collimated the telescope too. If this is all a telescope this size
shows I'd like to know how much better is an 8 incher? If anyone has a
link to a picture of how Saturn or Mars looks in one please post it.
Also what brand is good and has good optics?

Hi Gladiator,
having just gone from a similar scope "Meade 4.5" go-to reflector" to
an 8" Dobsonion mounted reflector I have to say that the diffenance is
staggering! Saturn is very nice in the 8" as is Jupiter and Venus. Mars is
still a bit smallish but with good seeing I have seen hints of the polar ice
caps.
Unfortunatly I can't say much about Deep Space Objects as my back yard is
fairly light polluted by local car dealership lights. My 8" telescope is a
Orion TX Dob, the optics seem very good to me and at $400 I think it was a
steal "at least I think it was, my wife has another opinion altogether" G.
Clear Dark Starfilled Skies,
Tom Wales

First of all, forget about Mars for about two years. It's way past
opposition, is almost as small as Uranus or Neptune through a telescope, and
at that size you're not going to see any features on its surface. Mars is
best for 1.5 months before and after opposition time.

As for Saturn, you need magnification, but in a small scope like yours
that's a little harder to come by. Yes, an 8-inch will show a bigger image,
but only approximately twice as much for the same eyepiece, given the focal
ratios are close.

If you're expecting to see Hubble, Voyager, or Galileo looking images,
forget it. The planets look small through any amateur telescope except
perhaps the largest ones, and then you've got to ask yourself if you're
willing to haul 40 to 50 pounds of mount AND telescope for the priviledge.
--
Sincerely,
--- Dave

----------------------------------------------------------------------
A man is a god in ruins.
--- Duke Ellington
----------------------------------------------------------------------

"Gladiator" wrote in message
...
I have a Nexstar 114GT (4.5 inch aperture) and the link below shows
all l can see when I point to Saturn, is this all I'm supposed to see?
Maybe it's just a little sharper than the picture, the picture is just
a tiny bit fuzzy. It's not exactly a jaw dropping sight. Mars isn't
great either, just a little peach ball with no markings or polar cap.
I collimated the telescope too. If this is all a telescope this size
shows I'd like to know how much better is an 8 incher? If anyone has a
link to a picture of how Saturn or Mars looks in one please post it.
Also what brand is good and has good optics?


http://fire.prohosting.com/squirelx/

I have a Nexstar 114GT (4.5 inch aperture) and the link below shows
all l can see when I point to Saturn, is this all I'm supposed to see?

Maybe it's just a little sharper than the picture, the picture is just
a tiny bit fuzzy. It's not exactly a jaw dropping sight.

The 114GT is a scope designed to be compact and easy to use, the optics are
adequate but one would not call it a "planetary scope." It uses a fast primary
mirror combined with a built in barlow/corrector to achievet that short length,
something of a compromise.

There are plenty of fun things to see with a scope like this besides the
planets, take it to a dark site and it will show you many deep sky objects, not
like the Hubble might, but you will be seeing them for yourself. Even from a
light polluted backyard many objects will be fun, the Orion Nebula is always a
stunner, various clusters like m47, m35-38, m41 are nice in a 4-5 inch scope.

Regarding an 8 inch Scope:

Lots of difference, that 8 inch scope will have over 3 times the light
gathering ability and nearly twice the resolving power, the planets will come
alive, the deep sky will come alive.

There are many good vendors, more important is choosing a scope that suits your
desires/needs/personal tastes. It could be a simple DOB that has very good
optics and is ideal for hunting down elusive targets without the aid of
electronics. It might be a Schmitt_Cassegrain that puts on a Dog and Pony show
every time you fire it up. Depends on what you like.

Best way to discover what seems best is to hook up with your local astronomy
club and look at and through a variety of scopes. That way you won't be
disappointed when you make your choice.

Best wishes

jon isaacs

Not a jaw dropping sight?? My, my we sure have become jaded
......................

But, that's about the "size" if it.

Didn't take the time to look thru a similar scope before you bought it did
you?

Know how I can tell? I did the same thing.............. ONCE.

Learn from your experience, or repeat it and never move forward.

Clear Skies,
F Marion

Yup! What? You were expecting Hubble? Maybe
we're missing the point, here. It's a planet with
rings. Grandeur galore. You get to see it in however
small an image. It's not just what you see. It's the
reality that you are only glimpsing. 8" will give you
a much better view, but it still won't be Hubble.
Most deep space objects you will see are much
subtler than your Saturn image. They may appear as
faint smudges, perceptible only in the corner of
your eye. The images are nothing. The hook is
immediacy.

