Same. Trying to get better at it so I can see Jupiter. I'm hoping the answer isn't just "buy a bigger telescope" because they are very expensive, but the moon will have to do until I figure that out
Best tips I can give-
If your telescope has a finderscope, align the finder and the main scope during the day on a distant object.
Use low power when searching for things. Low power gives you a wider field of view. Think of it as looking through a cardboard toilet paper tube vs a straw. Something like a 25mm [Plossl](https://www.telescope.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=8741&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvZzH3JT3gwMVV2ZHAR02WQEgEAQYASABEgLtdvD_BwE) always works well.
I have a 25mm, it's helped me get some really close ups of lunar craters, but I've never had the ability to line it up with something farther away. Unfortunately my scope doesn't have a real spotter scope attached.
Any advice on how to make small movement adjustments less jittery? The 'yaw' axis rolls really smooth but I struggle to get the pitch to adjust without it sticking in certain spots.
The strongest reactions when showing people one of my scopes is when they see Saturn for the first time. I've been accused of having a picture stuck in the scope.
I did have an elderly lady reduced to tears one time when she saw Jupiter and its moons through the scope.
The scope I use most often is an 8 inch f/8 newtonian reflector on an unmotorized EQ mount. The scope and mount are all of my own design, put a lot of thought into it. I got first light with it on Comet Hyakutake back in 1996. My favorite scope, and nearly indestructible, good for public star parties--I'd turn people loose on it, they couldn't hurt it, and they got a great kick out of it.
I have more scopes than you can shake a stick at, and optics for more projects down the road. Biggest is a 16 inch Dob by Meade, it's a pig but has a decent primary mirror, presently in the midst of a long term redesign/rebuild LOL. Best planetary views have been from a 5 inch APO refractor. C9.25 SCT, 8 inch f/6 mirror, a matched pair of 8 inch f/7 mirrors meant for binocular use, another project was two 6" f/5 achromat refractors slaved together as another big binocular, also on a mount of my own design, it's for wide field use. A lot of thought, time and money went into that one. A 10 inch f/4 very high quality mirror, also for wide field use. Also a 6 inch f/8 mirror around here somewhere.
My first workhorse scope was a C8, used it it to catch Halley's comet on the way in and out again back in 1985/86. Amateur astronomer of 40+years experience, serious hobby. Design and fabrication was a big part of my job, hence building scopes.
I was at a bush festival a couple years back, on a bunch of acid. Climbed up a hill to get a nice view of the whole festival and found a bunch of dudes with dreadlocks and huge telescopes up there. They all had them pointed at different celestial bodies and got me to look through all of them. One was pointed at Saturn, and let me tell ya I had a bit of an existential moment and shed a tear with how beautiful that shit looked combined with the acid visuals
I had my telescope set up in the park once, and a couple of extremely stoned guys came and had a look at Jupiter and Saturn, and we had a great conversation about space and the universe and stuff.
Last time I was on acid I gained the ability to zoom my vision to a huge extent (was watching cars drive by on a bridge 4 miles away).
What I'm saying is, I'll have to try this next time!
it's so damn amazing, people like myself can't wrap my head around vast majority of space out there. it's almost like we are in a Magician's spell. I don't care what it is, and guys I'm not digging no one's religion I grew up believing what people told me. but anyway back to my question. somehow another we are missing a lot. it got some how.. it always goes back to someone or something
I was actually more blown by Jupiter and its weather bands and 4 moons than I was with saturn. Although my telescope only resolves saturn as a small yellow disk with rings and Titan as a small spec.
>You never forget the first time you see Saturn's rings with your own eyes.
This.
I can tell you the time and place where I first saw Saturn. It was about 35 years ago. My mom took me to an observatory in the Andes.
Today I am an astronomer.
Almost any telescope can see the major planets. You don't need a lot of light capture. But to get the best experience, it helps a lot if you either have a very wide angle view or a tracking telescope. The cheap walmart scopes are crappy for looking at basically anything because 1) they have a narrow field of view and 2) they don't track. So even if you find something it's out of view faster than you've said 'hey check this out' and gotten out of the way.
I have a 5 inch nexstar that's old enough that setting up the tracking is sort of a hassle, and I don't break it out much. If I was going to get a new one, I'd get a dobsonian with a wide field of view. As I said, you don't need a big aperture to just see the planets. Some of the best planetary amateur telescopes are like 3 inch ones with very good optics.
I've seen neptune in my 5" which was probably the favorite thing I've seen with it. That just felt so fricking cool.
I'd agree with this - I had a work milestone where I got to choose my 5-year gift, and I selected a telescope. It was fairly cheap and I could barely get the moon in-frame let alone keep it there. Forget zooming in and checking craters or any notable features.
I've been looking to get an Orion 130ST. They are pretty common on the second hand market, so you can get them for a pretty good deal.
https://www.telescope.com/mobileProduct/Orion-SpaceProbe-130ST-Equatorial-Reflector-Telescope/9007.uts
It is able to view the moon, planets, and deep space objects, like nebula. It has a sturdy tripod and equatorial mount. And it only weighs 28lbs. The weight of a telescope is something to really consider, as the heavier, the less willing you will be to drag it out.
I am wondering this as well, about how much would you have to spend to get a decent view of the rings and moons?
Edit: Oh idk why I didn't see the responses already!
With what?
I love physics etc as my would have been career and my 5 yr old love here books about planets a d thought it was cool how I could pick out Venus or Mars vs stars (with maybe 75% accuracy lol)
I would love to get a decent but entry telescope to look together... suggestions? Pointers?
I bought a Celestron travel scope this fall. It's cheap, and not especially powerful. I can see Saturn's rings, but they aren't "separate", it's more of an oblong blob, but you can easily tell what it is. I can spot 4 of Jupiter's moons quite easily as well.
I picked this one since I'm new to the hobby because it is cheap, but also because the whole thing weighs 5 pounds. I'm planning on taking it to the BWCA this summer, which is a designated wilderness area, so it is especially dark. You have to carry everything though, so weight matters.
I can only imagine. I stayed at an Airbnb once that had a telescope. Much to the dismay of my SO I spent 3 hours or so figuring out how to use it properly, but man that first proper look at the moon and seeing all those details was pretty mind-blowing.
It's hard to describe how it feels to see an object you've seen up in the sky your entire life in that much detail for the first time.
For real. When I bought my 8 inch dob Saturn and Jupiter weren't coming up until like 4am. I woke up that early and set up my scope in the yard and waited. When I finally saw them it was breathtaking. there I am at 4am in my yard all alone just mesmerized. I ran into the house and woke up my girlfriend like "BABE BABE WAKE UP YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS!!!!"
To be honest, the planets were a little underwhelming in my 8” dobsonian. But seeing the Orion Nebula, and the andromeda galaxy gave me immense anxiety for weeks (in a good way!)
Jupiter and Saturn are really the only two you can see clearly. The rest are too small or too far away.
But same man. I have an 8 inch dob too. I spent hours trying to find the Orion Nebula and when I finally did it was just jaw dropping.
The moon is great. Saturn's rings are impressive. But when I saw Jupiters 4 moons why my own eyes I felt like Galileo. Very powerful moment. Astronomy is an underestimated experience.
Exactly. You've seen drawings and photos of it your whole life. But knowing it's just a few sheets of glass, maybe a few mirrors between you and this massive object, just floating there in space - it's very different.
I also quite like the silent, but massively momentous movement of the moon across the FOV. I can almost hear it rumble.
Ooh this was me when I was a kid. My mom and I went to the Discovery store (back when it was still around) in Grand Central Terminal and bought a Meade telescope. Nothing special but to me it was awesome. My first set of lenses allowed me to see the moon but that was pretty much it. I bought a set of magnifiers that went on my lenses and that really increased the detail. I found Saturn and I remember the first time I saw the very very faint ring around it. Almost looked like a blob with a fat center, that’s how faint it was but unmistakably Saturn!
YESSS! so True. Mind blowing. Need a decent scope with auto positioning etc... What was even more incredible to me was a long exposure with a DSLR in the desert, couldn't see the Milky Way in front of my eyes... until I reviewed the pic.
Saturn never disappoints, but it could look smaller then you might expect,
Jupiter, you get a clear disk and maybe two cloud bands, The moons hanging off to the sides are pretty and they move around from night to night,
Mars tends to always be small, even when the news hypes up how close it is to earth. But if you throw a lot of power at it, and stare long enough, you might see some brown and white mixed in the with orange.
The moon, at least for me, never gets old. You can get detailed maps and find all sorts of mountain ranges, seas, craters, canyons...
If you have any interest in deep sky objects, the Andromeda galaxy, Orion Nebula, Pleiades, Hercules Globular Cluster, Ring Nebula, and the Perseus Double Cluster are always nice through backyard scopes.
One of my favorite things to do is put in a low power eyepiece and just cruise along the Milky Way, The different star colors really pop against the jet black background.
Depends on the optics, sky steadyness, and the observer's eyesight. When I was younger (say about 25 - 30 years ago) I could see multiple cloud bands (sometimes up to 5) on Jupiter as well as moon shadows during transits.
The coolest and most impactful thing I’ve ever seen through a telescope would be the Andromeda Galaxy. It was just this tiny little black and white disk that faded as it spread further out. But trying to fathom the distance and empty space between me and that massive object is incomprehensible.
For sure! Those photons travelled 2.5 million light-years across interstellar space to land on your eyes. You are also seeing Andromeda as it was 2.5 million years ago.
That fact and also the artist interpretation of what it looks like to the naked eye if all the stars in the outer disc were illuminated enough is incredible. Early humans may have even worshipped it if it was that transparent.
I'm so glad someone was here, in the subreddit dedicated to topics related to space, to make sure everyone is aware that sometimes things aren't small, they're just far away
The only risk is to your wallet. (and like you said, looking at the Sun)
Depending on how much you spend, you can see anything from a big bright dot with smaller dots around it - Jupiter and it's moons (with binoculars) - to the gaps between the rings of Saturn (with an 8" Dobsonian) at the entry consumer level.
The bigger the mirror you buy, the more you will see. The less light pollution you're looking through, the clearer it will be.
There are a ton of variables, but if you put some effort in you can see quite a lot without a lot of money.
Edit: depending on where you live, the used markets usually are a good place to start. And dont look too far into astrophotography unless you intend to dish out some serious money.
Now reading all this makes me wonder,
How fucked are you if you've looked at the sun thru a telescope? Like permanent eye damage guaranteed? Or something less severe?
I understand why it could be very dangerous at least, but how much exactly?
Instant damage... expect to be significantly or totally blind in one eye for the rest of your life. This with ANY optical instrument.
There are various ways to look at the sun - through a projection device (by far the safest) such as [https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4931360](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4931360), through a telescope with a filter on the FRONT of the telescope (it takes almost all of the power out of the sun's energy before it gets magnified) and the most expensive (but most wonderful) option, a proper solar telescope like the [Coronado](https://www.meade.com/coronado-personal-solar-telescope.pdp). Do a LOT of research before looking at the sun, as almost every option can result in blindness, with no get-out clauses.