If immediacy doesn't float yer boat, you're wasting
your money on telescopes. Buy astrophotographs -
all image and no immediacy.

Not to be too critical, here. It's a developed taste,
and it may not be for you. Meantime try Jupiter, which
will present a larger image than Saturn, and the Orion Nebula.
Mars, alas, shows detail in a small scope only for a few weeks
every couple of years.

Attend a star party or two. See what other scopes will
show you. (The optics on your scope are mediocre.) Talk
to the people. They may point out details you have missed
by yourself.

Luck and Regards,
-Larry Curcio

"Gladiator" wrote in message
...
I have a Nexstar 114GT (4.5 inch aperture) and the link below shows
all l can see when I point to Saturn, is this all I'm supposed to see?
Maybe it's just a little sharper than the picture, the picture is just
a tiny bit fuzzy. It's not exactly a jaw dropping sight. Mars isn't
great either, just a little peach ball with no markings or polar cap.
I collimated the telescope too. If this is all a telescope this size
shows I'd like to know how much better is an 8 incher? If anyone has a
link to a picture of how Saturn or Mars looks in one please post it.
Also what brand is good and has good optics?


http://fire.prohosting.com/squirelx/

If immediacy doesn't float yer boat, you're wasting
your money on telescopes. Buy astrophotographs -
all image and no immediacy.


Admittedly, I thought of responding to this post in much the same manner
that you did, but after some thought, I believe that this person asked a
bonafide question which reflects the feelings that many of us may have had
at on time or another during our indoctrination into astronomy.

To the original poster... it does get better! While that small telescope
you are currently using is far superior to the one that Charles Messier
used, it's still small by today's standards, and the skies these days are
not nearly as dark as they were about 150 years ago. If you want a more
revealing image, try using a more powerful eyepiece and try to get yourself
to dark skies. If that doesn't do the trick for you, then save your money
and buy a larger telescope. The only problem with that statement is that
many of us own and use scopes larger that 12" in aperture, and we're still
looking for larger scopes.:-)

Al
"Larry Curcio" wrote in message
news
Yup! What? You were expecting Hubble? Maybe
we're missing the point, here. It's a planet with
rings. Grandeur galore. You get to see it in however
small an image. It's not just what you see. It's the
reality that you are only glimpsing. 8" will give you
a much better view, but it still won't be Hubble.
Most deep space objects you will see are much
subtler than your Saturn image. They may appear as
faint smudges, perceptible only in the corner of
your eye. The images are nothing. The hook is
immediacy.

If immediacy doesn't float yer boat, you're wasting
your money on telescopes. Buy astrophotographs -
all image and no immediacy.

Not to be too critical, here. It's a developed taste,
and it may not be for you. Meantime try Jupiter, which
will present a larger image than Saturn, and the Orion Nebula.
Mars, alas, shows detail in a small scope only for a few weeks
every couple of years.

Attend a star party or two. See what other scopes will
show you. (The optics on your scope are mediocre.) Talk
to the people. They may point out details you have missed
by yourself.

Luck and Regards,
-Larry Curcio

"Gladiator" wrote in message
...
I have a Nexstar 114GT (4.5 inch aperture) and the link below shows
all l can see when I point to Saturn, is this all I'm supposed to see?
Maybe it's just a little sharper than the picture, the picture is just
a tiny bit fuzzy. It's not exactly a jaw dropping sight. Mars isn't
great either, just a little peach ball with no markings or polar cap.
I collimated the telescope too. If this is all a telescope this size
shows I'd like to know how much better is an 8 incher? If anyone has a
link to a picture of how Saturn or Mars looks in one please post it.
Also what brand is good and has good optics?


http://fire.prohosting.com/squirelx/

Thanks for your suggestions. Take a look at the picture at the bottom
here http://fire.prohosting.com/squirelx/

I know that one is done with a camera, 30 sec exposure, stack of 84
frames, but can an 8 incher see anything close to this? That would be
a real nice sight. This telescope was only a Nexstar 130GT (5 inch
aperture), just half an inch bigger than mines, and I know it's the
camera but I don't know exactly how much better that makes it. I've
always heard about people seeing the rings of Saturn with their
telescopes but with my Nexstar 114GT all I see is one dot with one
ring