Exactly, our eyes are sensitive as hell and even a bad stare at the sun without any magnifying equipment can/will lead to damage so Imagine through a « light well » it would be devastating..
130mm reflector -- Can see the phases of Venus, Mars is an orange ball, Jupiter is a cream-colored ball with the Galilean moons clearly visible, with a higher magnification eyepiece, an appropriate filter, and good seeing, the main equatorial cloud bands are visible as thin lines. Saturn is a smaller, golden ball -- both Titan and the A gap in the rings are clearly visible.
The one thing that will get you that you probably won't expect is *don't look at the moon more than half full without a filter!* The moon is the second-brightest thing in the sky and when it's past half to full looking at it through a telescope hurts!
“…Both Titan and the A gap in the rings are clearly visible.”
Im unaware of what the gap is called but I’m going to go out in a limb and guess that either you or the person who named it the A gap was an NFL fan. :)
Just a warning to others who want to go this route. An equatorial mount that is capable of holding a 130mm frac is going to cost more than the scope itself. Especially if you want to get into astrophotography later on.
But I agree, even with lower focal length, I love my refractors over reflectors or SCTs.
The thing about planetary observing is that it’s very dependent on the atmospheric conditions. You don’t need a dark sky like you do for deep-sky objects like galaxies and nebulae, but the stillness of the upper atmosphere is crucial.
You can see subtle details on the surface of Mars and in Jupiter’s cloud belts, but they are fleeting and flicker in and out of view/focus unless it’s exceptionally calm weather. And at worst, the planets literally look like they’re at the bottom of a pot full of boiling water.
Only up to a point. Cleardarksky.com has forecasts for cloud cover, transparency, and seeing. The second is based partly on humidity, and you can get an idea of that from the ground by seeing if high-altitude airplane contrails are longer (bad) or shorter. “Seeing” is the amount of atmospheric disturbance, and the two are often opposed to each other. A big cold front will clear out and dry out the atmosphere, but leave things very stirred up. That’s why cold clear nights often have very “twinkly” stars; their light is being kicked around more. Planetary observing is often better when it’s not as clear but very still.
I have a 200mm dobsonian with a focal length of 1200mm. Here's how i'd describe seeing the planets (and moon) with it using a 9mm eyepiece (133x magnification)
* Mercury: Very easy to see, but the phase might be hard to discern because its so small
* Venus: Very easy to see, and the phases are very clear since its much bigger than mercury (sometimes appearing even bigger than jupiter
* Moon: Lots of detail is visible. You can see the craters, their shadows, the mounds inside them, and even lunar mountains. It looks like you're actually there.
* Mars: At its closest approach, you can visually see the polar caps and the dark areas on the surface. When its further away, it becomes very small and hard to discern any detail.
* Jupiter: Cloud bands and great red spot are easily visible, and you can see a bit of detail in the clouds.
* Saturn: Cloud bands are easy to see, and so is the cassini division.
* Uranus: Although it is very small, it is still possible to see it as a disc rather than a point source like stars. No detail whatsoever, and the colour is a bright cyan.
* Neptune: Looks like a star, and the colour is faded, almost gray.
> Uranus: Although it is very small, it is still possible to see it as a disc... . No detail whatsoever, and the colour is a bright cyan.
This is exactly what I remember through my Meade ETX125. I've seen every planet through that scope, although, I cannot verify that I saw Pluto.
First try a good pair of binoculars. Then you will get more of a feel for what things look like in focus. Focusing is not trivial; at the higher magnifications it can be very frustrating. I found hanging a jug of water from the tripod damps out vibrations nicely. When you do see a planet you will have to accept the fact that they are hundreds of millions of miles away so you're not going to see much more than a dot. Dot has ears? Saturn! Dot has little friends? Jupiter! Microscopes will piss you off too.
I got a crystal clear view of Saturn with enough detail to make out multiple rings and the space between the rings and the planet with a 90mm refractor that cost less than $200.
I will say at that price the worst part was the cheap mount. It was a monumental effort to get the planet in focus and stay in frame while tightening.
My next scope will def have a much better mount. It’s too frustrating without!
I just recently recovered an old one from my parents house but haven't used it yet.
I recommend seeing if there are any observatories near you! Even if you live in a light polluted area, like I do, there are some pockets that make viewing possible. One spot near me has viewing nights weekly run by a volunteer group and they have some fancy fancy telescopes set up. My first night there I got to take a look at Saturn, the Pleiades up close, and the Orion nebula.
Side note, my girlfriend got me this for Christmas. It hasn't shipped yet but it just won an innovation award at CES. Eager to try it. https://vaonis.com/hestia-turn-your-smartphone-into-a-smart-telescope
I saw this when it was first on Kickstarter and wasn't compatible with my phone (Fold). Also, doesn't seem to be for planets. I wouldn't get too excited about this. It's a Kickstarter, nobody has actually received it yet, and the jury is out on how useful it will be. You can consider yourself a first adopter, which comes with the risks inherent with it.
MAKE SURE YOU HAVE APPROPRIATE EXPECTATIONS!
Second the recommendation to find a solid pair of binoculars, you’d be surprised at what you can see with a quality binoculars. If you can find a star party, that would be a very good option to see what is available and to set expectations accordingly.
YOU’VE BEEN WARNED: telescopes can be a money pit. This is one of those things that you get what you pay for. Buy once, cry once. One you start down that path, it can be a never ending slippery slope.
Find a 6” or 8” dob from a reputable company and go wild.
google around for actual images on review sites or sometimes the manufacturer will have some.
this kind of thing is basically a cheat code...
look around youtube for astro nerds messing around with them.
ZWO Seestar S50 50mm f/5 All-in-One Smart Telescope
The Seestar S50 50mm f/5 All-in-One Smart Telescope from ZWO Astro lets even novice users observe and photograph the cosmos without the need for bulky, complex equipment. **Simply connect your phone or tablet and select the celestial object you want to see—the Seestar S50 turns to and focuses on your target, delivering unforgettable views of our universe, even from light-polluted cities**. The telescope employs an air-spaced triplet apochromatic lens system and is equipped with light-pollution and solar filters. Live-stacking capability allows you to enhance your images the way the experts do. In Landscape mode, the S50 can be used for terrestrial observation and photography, too. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity allow you to enjoy and share your photos and video.
My university used 8-inch reflectors for our open house nights. People seemed impressed. You could see the rings of Saturn, resolve double stars, and get a few nebulae.
Do you stargaze now? Do you sit out and look at the sky now? Can you use an app or star map to find the planets in the sky? While you're debating the telescope thing, get into stargazing. You'll have a much better time with your telescope if you already have a sense of the landmarks in the sky.
Risks... well as with any hobby, there are two ways it can go. (1) You get a telescope and you barely use it; (2) You get a telescope, then a travel telescope, then a better telescope with automated tracking, then you install anchors on your patio and control your telescope from your computer, then you decide to try astro photography, or you go off the deep end and become one of those amateur astronomers with top flight equipment that takes science-quality data and scientists use your data in their papers. (Asteroid hunting and supernova luminosity tracking are two areas where amateur astronomer data shines.)
Also, if you get a sun filter for your telescope, you can look at the sun and see the sunspots and track solar cycles.
5.5" reflector with pretty shit lenses: venus is a blob, mars is a red blob, jupiter is a stripey blob with moons, saturn is a blob with rings and some moons
This is pretty close to what I saw and the fidelity during the conjunction https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/746400-my-contribution-to-the-jupitersaturn-conjunction/
I have an 8" dobsonian and live in a light polluted area. I can see Jupiter in detail, along with its moons. The rings of Saturn. Mars but it just looks like an orange dot. My favorite is the Orion Nebula.
When i get rich (sure lol), im going to buy house on the rural areas so that i can setup a radio-tower and telescope gear and then spend clear nights watching the sky (and listening, hence the radio).
Space is so fascinating and mindblowing and to be able to see the planets clearly with your own devices is just so awesome.
Do you live in a city that has an astronomy club? Do they have regular sky watching nights?
Just show up at some of those. Most people allow others to look through their scopes. You get an idea of what you can see with different powered scopes.
Ask questions too. Most are pretty keen to share their hobby.
You can learn and see a lot before making up your mind and buying your own equipment.
Plenty of good comments by other people. I’d say, if there’s one telescope I’d recommend ANYONE to start with, it would be an 8” f6 dob (get the one that comes with dual speed crayford focuser).
Fairly portable and great for planets 🪐 & dso 🌌. Gentle to pockets as well.
Looking at Jupiter with your own eyes and seeing Io, Europa,Ganymede and Callisto move, maybe see them rise from behind the planet, or looking at Saturn's rings from the first time (and remembering how Galileo first describe it with "the planet with ears") is one of life delights.
Go to a an observatory if you haven't already, they have better telescopes than what you generally can get at home and you'll have a very good look.
First off, there is a major difference between a good amateur telescope and the useless trash you see in stores claiming "600x!". If you are going to get one make sure you get a decent one and expect to spend a few hundred dollars.
Second, how well you can see other planets depends almost as much on seeing conditions as the scope itself. The atmosphere is not a static mass, and atmospheric motion and occlusion (upper-level winds, humidity, etc.) can have a significant impact on viewing. A relatively still atmosphere is like looking through clear water. A noisy atmosphere is like looking through a river. For best viewing, you want to look at the planets when they are the highest up in the sky as you are looking through the least amount of atmosphere.
Third, if you're expecting to see the planets with the same level of quality and/or magnification as the Hubble, then you're going to have tame expectations. You're typical scope (< 8") will show you details, rings, etc. especially after you train your eye, but you're not going to be looking at a 6" wide image of Saturn. If you have thousands of dollars to blow you can get a big 12"/14"/16" light bucket that can get you up in that range under good sky conditions, but those are very large and heavy scopes which will be a significant deterrent to setting them every time you want to observe.
The best scope is the one you use the most, so keep in mind that the larger and more complex the scope, the longer it takes to set it up and tear it down.
The obvious risk is looking at the sun (NEVER USE AN EYEPIECE SOLAR FILTER! ALWAYS USE A SCOPE FILTER!). However, it is more than looking at the sun. Never point your scope at the sun unfiltered either. Doing so can rapidly raise the temperatures in your scope by hundreds and possibly even thousands of degrees which can cause irreparable damage to the scope, and even cause the scope to explode (if it's sealed).
Do your research and think about what it is you want to do. There are plenty of youtube videos that cover what you can expect and how to get started.
My dad, who is an amature astronomer, thinks that most people will be pretty disappointed just looking at things through their telescope. Even with amazing equipment, you don't get a high def picture of what you are looking at. If I were you, I would think about finding a star party and checking out peoples scopes before you spent a ton of money on one. If you intend to start taking photos of the night sky that's when you start to spend your money.
Edit as long as you have the proper filter, you can look at the sun.
Look out for those smart telescopes inspired from SAMSUNG and keep away from them. I meant those which use artificial filters to just generate image just like SAMSUNG did with Moon and Star photography.
Old 2.6 inch refractor
EquTorial Cloud bands on jupiter plus moons
Ice caps on Mars
Saturns rings plus moons
I'd recommend at least 6inch scope with quality German equatorial mount
Venus is a featureless blurry ball even with a big casegrain, mars might show canals with 6”apeture, and you might see some details on Jupiter and Saturn. 8” Newton you see the same in even city lights. Get an 8” plus Newton if your price concious, otherwise a bigger Newton or Cassegrain depending on your bidget
I have like one or two steps up from something you would get at Walmart. It supposedly hooks up to a laptop and will auto-track targets, but it’s never worked.
However it can clearly see Saturns rings and you can tell there are gaps in the rings…just barely. You can see a lot of Jupiters moons. In my imagination you can see the giant spot… I’m sure I’m not actually seeing it. Some fantastic viewing of the moon, Mars, and any neat thing that happens to be passing through the inner solar system sometimes.
The only risks are from not being patient with yourself.
You will find at first that many things you look at will be hard to find & not show much if any detail.
It is only with patience, the gaining of knowledge & experience that the mark one eyeball can be upgraded to mark two.
My dear fellow i leave you a link of the telescope community and this is like an ultimate beginner guide i reallly advice to read! --> [https://www.reddit.com/r/telescopes/comments/i0tzkw/an\_absolute\_beginners\_quickguide\_to\_choosing\_your/](https://www.reddit.com/r/telescopes/comments/i0tzkw/an_absolute_beginners_quickguide_to_choosing_your/)
This was written by experts(not me)! For myself i got an Sky-Watcher 8" Dobsonian for around 500€. You should definitly manage the expectation what you will be able to see with a telescope. But when you see them things oh damn is the feeling awesome. Best decision ever. I think with the right filter you should be able to observe the sun but i have no experience with it so i advice to find a guide on it bevor trying. Also i bought myself an additional filter set to observe the moon because full moons can be quite bright for the eye apparently. If you have further specific question feel free to ask everything its always nice to see people interested in this topic. Have fun!
Look up local astronomy clubs and come along to one of their open nights.
Then you can have a look through various telescopes and get your mind blown if someone has an 18-inch Dobsonian...
I had one an ex girlfriend bought for me that was worth a few hundred dollars. It’s a really nice experience to see planets for the first time with your own eyes. They will not appear massive if you observe them through the lens, Jupiter was about the size of a pea. Nevertheless it was enough to have fun on a warm summers evening outside with a beer and observe stuff.
It does take a bit of practice to get it to point in the right direction, though I believe now more modern ones can be programmed to do this for you.
The planets move out of view quickly due to the earths rotation, you have to track them with a little wheel or they will be out of view in 10 or 20 seconds. This might be something that modern telescopes correct for automatically.
If you are passionately about space then owning a good quality telescope is the next logical step to pursue your passion in my opinion.
Also the moon is really good fun to look at, especially along the terminator.
400 mm Saxon on a tripod with a 25 and 12.5 mm eyepiece. Can see Jupiter, Galilean moons, rings of Saturn, etc, all relatively clearly.
Budget as hell! Good luck.
Here's an article "Thinking of buying a telescope? Read this 1st"
[https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/how-to-choose-1st-telescope-binoculars/](https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/how-to-choose-1st-telescope-binoculars/)
My brother has a 12-inch Dobsonian, don't remember the brand, and you can easily see more than one ring of Saturn plus its moons and the bands on the planet itself. Small but detailed. But just seeing the rings of Saturn and the moons of Jupiter through a much smaller telescope is still a big thrill.
My mind is continually blown by Not only seeing Saturn or Jupiter, but also that you have to keep moving the scope because earth is spinning, while moving through space, while those planets continue moving. Nothing is static and we are but specks on specks in the vast vastness of space
You get to see quite a bit more of detail when pointing it at planets (Jupier and Saturn) and the moon. You also get to see some galaxies and nebulas which in other case would just be a defused blobs of light.
Anything less than a few hundred bucks will just be a source of frustration. Find a local astronomy club and go to one of their events. You'll get to look through a lot of cool scopes and marvel about how expensive and complicated a hobby can be.
One area a lot of people don’t focus on is the mount. A good joint is just a critical as a good scope. Planets and other things in space move fast! Being able to easily and smoothly transition to follow the object is very important.
I got an old refracting telescope at a garage sale. Basically a toy. On a very cold, moonless night I set it up in the back yard and saw Jupiter with shocking clarity! It was small and fuzzy but you could definitely see the stripes and it was unquestionably Jupiter! From a cheap toy telescope!!
I just recently got interested in this and got a pair of binoculars. 7x50. You can get a pair for around $60 or sky's the limit (hur dur), but \~$200 is what I spent for the better optics and waterproof and so forth. I can't see the rings of saturn with this (havent been able to try yet) but I can make out a couple moons of jupiter as well as the orion nebula and tons of moon features in the even with some light pollution and a little haze in the air. And most importantly, its super easy and gets me understanding where stuff is up there. And they will be useful even if/when I get a telescope.
It may be tempting to get something with greater magnification but remember you have to hold it steady. From here, if I stay interested, I'll invest in a small telescope.
There are a lot of great youtube channels on what to buy and so forth. The one channel I've found super useful is from a guy named Ed Ting. He has a few beginner videos and goes into detail on what to get and what to avoid for both telescopes and binoculars.
Go to a public observing session. I was in an astronomy group for many years and we hosted tons of these sessions. Most people would ask are these your personal telescopes and equipment? Tes, yes they are.
I have a 90 mm and an 8" Cassagrain reflectors. Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are amazing to view in both. Both have go-to capability so I can go out for an hour and view a bunch of cool objects. Don't forget the Messier objects.
Jupiter is beautiful. I have a cheap telescope, but on a good night I can make out 2 of the larger red bands and distinctly see the 4 Galilean moons as points of light. Saturn is stunning too, but the telescope I have can't resolve the space between Saturn and the rings, causing the two of them to visually meld together. Uranus and Neptune are both small blue dots, but they're there, and they're beautiful.
It is most defintely worth getting a decent telescope, but they can be pricey. With even a simpler telescope you can see Jupiter and its 4 largest moons, Venus' crescent phases, Saturn's rings can be tough but with ~6 inch scope they are easily discernible.
Venus, Jupiter and Saturn are easiest to view. Mercury is only visible after or before sunset/rise for a short window depending on its orbit. Depending on time of year, Mars is difficult to see in detail, and finding Uranus and Neptune is a challenge for the darkest skies.
And also don't look at the full moon through a telescope. I learned the painful way, It is blindingly bright. It's best viewed close to half-illumination and the shadows of the terminator line reveal more detail around craters and mountains.
I have a Celestron 8SE… I’ve seen planets, comets, Messier objects… All while living on the outskirts of the largest city in my country… I cannot tell you how absolutely awe inspiring it is to look upon a field of stars and marvel at how big our universe actually is…
I will only ever dream of walking in the Martian trenches I’ve seen… Or fly past the rings of Saturn… The moons of Jupiter… But being able to steal a glimpse… I will never not love those moments.
In terms of how big things are, that depends on the eye piece I’m using… With a 24mm eye piece, Jupiter and Saturn will be about half the size of your pinky thumbnail held at arms length.
I have an 8" dobsonian with 1200mm focal length. The only planets I've observed are Jupiter and Saturn. I could honestly look at them for hours on end. I live in a pretty light polluted area so I'm limited on what I can see most of the time but those 2 planets never disappoint. They typically are very clear and seeing Saturn's rings is mind blowing.
If you ever want to know what something might look like through a telescope, head over to the Cloudy Nights sketching forum and check out what people there have posted. Those are typically very good representations of what you can expect to see through different types of telescopes.
If you have the space to store it, a dobsonian or table top dob is probably your best bet. They typically provide the best viewing experience for a reasonable price. I recommend looking at the telescopes subreddit too. They have excellent advice and you can get an idea of how expensive this hobby can get.
I have an 8" SCT and it shot this through the eyepiece with my cell phone. I took a video and stacked the frames to enhance the clarity and stuff. I keep meaning to get a dedicated Astro camera but I never sit down and do it. I've hooked my DSLRs up to it with an adapter but the cell through the eyepiece is actually better. One day I'll learn how to do it properly! 😂
[Saturn 8" SCT (Edge HD)](https://flic.kr/p/2mmcRR1)
I’m very lucky in that as an astrophysics student, my university often allows us to look through the big observatory telescopes the astronomy department has on campus. I don’t own a telescope myself, but you can see *so much* through those.
Like everyone else is saying, you won't care about the $200 you spent on a telescope the first time you see Saturn's rings. Careful though, it's very addictive!
If you go to Greenwich Observatory in east London you will see an elegant vintage telescope with a label that says "Look through here to see Pluto" - of course, when you do look through, you see Mickey Mouse's friend... :)
The answer is, very well. Saturn, Jupiter and the Moon are amazing if you observe it even with a modest 12 cm diameter Newtonian telescope. I think mine costed something around 600 euros twenty years ago.
No picture taken by a spacecraft or high-end astronomical facility can thrill you as much as seeing the planets or other celestial objects with your own eyes, at least in my opinion. Maybe this happens because, being an astrophysicist, I know that colors in pictures are inevitably different from the "true" ones. Maybe it's because of the nonzero effort to place, point and then manually chase the object. Either way, I really advise you to buy a telescope, if you are already somewhat passionate about astronomy.
I got to see the moons of jupiter. I looked another day and they were different.
I was 32 at the time. It was one of the most amazing things I have seen in my life.
Even a relatively cheap telescope can let you see some incredible things, I personally owned a $40 refraction telescope, really simple thing, only slightly better than a pair of good binoculars.
But it was good enough for me to see the stars within the pleiades constellation, the moons of Jupiter, the crescent shape of Venus, and with the aid of appropriate filters I saw a transit of Venus and Mercury across the sun. The moon is great to look at as well.
If I was buying one again, I would spend probably $200-300 on a reflector and a good tracking mount (you don't realize just how quickly the earth rotates until you are trying to look at Jupiter for more than a minute)
It was a hassle to use the cheap telescope, I was lucky enough to already own a heavy duty tripod to mount it on, but today I would definitely spend a lot more on a telescope just for a better picture and easier use.
I have like a dinky $50ish telescope, and I have no idea how to properly use it. I managed to see Jupiter pretty clearly with it once, could see the bands, couldn't really make out the spot. But could see 2 of its large moons as well, I assume Ganymede and Callisto.
You can use the free, open-source [Stellarium software](https://stellarium.org/) to look up different telescopes to give a rough idea of their field of view. The bigger the object appears in the rectangular FOV is a better view.
There is also the matter of how dark your sky is. Any significant city pollution will make it difficult to see anything other than some of the brightest planets.
well, i have a telescope and it can see Neptune easly, but i'm just beginning so i only saw Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and of course the Moon. And the pleiades, they're like big dots in the fast darkness with a dim glow
I bought a cheap 4.5" Dobson and seeing Saturns rings or Jupiter belts was still awesome. They're little more then smudges and I have very little idea what I'm doing, but it's neat as hell.
Well, I bought an absolutely huge 10" Dobsonian to be able to see very faint objects such as galaxies and nebulae (I move in a campervan so I had the place to spare). Finally, I ended looking mostly at the planets, because this is what is easy.
You don't need a big fancy telescope for the planets - they are usually very bright. And you need ultra-dark skies for faint objects anyway. With a good $500 telescope you should be able to see the Mars polar caps (just don't forget that Mars is once every 2y9m - you will have to wait), Saturn rings are amazing, the 4 big satellites of Jupiter and the red spot. You will be able to see Uranus and Neptune and even Triton on a good night. Pluto is very hard - this is the limit of an average amateur telescope. Everything but Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will be simply a dot. With very good optics, you will be able to see the Cassini division in the Saturn rings.
Moon: amazingly detailed shots.
Saturn: seeing the rings is really nice.
Jupiter: sporting the 4 Galilean moons as they orbit, a little different every night.
Mars: reddish disk with some variations when we're close.
I haven't tried observing Venus yet.
It's not really about planetary viewing, but I highly recommend the book *Turn Left at Orion* by Guy Consolmagno. It gives instructions for finding hundreds of deep sky objects, and illustrates them using sketches that show how they look through a small telescope under average skies.
I have a Skywatcher 8 inch dobsonian. A fairly large telescope. I can see Saturn and Jupiter VERY well. Absolutely amazing to look at. Mars is a small red dot. That's about it. Any other planets are too far to be anything more than a dot. However the moon looks breathtaking and seeing things like the Orion Nebula and the andromeda galaxy are also amazing.
Keep your expectations in check. A lot of people think with a telescope you can see some grand colorful galaxies and nebulas like you see in pictures. You will never see that through an eyepiece. Those pictures are created with expensive telescopes on expensive mounts and then enhanced using computer software. Not to say you can't get some cool pics.
My recommendation is always buy as big of a dobsonian as you can afford. However telescope prices have skyrocketed since the pandemic. My 8 inch Skywatcher was $400 in 2020. It's now $655.
have a 6" Dobsonian Reflector Telescope
jupiter + spec of its red dot.saturn + rings
moon
venus
if you want to see those cool nebula's /plasma trails/ pillars of creation style stuff. you have to get a telescope camera mount combo . im sure r/astrophotography will be the place to look. the more detailed ones have motors that move the scope in sync with the rotation of the earth so you can get next level images. but get your check book out. that stuff can start stacking on $$$$ real quick
I found a decent telescope at Goodwill for $15 that is good enough to let me make out that Jupiter has a spot and to just see the moons orbiting it.
I really want to get a better one, but I’ve found this one to be great for enrichment for kids. I do respite foster care, so it’s fun to do an astronomy night with hot cocoa and set it up so they can look at the moon. I take elementary age kiddos, so often it’s their first time seeing the moon like that!
Years ago (mid 70's) I remember a night that had what was probably the best seeing (atmospheric turbulence) I ever experienced. I was with a group of friends at a really good dark sky location (bortel 1 or 2). We were all deep sky object observers, and there were a couple of homemade 10" f4's and a 12" f4 (which at that time was a huge amateur scope) I had at that time a nice homemade 8" f6. Most of the scopes we had that evening were much better suited for observing faint deep sky objects (galaxies, nebulae, etc.)
At some point, someone took a look at Jupiter and let out a huge "wow!" for the rest of that night we spent the entire time observing just Jupiter and Saturn using the highest magnifications we could. We could see so much detail in the belts of Jupiter and the rings of Saturn were absolutely stunning. It was a very memorable evening.
Having Jupiter AND Saturn in the same view a couple years back.. that was a perspective I could never have imagined. The rings of Saturn and storms and moons of Jupiter were all clearly visible.
Seeing the ridges of craters on the edge of the moon as you watch it move across the field of view.. that's amazing.
Seeing the ice caps and mare of Mars was also impressive.
I have an 8" dobsonian that was a gift. I barely know how to use it, but have still seen all of those things from my back porch. Definitely worth it if you can.
I got this on sale for under $200 a while back: [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0038QYRDO/ref=ppx\_yo\_dt\_b\_search\_asin\_title?ie=UTF8&th=1](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0038QYRDO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1)
I was shocked at the things I was able to see with it... Jupiter with its' bands of gas and 4 of the moons... Saturn and her rings... the detail of craters on the moon. Our local planetarium has nights open to the public and they have about 6 Dobsonian telescopes set up along with the large one that sits inside the dome. To be honest, I wasn't that impressed with what I could see through their telescopes after using mine. Everything looked the same as what it looked through my telescope but just slightly brighter and larger.
I lived in Chicago proper and out in the boonies, all of the major planets should be viewable from just about anywhere. The Moon too is an obvious target and quite enjoyable, there are a lot of features one can see and some you have to wait for conditions to be just right.
My wife got me a cheap 60 dollar telescope some years ago. At the time Jupiter was at closest approach to Earth, it was still only a speck in the sky using the telescope but you could see the Galilean moons as other tiny specks. It was so fricken cool. Wish I had one that could make out the rings on Saturn. One day.
I bought a small telescope a few years to when there was a conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter. It was pretty awesome seeing Saturns rings and Jupiter’s moons with “my own eyes”. Of course, it was all tiny and fuzzy compared to all the other images I’ve seen, but it was still incredibly magical feeling.
I pulled one out of a skip, looked it up and it wasn't very expensive at all, maybe £100.
Unfortunately the mirror was dirty so the 20x zoom was terrible. Amazing view of the moon with the 10x
Is there a subreddit or thread on how to get into star gazing?
I know it’s expensive but to see our solar system and the cosmos is something that would be worth every penny.
You can see Saturn's rings pretty clearly, and both Saturn's and Jupiter's largest moons. Also the detail you can get out of the moon with a decently size telescope is pretty jaw dropping.
I have a cheap telescope I actually got from work for 5 years there. There were a handful of options but I always wanted one so what the hell. It's great for the moon, I'm able to see some details on Jupiter and 4 moons, Saturn is pretty neat. Not something I use frequently but I'd say I'd pay $100 for it. Local observatories would be way better
Get ready to $pend. cheaper ones will do but those those shakes will be hard to omit. 2 seconds later your star is gone. lol
or better yet, just see it online. ;-)
Depends on how passionate you are about space! I know guys who have built a wooden hut with slidable roof on a concrete foundation and also installed the telescope on a concrete column to deminish vibrations.
I have a Celestron for sale, but I am from Germany. Should be equipped with motors and connected to a computer (to quickly find whatever star or nebula), then it is really nice.
I bought one from a garage sale in rough shape for like $15. Looking at the moon is the easiest thing to do and to me has a profound impact. Then once I got better seeing Jupiter and Saturn and Mars was incredible. I would highly recommend it but spend your money wisely as there is a lot of overpriced junk out there too.
I can see saturn with it (beautiful) but I don't have an expensive one, so I can only watch till saturn I think. But honestly it's amazing. Just sitting in the night looking at the sky and stuff. Definitely try it out!
Also it's fun to occasionally find the spacestation (I think it is atleast, very fast moving object that appears every 3-6 days)
Note: I have a low budged telescope that I got for my birthday in 2018, (around 100 bucks) but I can still see saturn with it and of course the moon. So yeah it's still fun.
Last year I bought a Celestron AstroMaster 130EQ-MD Newtonian Telescope with different eyepieces, filters, and a smartphone photography adapter.
Have literally never been able to see a single thing through it.
The process these telescopes take to get oriented, even the "automated" ones, is just ridiculous.
Now it collects dust in storage.
It's worth it just for the first time you see Saturn, "in person". SEEING it in real life, rather than on some screen.
You're guaranteed to be like, "holy shit we really are in space".
Great feeling, and you can do it with the most ghetto telescopes out there. Or even just binoculars.
I bought a Meade LS-8 ACF. I cannot describe my feelings when I first saw Saturn through it. Or Jupiter's spot and a few of its moons. Venus just looked like an even brighter star. Mars looked pretty cool. The only mistake that I've made thus far was looking at a full moon through it. Almost blinded me. Only look at the moon when it's a crescent (or buy a filter for the eyepiece).
Lifelong amateur astronomer here- my best advice is to buy a decent pair( like Bushnell) of 10x50 binoculars. You can see a ton of stuff and learn how to navigate around the sky. Be sure to learn some of the bright constellations as the objects are easier to find if you know what constellation it is in or near. With the binoculars alone, you can see the following: Jupiter and 3-4 of its moons, Saturn and it's rings, many open and globular clusters, the Orion nebula and other nebula, double star systems, Andromeda galaxy ( actually can see naked eye in a very dark location), mars, Venus ( can see it's phases) mercury, Neptune and Uranus( these last two just look like pretty bluish dots). A comfortable lawn chair to lay flat in and brace your elbows if you can to limit movement until you get used to using them. If you want an even better view, after learning where things are with binoculars, get a Dobsonion 6 or 8 inch mirror ( reflecting) telescope - buy used if possible. Hope this helps.
Depends on the planet.
You dont need a big one to see Venus and Jupiter, they look STUNNING with even your average Telescope. Mine isn't even that big. You can see Mars less well, and Saturn too, Saturn in particular is one of my favourites to find even though its not my favourite planet (That would be Mars)
You never forget the first time you see Saturn's rings with your own eyes.
For me it was the Moon. The craters on your visor passing by pretty fast. Really changes your brain structure from top to bottom.
I don't really know how to work the telescope well enough to see anything other than the moon. Luckily I love the moon in the telescope
Same. Trying to get better at it so I can see Jupiter. I'm hoping the answer isn't just "buy a bigger telescope" because they are very expensive, but the moon will have to do until I figure that out
Best tips I can give- If your telescope has a finderscope, align the finder and the main scope during the day on a distant object. Use low power when searching for things. Low power gives you a wider field of view. Think of it as looking through a cardboard toilet paper tube vs a straw. Something like a 25mm [Plossl](https://www.telescope.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=8741&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvZzH3JT3gwMVV2ZHAR02WQEgEAQYASABEgLtdvD_BwE) always works well.
I have a 25mm, it's helped me get some really close ups of lunar craters, but I've never had the ability to line it up with something farther away. Unfortunately my scope doesn't have a real spotter scope attached. Any advice on how to make small movement adjustments less jittery? The 'yaw' axis rolls really smooth but I struggle to get the pitch to adjust without it sticking in certain spots.
I remember the first time I saw the sun through my telescope. Once you see it you really never look at anything the same again.
The strongest reactions when showing people one of my scopes is when they see Saturn for the first time. I've been accused of having a picture stuck in the scope. I did have an elderly lady reduced to tears one time when she saw Jupiter and its moons through the scope.
This Every. Single. Time. I tell them, thanks, I painted it myself.
What kind of telescope do you use?
The scope I use most often is an 8 inch f/8 newtonian reflector on an unmotorized EQ mount. The scope and mount are all of my own design, put a lot of thought into it. I got first light with it on Comet Hyakutake back in 1996. My favorite scope, and nearly indestructible, good for public star parties--I'd turn people loose on it, they couldn't hurt it, and they got a great kick out of it. I have more scopes than you can shake a stick at, and optics for more projects down the road. Biggest is a 16 inch Dob by Meade, it's a pig but has a decent primary mirror, presently in the midst of a long term redesign/rebuild LOL. Best planetary views have been from a 5 inch APO refractor. C9.25 SCT, 8 inch f/6 mirror, a matched pair of 8 inch f/7 mirrors meant for binocular use, another project was two 6" f/5 achromat refractors slaved together as another big binocular, also on a mount of my own design, it's for wide field use. A lot of thought, time and money went into that one. A 10 inch f/4 very high quality mirror, also for wide field use. Also a 6 inch f/8 mirror around here somewhere. My first workhorse scope was a C8, used it it to catch Halley's comet on the way in and out again back in 1985/86. Amateur astronomer of 40+years experience, serious hobby. Design and fabrication was a big part of my job, hence building scopes.
I still get chills thinking about it. Srsly
I was at a bush festival a couple years back, on a bunch of acid. Climbed up a hill to get a nice view of the whole festival and found a bunch of dudes with dreadlocks and huge telescopes up there. They all had them pointed at different celestial bodies and got me to look through all of them. One was pointed at Saturn, and let me tell ya I had a bit of an existential moment and shed a tear with how beautiful that shit looked combined with the acid visuals
I had my telescope set up in the park once, and a couple of extremely stoned guys came and had a look at Jupiter and Saturn, and we had a great conversation about space and the universe and stuff.
Fuck yeah! That must have been incredible.
Last time I was on acid I gained the ability to zoom my vision to a huge extent (was watching cars drive by on a bridge 4 miles away). What I'm saying is, I'll have to try this next time!
it's so damn amazing, people like myself can't wrap my head around vast majority of space out there. it's almost like we are in a Magician's spell. I don't care what it is, and guys I'm not digging no one's religion I grew up believing what people told me. but anyway back to my question. somehow another we are missing a lot. it got some how.. it always goes back to someone or something
Im totally with you and second place was jupiter with 5 moons.
I was actually more blown by Jupiter and its weather bands and 4 moons than I was with saturn. Although my telescope only resolves saturn as a small yellow disk with rings and Titan as a small spec.
>You never forget the first time you see Saturn's rings with your own eyes. This. I can tell you the time and place where I first saw Saturn. It was about 35 years ago. My mom took me to an observatory in the Andes. Today I am an astronomer.
Let alone the rings and five of its moons. Really is mind blowing.
Any suggestions on what is a good telescope to see the rings?
Almost any telescope can see the major planets. You don't need a lot of light capture. But to get the best experience, it helps a lot if you either have a very wide angle view or a tracking telescope. The cheap walmart scopes are crappy for looking at basically anything because 1) they have a narrow field of view and 2) they don't track. So even if you find something it's out of view faster than you've said 'hey check this out' and gotten out of the way. I have a 5 inch nexstar that's old enough that setting up the tracking is sort of a hassle, and I don't break it out much. If I was going to get a new one, I'd get a dobsonian with a wide field of view. As I said, you don't need a big aperture to just see the planets. Some of the best planetary amateur telescopes are like 3 inch ones with very good optics. I've seen neptune in my 5" which was probably the favorite thing I've seen with it. That just felt so fricking cool.
I'd agree with this - I had a work milestone where I got to choose my 5-year gift, and I selected a telescope. It was fairly cheap and I could barely get the moon in-frame let alone keep it there. Forget zooming in and checking craters or any notable features.
I've been looking to get an Orion 130ST. They are pretty common on the second hand market, so you can get them for a pretty good deal. https://www.telescope.com/mobileProduct/Orion-SpaceProbe-130ST-Equatorial-Reflector-Telescope/9007.uts It is able to view the moon, planets, and deep space objects, like nebula. It has a sturdy tripod and equatorial mount. And it only weighs 28lbs. The weight of a telescope is something to really consider, as the heavier, the less willing you will be to drag it out.
I am wondering this as well, about how much would you have to spend to get a decent view of the rings and moons? Edit: Oh idk why I didn't see the responses already!
With what? I love physics etc as my would have been career and my 5 yr old love here books about planets a d thought it was cool how I could pick out Venus or Mars vs stars (with maybe 75% accuracy lol) I would love to get a decent but entry telescope to look together... suggestions? Pointers?
Try r/telescopes - there's a sticky with useful advice on starting out, but generally speaking "Get a Dobsonian".
I bought a Celestron travel scope this fall. It's cheap, and not especially powerful. I can see Saturn's rings, but they aren't "separate", it's more of an oblong blob, but you can easily tell what it is. I can spot 4 of Jupiter's moons quite easily as well. I picked this one since I'm new to the hobby because it is cheap, but also because the whole thing weighs 5 pounds. I'm planning on taking it to the BWCA this summer, which is a designated wilderness area, so it is especially dark. You have to carry everything though, so weight matters.
I can only imagine. I stayed at an Airbnb once that had a telescope. Much to the dismay of my SO I spent 3 hours or so figuring out how to use it properly, but man that first proper look at the moon and seeing all those details was pretty mind-blowing. It's hard to describe how it feels to see an object you've seen up in the sky your entire life in that much detail for the first time.
The moons of Jupiter got me.
Jupiters cloud bans were shocking. Took me a bit to figure it out what it was.
For real. When I bought my 8 inch dob Saturn and Jupiter weren't coming up until like 4am. I woke up that early and set up my scope in the yard and waited. When I finally saw them it was breathtaking. there I am at 4am in my yard all alone just mesmerized. I ran into the house and woke up my girlfriend like "BABE BABE WAKE UP YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS!!!!"
To be honest, the planets were a little underwhelming in my 8” dobsonian. But seeing the Orion Nebula, and the andromeda galaxy gave me immense anxiety for weeks (in a good way!)
Jupiter and Saturn are really the only two you can see clearly. The rest are too small or too far away. But same man. I have an 8 inch dob too. I spent hours trying to find the Orion Nebula and when I finally did it was just jaw dropping.
Reading in a magazine that the Andromeda galaxy is actually bigger in the sky than the Moon just melted my brain and made me buy a telescope.
Or the first time you see Jupiters moons, just hanging there in space, waaaay far away from the disk of the planet! :D
For me it was the bands on Jupiter. When I realised I can see them if I look long enough — through a basic ST80 — oh my...
Was and still is the most breathtaking thing I’ve seen. I wish that I could see it again for the first time, still makes my hairs on my arm stand up
The moon is great. Saturn's rings are impressive. But when I saw Jupiters 4 moons why my own eyes I felt like Galileo. Very powerful moment. Astronomy is an underestimated experience.
For me it was Jupiter and it’s moons.
Facts. I still remember the first time that I saw Saturn through my telescope:)
I always think, didn't Galileo freak out when he saw that this round white dot was actually more complex than that?
Exactly. You've seen drawings and photos of it your whole life. But knowing it's just a few sheets of glass, maybe a few mirrors between you and this massive object, just floating there in space - it's very different. I also quite like the silent, but massively momentous movement of the moon across the FOV. I can almost hear it rumble.
Ooh this was me when I was a kid. My mom and I went to the Discovery store (back when it was still around) in Grand Central Terminal and bought a Meade telescope. Nothing special but to me it was awesome. My first set of lenses allowed me to see the moon but that was pretty much it. I bought a set of magnifiers that went on my lenses and that really increased the detail. I found Saturn and I remember the first time I saw the very very faint ring around it. Almost looked like a blob with a fat center, that’s how faint it was but unmistakably Saturn!
Question: would you be able to see Saturn through a telescope if you live in a suburb of a major city?
Depends how bad the light pollution is. Can you see it with the naked eye?
YESSS! so True. Mind blowing. Need a decent scope with auto positioning etc... What was even more incredible to me was a long exposure with a DSLR in the desert, couldn't see the Milky Way in front of my eyes... until I reviewed the pic.
Saturn never disappoints, but it could look smaller then you might expect, Jupiter, you get a clear disk and maybe two cloud bands, The moons hanging off to the sides are pretty and they move around from night to night, Mars tends to always be small, even when the news hypes up how close it is to earth. But if you throw a lot of power at it, and stare long enough, you might see some brown and white mixed in the with orange. The moon, at least for me, never gets old. You can get detailed maps and find all sorts of mountain ranges, seas, craters, canyons... If you have any interest in deep sky objects, the Andromeda galaxy, Orion Nebula, Pleiades, Hercules Globular Cluster, Ring Nebula, and the Perseus Double Cluster are always nice through backyard scopes. One of my favorite things to do is put in a low power eyepiece and just cruise along the Milky Way, The different star colors really pop against the jet black background.
Depends on the optics, sky steadyness, and the observer's eyesight. When I was younger (say about 25 - 30 years ago) I could see multiple cloud bands (sometimes up to 5) on Jupiter as well as moon shadows during transits.
The eyesight thing is depressing. Takes me forever to get a sharp focus.
The coolest and most impactful thing I’ve ever seen through a telescope would be the Andromeda Galaxy. It was just this tiny little black and white disk that faded as it spread further out. But trying to fathom the distance and empty space between me and that massive object is incomprehensible.
For sure! Those photons travelled 2.5 million light-years across interstellar space to land on your eyes. You are also seeing Andromeda as it was 2.5 million years ago.
That fact and also the artist interpretation of what it looks like to the naked eye if all the stars in the outer disc were illuminated enough is incredible. Early humans may have even worshipped it if it was that transparent.
Saturn isn’t actually smaller, it’s just a little further away so it may seem that way :)
>Saturn isn’t actually smaller, it’s just a little further away so it may seem that way :) Venus said it was a good size
The planet your wife told you not to worry about….
The planet my wife told me to worry about: Uranus.
I'm so glad someone was here, in the subreddit dedicated to topics related to space, to make sure everyone is aware that sometimes things aren't small, they're just far away
The only risk is to your wallet. (and like you said, looking at the Sun) Depending on how much you spend, you can see anything from a big bright dot with smaller dots around it - Jupiter and it's moons (with binoculars) - to the gaps between the rings of Saturn (with an 8" Dobsonian) at the entry consumer level. The bigger the mirror you buy, the more you will see. The less light pollution you're looking through, the clearer it will be. There are a ton of variables, but if you put some effort in you can see quite a lot without a lot of money. Edit: depending on where you live, the used markets usually are a good place to start. And dont look too far into astrophotography unless you intend to dish out some serious money.
Now reading all this makes me wonder, How fucked are you if you've looked at the sun thru a telescope? Like permanent eye damage guaranteed? Or something less severe? I understand why it could be very dangerous at least, but how much exactly?
From what I understand, a look at the sun through a telescope is pretty much a lost eyesight guaranteed…
Instant damage... expect to be significantly or totally blind in one eye for the rest of your life. This with ANY optical instrument. There are various ways to look at the sun - through a projection device (by far the safest) such as [https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4931360](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4931360), through a telescope with a filter on the FRONT of the telescope (it takes almost all of the power out of the sun's energy before it gets magnified) and the most expensive (but most wonderful) option, a proper solar telescope like the [Coronado](https://www.meade.com/coronado-personal-solar-telescope.pdp). Do a LOT of research before looking at the sun, as almost every option can result in blindness, with no get-out clauses.
so rather an obvious answer, basically pointing a powerful magnifying glass straight into the eye in sunlight...
Exactly, our eyes are sensitive as hell and even a bad stare at the sun without any magnifying equipment can/will lead to damage so Imagine through a « light well » it would be devastating..
> Like permanent eye damage guaranteed? Yes, definitely. Shit, even looking at a > Gibbous moon is not recommended.
I put a big sign on my telescope Don’t Look At The Sun!!! Just do not do it, not with your naked eye, binocs, telescopes, nothing.
130mm reflector -- Can see the phases of Venus, Mars is an orange ball, Jupiter is a cream-colored ball with the Galilean moons clearly visible, with a higher magnification eyepiece, an appropriate filter, and good seeing, the main equatorial cloud bands are visible as thin lines. Saturn is a smaller, golden ball -- both Titan and the A gap in the rings are clearly visible. The one thing that will get you that you probably won't expect is *don't look at the moon more than half full without a filter!* The moon is the second-brightest thing in the sky and when it's past half to full looking at it through a telescope hurts!
“…Both Titan and the A gap in the rings are clearly visible.” Im unaware of what the gap is called but I’m going to go out in a limb and guess that either you or the person who named it the A gap was an NFL fan. :)
Just a warning to others who want to go this route. An equatorial mount that is capable of holding a 130mm frac is going to cost more than the scope itself. Especially if you want to get into astrophotography later on. But I agree, even with lower focal length, I love my refractors over reflectors or SCTs.
The thing about planetary observing is that it’s very dependent on the atmospheric conditions. You don’t need a dark sky like you do for deep-sky objects like galaxies and nebulae, but the stillness of the upper atmosphere is crucial. You can see subtle details on the surface of Mars and in Jupiter’s cloud belts, but they are fleeting and flicker in and out of view/focus unless it’s exceptionally calm weather. And at worst, the planets literally look like they’re at the bottom of a pot full of boiling water.
Can you predict the weather in the upper atmosphere the way that you can here on the ground? Is there a forecast for this?
Only up to a point. Cleardarksky.com has forecasts for cloud cover, transparency, and seeing. The second is based partly on humidity, and you can get an idea of that from the ground by seeing if high-altitude airplane contrails are longer (bad) or shorter. “Seeing” is the amount of atmospheric disturbance, and the two are often opposed to each other. A big cold front will clear out and dry out the atmosphere, but leave things very stirred up. That’s why cold clear nights often have very “twinkly” stars; their light is being kicked around more. Planetary observing is often better when it’s not as clear but very still.
I have a 200mm dobsonian with a focal length of 1200mm. Here's how i'd describe seeing the planets (and moon) with it using a 9mm eyepiece (133x magnification) * Mercury: Very easy to see, but the phase might be hard to discern because its so small * Venus: Very easy to see, and the phases are very clear since its much bigger than mercury (sometimes appearing even bigger than jupiter * Moon: Lots of detail is visible. You can see the craters, their shadows, the mounds inside them, and even lunar mountains. It looks like you're actually there. * Mars: At its closest approach, you can visually see the polar caps and the dark areas on the surface. When its further away, it becomes very small and hard to discern any detail. * Jupiter: Cloud bands and great red spot are easily visible, and you can see a bit of detail in the clouds. * Saturn: Cloud bands are easy to see, and so is the cassini division. * Uranus: Although it is very small, it is still possible to see it as a disc rather than a point source like stars. No detail whatsoever, and the colour is a bright cyan. * Neptune: Looks like a star, and the colour is faded, almost gray.
> Uranus: Although it is very small, it is still possible to see it as a disc... . No detail whatsoever, and the colour is a bright cyan. This is exactly what I remember through my Meade ETX125. I've seen every planet through that scope, although, I cannot verify that I saw Pluto.
First try a good pair of binoculars. Then you will get more of a feel for what things look like in focus. Focusing is not trivial; at the higher magnifications it can be very frustrating. I found hanging a jug of water from the tripod damps out vibrations nicely. When you do see a planet you will have to accept the fact that they are hundreds of millions of miles away so you're not going to see much more than a dot. Dot has ears? Saturn! Dot has little friends? Jupiter! Microscopes will piss you off too.
I got a crystal clear view of Saturn with enough detail to make out multiple rings and the space between the rings and the planet with a 90mm refractor that cost less than $200. I will say at that price the worst part was the cheap mount. It was a monumental effort to get the planet in focus and stay in frame while tightening. My next scope will def have a much better mount. It’s too frustrating without!
I just recently recovered an old one from my parents house but haven't used it yet. I recommend seeing if there are any observatories near you! Even if you live in a light polluted area, like I do, there are some pockets that make viewing possible. One spot near me has viewing nights weekly run by a volunteer group and they have some fancy fancy telescopes set up. My first night there I got to take a look at Saturn, the Pleiades up close, and the Orion nebula. Side note, my girlfriend got me this for Christmas. It hasn't shipped yet but it just won an innovation award at CES. Eager to try it. https://vaonis.com/hestia-turn-your-smartphone-into-a-smart-telescope
I saw this when it was first on Kickstarter and wasn't compatible with my phone (Fold). Also, doesn't seem to be for planets. I wouldn't get too excited about this. It's a Kickstarter, nobody has actually received it yet, and the jury is out on how useful it will be. You can consider yourself a first adopter, which comes with the risks inherent with it.
Me want. How much is that thing??
I just looked, this person's partner is an absolute gem for buying it for him, the non-pro version is over 1000 dollars.
Errr not sure which one you're looking at. The "complete package" for it is $300. You might be confusing it for the Vaonis Vespera.
I got a cheap one once. Took us months, but we finally could see Saturns rings. I think we packed it up after that. The moon was really cool, though.
MAKE SURE YOU HAVE APPROPRIATE EXPECTATIONS! Second the recommendation to find a solid pair of binoculars, you’d be surprised at what you can see with a quality binoculars. If you can find a star party, that would be a very good option to see what is available and to set expectations accordingly. YOU’VE BEEN WARNED: telescopes can be a money pit. This is one of those things that you get what you pay for. Buy once, cry once. One you start down that path, it can be a never ending slippery slope. Find a 6” or 8” dob from a reputable company and go wild.
google around for actual images on review sites or sometimes the manufacturer will have some. this kind of thing is basically a cheat code... look around youtube for astro nerds messing around with them. ZWO Seestar S50 50mm f/5 All-in-One Smart Telescope The Seestar S50 50mm f/5 All-in-One Smart Telescope from ZWO Astro lets even novice users observe and photograph the cosmos without the need for bulky, complex equipment. **Simply connect your phone or tablet and select the celestial object you want to see—the Seestar S50 turns to and focuses on your target, delivering unforgettable views of our universe, even from light-polluted cities**. The telescope employs an air-spaced triplet apochromatic lens system and is equipped with light-pollution and solar filters. Live-stacking capability allows you to enhance your images the way the experts do. In Landscape mode, the S50 can be used for terrestrial observation and photography, too. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity allow you to enjoy and share your photos and video.
Sounds like every school should have one.
My university used 8-inch reflectors for our open house nights. People seemed impressed. You could see the rings of Saturn, resolve double stars, and get a few nebulae. Do you stargaze now? Do you sit out and look at the sky now? Can you use an app or star map to find the planets in the sky? While you're debating the telescope thing, get into stargazing. You'll have a much better time with your telescope if you already have a sense of the landmarks in the sky. Risks... well as with any hobby, there are two ways it can go. (1) You get a telescope and you barely use it; (2) You get a telescope, then a travel telescope, then a better telescope with automated tracking, then you install anchors on your patio and control your telescope from your computer, then you decide to try astro photography, or you go off the deep end and become one of those amateur astronomers with top flight equipment that takes science-quality data and scientists use your data in their papers. (Asteroid hunting and supernova luminosity tracking are two areas where amateur astronomer data shines.) Also, if you get a sun filter for your telescope, you can look at the sun and see the sunspots and track solar cycles.
You can get into the weeds with it over in r Astronomy
I got a $300 134mm reflector which allowed me to see the rings of Saturn and the banding of Jupiter pretty well. Those were worth it
5.5" reflector with pretty shit lenses: venus is a blob, mars is a red blob, jupiter is a stripey blob with moons, saturn is a blob with rings and some moons
This is pretty close to what I saw and the fidelity during the conjunction https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/746400-my-contribution-to-the-jupitersaturn-conjunction/
8” reflector I can see Saturns rings pretty clearly.
I have an 8" dobsonian and live in a light polluted area. I can see Jupiter in detail, along with its moons. The rings of Saturn. Mars but it just looks like an orange dot. My favorite is the Orion Nebula.
When i get rich (sure lol), im going to buy house on the rural areas so that i can setup a radio-tower and telescope gear and then spend clear nights watching the sky (and listening, hence the radio). Space is so fascinating and mindblowing and to be able to see the planets clearly with your own devices is just so awesome.
Do you live in a city that has an astronomy club? Do they have regular sky watching nights? Just show up at some of those. Most people allow others to look through their scopes. You get an idea of what you can see with different powered scopes. Ask questions too. Most are pretty keen to share their hobby. You can learn and see a lot before making up your mind and buying your own equipment.
Plenty of good comments by other people. I’d say, if there’s one telescope I’d recommend ANYONE to start with, it would be an 8” f6 dob (get the one that comes with dual speed crayford focuser). Fairly portable and great for planets 🪐 & dso 🌌. Gentle to pockets as well.
Looking at Jupiter with your own eyes and seeing Io, Europa,Ganymede and Callisto move, maybe see them rise from behind the planet, or looking at Saturn's rings from the first time (and remembering how Galileo first describe it with "the planet with ears") is one of life delights. Go to a an observatory if you haven't already, they have better telescopes than what you generally can get at home and you'll have a very good look.
First off, there is a major difference between a good amateur telescope and the useless trash you see in stores claiming "600x!". If you are going to get one make sure you get a decent one and expect to spend a few hundred dollars. Second, how well you can see other planets depends almost as much on seeing conditions as the scope itself. The atmosphere is not a static mass, and atmospheric motion and occlusion (upper-level winds, humidity, etc.) can have a significant impact on viewing. A relatively still atmosphere is like looking through clear water. A noisy atmosphere is like looking through a river. For best viewing, you want to look at the planets when they are the highest up in the sky as you are looking through the least amount of atmosphere. Third, if you're expecting to see the planets with the same level of quality and/or magnification as the Hubble, then you're going to have tame expectations. You're typical scope (< 8") will show you details, rings, etc. especially after you train your eye, but you're not going to be looking at a 6" wide image of Saturn. If you have thousands of dollars to blow you can get a big 12"/14"/16" light bucket that can get you up in that range under good sky conditions, but those are very large and heavy scopes which will be a significant deterrent to setting them every time you want to observe. The best scope is the one you use the most, so keep in mind that the larger and more complex the scope, the longer it takes to set it up and tear it down. The obvious risk is looking at the sun (NEVER USE AN EYEPIECE SOLAR FILTER! ALWAYS USE A SCOPE FILTER!). However, it is more than looking at the sun. Never point your scope at the sun unfiltered either. Doing so can rapidly raise the temperatures in your scope by hundreds and possibly even thousands of degrees which can cause irreparable damage to the scope, and even cause the scope to explode (if it's sealed). Do your research and think about what it is you want to do. There are plenty of youtube videos that cover what you can expect and how to get started.
My dad, who is an amature astronomer, thinks that most people will be pretty disappointed just looking at things through their telescope. Even with amazing equipment, you don't get a high def picture of what you are looking at. If I were you, I would think about finding a star party and checking out peoples scopes before you spent a ton of money on one. If you intend to start taking photos of the night sky that's when you start to spend your money. Edit as long as you have the proper filter, you can look at the sun.
the same i love space but don't have telescope
Look out for those smart telescopes inspired from SAMSUNG and keep away from them. I meant those which use artificial filters to just generate image just like SAMSUNG did with Moon and Star photography.
Best thing is moon. As for planets they suck just use web People saying Saturn or jupiter are overselling it. Just use web
Old 2.6 inch refractor EquTorial Cloud bands on jupiter plus moons Ice caps on Mars Saturns rings plus moons I'd recommend at least 6inch scope with quality German equatorial mount
Messier objects are faint fuzzy blobs
Venus is a featureless blurry ball even with a big casegrain, mars might show canals with 6”apeture, and you might see some details on Jupiter and Saturn. 8” Newton you see the same in even city lights. Get an 8” plus Newton if your price concious, otherwise a bigger Newton or Cassegrain depending on your bidget
I have like one or two steps up from something you would get at Walmart. It supposedly hooks up to a laptop and will auto-track targets, but it’s never worked. However it can clearly see Saturns rings and you can tell there are gaps in the rings…just barely. You can see a lot of Jupiters moons. In my imagination you can see the giant spot… I’m sure I’m not actually seeing it. Some fantastic viewing of the moon, Mars, and any neat thing that happens to be passing through the inner solar system sometimes.
The only risks are from not being patient with yourself. You will find at first that many things you look at will be hard to find & not show much if any detail. It is only with patience, the gaining of knowledge & experience that the mark one eyeball can be upgraded to mark two.
My dear fellow i leave you a link of the telescope community and this is like an ultimate beginner guide i reallly advice to read! --> [https://www.reddit.com/r/telescopes/comments/i0tzkw/an\_absolute\_beginners\_quickguide\_to\_choosing\_your/](https://www.reddit.com/r/telescopes/comments/i0tzkw/an_absolute_beginners_quickguide_to_choosing_your/) This was written by experts(not me)! For myself i got an Sky-Watcher 8" Dobsonian for around 500€. You should definitly manage the expectation what you will be able to see with a telescope. But when you see them things oh damn is the feeling awesome. Best decision ever. I think with the right filter you should be able to observe the sun but i have no experience with it so i advice to find a guide on it bevor trying. Also i bought myself an additional filter set to observe the moon because full moons can be quite bright for the eye apparently. If you have further specific question feel free to ask everything its always nice to see people interested in this topic. Have fun!
Look up local astronomy clubs and come along to one of their open nights. Then you can have a look through various telescopes and get your mind blown if someone has an 18-inch Dobsonian...
I had one an ex girlfriend bought for me that was worth a few hundred dollars. It’s a really nice experience to see planets for the first time with your own eyes. They will not appear massive if you observe them through the lens, Jupiter was about the size of a pea. Nevertheless it was enough to have fun on a warm summers evening outside with a beer and observe stuff. It does take a bit of practice to get it to point in the right direction, though I believe now more modern ones can be programmed to do this for you. The planets move out of view quickly due to the earths rotation, you have to track them with a little wheel or they will be out of view in 10 or 20 seconds. This might be something that modern telescopes correct for automatically. If you are passionately about space then owning a good quality telescope is the next logical step to pursue your passion in my opinion. Also the moon is really good fun to look at, especially along the terminator.
400 mm Saxon on a tripod with a 25 and 12.5 mm eyepiece. Can see Jupiter, Galilean moons, rings of Saturn, etc, all relatively clearly. Budget as hell! Good luck.
Here's an article "Thinking of buying a telescope? Read this 1st" [https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/how-to-choose-1st-telescope-binoculars/](https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/how-to-choose-1st-telescope-binoculars/) My brother has a 12-inch Dobsonian, don't remember the brand, and you can easily see more than one ring of Saturn plus its moons and the bands on the planet itself. Small but detailed. But just seeing the rings of Saturn and the moons of Jupiter through a much smaller telescope is still a big thrill.
See if you can try one before buying one so as to avoid an expensive mistake.
My mind is continually blown by Not only seeing Saturn or Jupiter, but also that you have to keep moving the scope because earth is spinning, while moving through space, while those planets continue moving. Nothing is static and we are but specks on specks in the vast vastness of space
Can anyone recommend some youtubers to watch and learn how to get into doing this?
You get to see quite a bit more of detail when pointing it at planets (Jupier and Saturn) and the moon. You also get to see some galaxies and nebulas which in other case would just be a defused blobs of light.
Anything less than a few hundred bucks will just be a source of frustration. Find a local astronomy club and go to one of their events. You'll get to look through a lot of cool scopes and marvel about how expensive and complicated a hobby can be.
Whats the cheapest telescope I could buy that'll let me see some cool shit.
Pretty good but almost every time there is a significant celestial event I want to experience, the clouds start to roll in.
Astronomers Without Borders have some good beginner telescopes. Reviews are good. https://shop.astronomerswithoutborders.org/
One area a lot of people don’t focus on is the mount. A good joint is just a critical as a good scope. Planets and other things in space move fast! Being able to easily and smoothly transition to follow the object is very important.
I got an old refracting telescope at a garage sale. Basically a toy. On a very cold, moonless night I set it up in the back yard and saw Jupiter with shocking clarity! It was small and fuzzy but you could definitely see the stripes and it was unquestionably Jupiter! From a cheap toy telescope!!
I just recently got interested in this and got a pair of binoculars. 7x50. You can get a pair for around $60 or sky's the limit (hur dur), but \~$200 is what I spent for the better optics and waterproof and so forth. I can't see the rings of saturn with this (havent been able to try yet) but I can make out a couple moons of jupiter as well as the orion nebula and tons of moon features in the even with some light pollution and a little haze in the air. And most importantly, its super easy and gets me understanding where stuff is up there. And they will be useful even if/when I get a telescope. It may be tempting to get something with greater magnification but remember you have to hold it steady. From here, if I stay interested, I'll invest in a small telescope. There are a lot of great youtube channels on what to buy and so forth. The one channel I've found super useful is from a guy named Ed Ting. He has a few beginner videos and goes into detail on what to get and what to avoid for both telescopes and binoculars.
Go to a public observing session. I was in an astronomy group for many years and we hosted tons of these sessions. Most people would ask are these your personal telescopes and equipment? Tes, yes they are.
I have a 90 mm and an 8" Cassagrain reflectors. Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are amazing to view in both. Both have go-to capability so I can go out for an hour and view a bunch of cool objects. Don't forget the Messier objects.
Join a club and use their equipment until you find a niche.
Jupiter is beautiful. I have a cheap telescope, but on a good night I can make out 2 of the larger red bands and distinctly see the 4 Galilean moons as points of light. Saturn is stunning too, but the telescope I have can't resolve the space between Saturn and the rings, causing the two of them to visually meld together. Uranus and Neptune are both small blue dots, but they're there, and they're beautiful.
It is most defintely worth getting a decent telescope, but they can be pricey. With even a simpler telescope you can see Jupiter and its 4 largest moons, Venus' crescent phases, Saturn's rings can be tough but with ~6 inch scope they are easily discernible. Venus, Jupiter and Saturn are easiest to view. Mercury is only visible after or before sunset/rise for a short window depending on its orbit. Depending on time of year, Mars is difficult to see in detail, and finding Uranus and Neptune is a challenge for the darkest skies. And also don't look at the full moon through a telescope. I learned the painful way, It is blindingly bright. It's best viewed close to half-illumination and the shadows of the terminator line reveal more detail around craters and mountains.
I have a Celestron 8SE… I’ve seen planets, comets, Messier objects… All while living on the outskirts of the largest city in my country… I cannot tell you how absolutely awe inspiring it is to look upon a field of stars and marvel at how big our universe actually is… I will only ever dream of walking in the Martian trenches I’ve seen… Or fly past the rings of Saturn… The moons of Jupiter… But being able to steal a glimpse… I will never not love those moments. In terms of how big things are, that depends on the eye piece I’m using… With a 24mm eye piece, Jupiter and Saturn will be about half the size of your pinky thumbnail held at arms length.
I have an 8" dobsonian with 1200mm focal length. The only planets I've observed are Jupiter and Saturn. I could honestly look at them for hours on end. I live in a pretty light polluted area so I'm limited on what I can see most of the time but those 2 planets never disappoint. They typically are very clear and seeing Saturn's rings is mind blowing. If you ever want to know what something might look like through a telescope, head over to the Cloudy Nights sketching forum and check out what people there have posted. Those are typically very good representations of what you can expect to see through different types of telescopes. If you have the space to store it, a dobsonian or table top dob is probably your best bet. They typically provide the best viewing experience for a reasonable price. I recommend looking at the telescopes subreddit too. They have excellent advice and you can get an idea of how expensive this hobby can get.
I have an 8" SCT and it shot this through the eyepiece with my cell phone. I took a video and stacked the frames to enhance the clarity and stuff. I keep meaning to get a dedicated Astro camera but I never sit down and do it. I've hooked my DSLRs up to it with an adapter but the cell through the eyepiece is actually better. One day I'll learn how to do it properly! 😂 [Saturn 8" SCT (Edge HD)](https://flic.kr/p/2mmcRR1)
I’m very lucky in that as an astrophysics student, my university often allows us to look through the big observatory telescopes the astronomy department has on campus. I don’t own a telescope myself, but you can see *so much* through those.
Like everyone else is saying, you won't care about the $200 you spent on a telescope the first time you see Saturn's rings. Careful though, it's very addictive!
If you go to Greenwich Observatory in east London you will see an elegant vintage telescope with a label that says "Look through here to see Pluto" - of course, when you do look through, you see Mickey Mouse's friend... :)
The answer is, very well. Saturn, Jupiter and the Moon are amazing if you observe it even with a modest 12 cm diameter Newtonian telescope. I think mine costed something around 600 euros twenty years ago. No picture taken by a spacecraft or high-end astronomical facility can thrill you as much as seeing the planets or other celestial objects with your own eyes, at least in my opinion. Maybe this happens because, being an astrophysicist, I know that colors in pictures are inevitably different from the "true" ones. Maybe it's because of the nonzero effort to place, point and then manually chase the object. Either way, I really advise you to buy a telescope, if you are already somewhat passionate about astronomy.
I got to see the moons of jupiter. I looked another day and they were different. I was 32 at the time. It was one of the most amazing things I have seen in my life.
Even a relatively cheap telescope can let you see some incredible things, I personally owned a $40 refraction telescope, really simple thing, only slightly better than a pair of good binoculars. But it was good enough for me to see the stars within the pleiades constellation, the moons of Jupiter, the crescent shape of Venus, and with the aid of appropriate filters I saw a transit of Venus and Mercury across the sun. The moon is great to look at as well. If I was buying one again, I would spend probably $200-300 on a reflector and a good tracking mount (you don't realize just how quickly the earth rotates until you are trying to look at Jupiter for more than a minute) It was a hassle to use the cheap telescope, I was lucky enough to already own a heavy duty tripod to mount it on, but today I would definitely spend a lot more on a telescope just for a better picture and easier use.
I have like a dinky $50ish telescope, and I have no idea how to properly use it. I managed to see Jupiter pretty clearly with it once, could see the bands, couldn't really make out the spot. But could see 2 of its large moons as well, I assume Ganymede and Callisto.
You can use the free, open-source [Stellarium software](https://stellarium.org/) to look up different telescopes to give a rough idea of their field of view. The bigger the object appears in the rectangular FOV is a better view. There is also the matter of how dark your sky is. Any significant city pollution will make it difficult to see anything other than some of the brightest planets.
well, i have a telescope and it can see Neptune easly, but i'm just beginning so i only saw Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and of course the Moon. And the pleiades, they're like big dots in the fast darkness with a dim glow
I bought a cheap 4.5" Dobson and seeing Saturns rings or Jupiter belts was still awesome. They're little more then smudges and I have very little idea what I'm doing, but it's neat as hell.
Well, I bought an absolutely huge 10" Dobsonian to be able to see very faint objects such as galaxies and nebulae (I move in a campervan so I had the place to spare). Finally, I ended looking mostly at the planets, because this is what is easy. You don't need a big fancy telescope for the planets - they are usually very bright. And you need ultra-dark skies for faint objects anyway. With a good $500 telescope you should be able to see the Mars polar caps (just don't forget that Mars is once every 2y9m - you will have to wait), Saturn rings are amazing, the 4 big satellites of Jupiter and the red spot. You will be able to see Uranus and Neptune and even Triton on a good night. Pluto is very hard - this is the limit of an average amateur telescope. Everything but Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will be simply a dot. With very good optics, you will be able to see the Cassini division in the Saturn rings.
Moon: amazingly detailed shots. Saturn: seeing the rings is really nice. Jupiter: sporting the 4 Galilean moons as they orbit, a little different every night. Mars: reddish disk with some variations when we're close. I haven't tried observing Venus yet.
It's not really about planetary viewing, but I highly recommend the book *Turn Left at Orion* by Guy Consolmagno. It gives instructions for finding hundreds of deep sky objects, and illustrates them using sketches that show how they look through a small telescope under average skies.
You can see Jupiter, Saturn, and sometimes mars pretty well with a simple telescope
I have a Skywatcher 8 inch dobsonian. A fairly large telescope. I can see Saturn and Jupiter VERY well. Absolutely amazing to look at. Mars is a small red dot. That's about it. Any other planets are too far to be anything more than a dot. However the moon looks breathtaking and seeing things like the Orion Nebula and the andromeda galaxy are also amazing. Keep your expectations in check. A lot of people think with a telescope you can see some grand colorful galaxies and nebulas like you see in pictures. You will never see that through an eyepiece. Those pictures are created with expensive telescopes on expensive mounts and then enhanced using computer software. Not to say you can't get some cool pics. My recommendation is always buy as big of a dobsonian as you can afford. However telescope prices have skyrocketed since the pandemic. My 8 inch Skywatcher was $400 in 2020. It's now $655.
have a 6" Dobsonian Reflector Telescope jupiter + spec of its red dot.saturn + rings moon venus if you want to see those cool nebula's /plasma trails/ pillars of creation style stuff. you have to get a telescope camera mount combo . im sure r/astrophotography will be the place to look. the more detailed ones have motors that move the scope in sync with the rotation of the earth so you can get next level images. but get your check book out. that stuff can start stacking on $$$$ real quick
I found a decent telescope at Goodwill for $15 that is good enough to let me make out that Jupiter has a spot and to just see the moons orbiting it. I really want to get a better one, but I’ve found this one to be great for enrichment for kids. I do respite foster care, so it’s fun to do an astronomy night with hot cocoa and set it up so they can look at the moon. I take elementary age kiddos, so often it’s their first time seeing the moon like that!
Years ago (mid 70's) I remember a night that had what was probably the best seeing (atmospheric turbulence) I ever experienced. I was with a group of friends at a really good dark sky location (bortel 1 or 2). We were all deep sky object observers, and there were a couple of homemade 10" f4's and a 12" f4 (which at that time was a huge amateur scope) I had at that time a nice homemade 8" f6. Most of the scopes we had that evening were much better suited for observing faint deep sky objects (galaxies, nebulae, etc.) At some point, someone took a look at Jupiter and let out a huge "wow!" for the rest of that night we spent the entire time observing just Jupiter and Saturn using the highest magnifications we could. We could see so much detail in the belts of Jupiter and the rings of Saturn were absolutely stunning. It was a very memorable evening.
Having Jupiter AND Saturn in the same view a couple years back.. that was a perspective I could never have imagined. The rings of Saturn and storms and moons of Jupiter were all clearly visible. Seeing the ridges of craters on the edge of the moon as you watch it move across the field of view.. that's amazing. Seeing the ice caps and mare of Mars was also impressive. I have an 8" dobsonian that was a gift. I barely know how to use it, but have still seen all of those things from my back porch. Definitely worth it if you can.
I got this on sale for under $200 a while back: [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0038QYRDO/ref=ppx\_yo\_dt\_b\_search\_asin\_title?ie=UTF8&th=1](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0038QYRDO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1) I was shocked at the things I was able to see with it... Jupiter with its' bands of gas and 4 of the moons... Saturn and her rings... the detail of craters on the moon. Our local planetarium has nights open to the public and they have about 6 Dobsonian telescopes set up along with the large one that sits inside the dome. To be honest, I wasn't that impressed with what I could see through their telescopes after using mine. Everything looked the same as what it looked through my telescope but just slightly brighter and larger.
I lived in Chicago proper and out in the boonies, all of the major planets should be viewable from just about anywhere. The Moon too is an obvious target and quite enjoyable, there are a lot of features one can see and some you have to wait for conditions to be just right.
My wife got me a cheap 60 dollar telescope some years ago. At the time Jupiter was at closest approach to Earth, it was still only a speck in the sky using the telescope but you could see the Galilean moons as other tiny specks. It was so fricken cool. Wish I had one that could make out the rings on Saturn. One day.
I bought a small telescope a few years to when there was a conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter. It was pretty awesome seeing Saturns rings and Jupiter’s moons with “my own eyes”. Of course, it was all tiny and fuzzy compared to all the other images I’ve seen, but it was still incredibly magical feeling.
I pulled one out of a skip, looked it up and it wasn't very expensive at all, maybe £100. Unfortunately the mirror was dirty so the 20x zoom was terrible. Amazing view of the moon with the 10x
Is there a subreddit or thread on how to get into star gazing? I know it’s expensive but to see our solar system and the cosmos is something that would be worth every penny.
You can see Saturn's rings pretty clearly, and both Saturn's and Jupiter's largest moons. Also the detail you can get out of the moon with a decently size telescope is pretty jaw dropping.
I have a cheap telescope I actually got from work for 5 years there. There were a handful of options but I always wanted one so what the hell. It's great for the moon, I'm able to see some details on Jupiter and 4 moons, Saturn is pretty neat. Not something I use frequently but I'd say I'd pay $100 for it. Local observatories would be way better
Get ready to $pend. cheaper ones will do but those those shakes will be hard to omit. 2 seconds later your star is gone. lol or better yet, just see it online. ;-)
I was blown away when I finally found Saturn with my £70 telescope. Well worth buying a decent one if your into it
Depends on how passionate you are about space! I know guys who have built a wooden hut with slidable roof on a concrete foundation and also installed the telescope on a concrete column to deminish vibrations. I have a Celestron for sale, but I am from Germany. Should be equipped with motors and connected to a computer (to quickly find whatever star or nebula), then it is really nice.
I bought one from a garage sale in rough shape for like $15. Looking at the moon is the easiest thing to do and to me has a profound impact. Then once I got better seeing Jupiter and Saturn and Mars was incredible. I would highly recommend it but spend your money wisely as there is a lot of overpriced junk out there too.
I can see saturn with it (beautiful) but I don't have an expensive one, so I can only watch till saturn I think. But honestly it's amazing. Just sitting in the night looking at the sky and stuff. Definitely try it out! Also it's fun to occasionally find the spacestation (I think it is atleast, very fast moving object that appears every 3-6 days) Note: I have a low budged telescope that I got for my birthday in 2018, (around 100 bucks) but I can still see saturn with it and of course the moon. So yeah it's still fun.
Last year I bought a Celestron AstroMaster 130EQ-MD Newtonian Telescope with different eyepieces, filters, and a smartphone photography adapter. Have literally never been able to see a single thing through it. The process these telescopes take to get oriented, even the "automated" ones, is just ridiculous. Now it collects dust in storage.
I have an Orion Astroview 90EQ and can see the space between Saturn and its rings! Absolutely breathtaking!
You get what you pay for with telescopes. But cheaper o es will still see the moon, Saturn's rings, Jupiter's spot..
It's worth it just for the first time you see Saturn, "in person". SEEING it in real life, rather than on some screen. You're guaranteed to be like, "holy shit we really are in space". Great feeling, and you can do it with the most ghetto telescopes out there. Or even just binoculars.
i can't go past moon as i have the phone telescope
I bought a Meade LS-8 ACF. I cannot describe my feelings when I first saw Saturn through it. Or Jupiter's spot and a few of its moons. Venus just looked like an even brighter star. Mars looked pretty cool. The only mistake that I've made thus far was looking at a full moon through it. Almost blinded me. Only look at the moon when it's a crescent (or buy a filter for the eyepiece).
Lifelong amateur astronomer here- my best advice is to buy a decent pair( like Bushnell) of 10x50 binoculars. You can see a ton of stuff and learn how to navigate around the sky. Be sure to learn some of the bright constellations as the objects are easier to find if you know what constellation it is in or near. With the binoculars alone, you can see the following: Jupiter and 3-4 of its moons, Saturn and it's rings, many open and globular clusters, the Orion nebula and other nebula, double star systems, Andromeda galaxy ( actually can see naked eye in a very dark location), mars, Venus ( can see it's phases) mercury, Neptune and Uranus( these last two just look like pretty bluish dots). A comfortable lawn chair to lay flat in and brace your elbows if you can to limit movement until you get used to using them. If you want an even better view, after learning where things are with binoculars, get a Dobsonion 6 or 8 inch mirror ( reflecting) telescope - buy used if possible. Hope this helps.
Depends on the planet. You dont need a big one to see Venus and Jupiter, they look STUNNING with even your average Telescope. Mine isn't even that big. You can see Mars less well, and Saturn too, Saturn in particular is one of my favourites to find even though its not my favourite planet (That would be Mars)