When will the next series of mutual eclipses of Jupiter's moons begin?Īnd sometimes Saturn's rings are so close to edge-on that they are difficult to see.
Now, here's some potential kickers sometimes Galilean moons may be very hard to resolve because they are behind Jupiter, or in its shadow (eclipsed) or simply too close to Jupiter's bright disk (or occasionally eclipsing each other!) I last did this last summer when they were at opposition. I don't have particularly good eyesight but I can assure you that in my 8x42 binoculars (only 8x magnification, 42 mm aperture) I can resolve all four Galilean moons of Jupiter (if they're far enough away) and the two little bumps on the side of Saturn where its rings extend. With f=900 mm and a 25 and 10 mm eyepieces you would be viewing at 36x and 72x.ģ6x is a very reasonable magnification under any condition, and 72x can probably still be considered "useful magnification" at least under good conditions. It will be worth it when you get to see the planets.Įxample of what using an object near the horizon during the day to align the finder scope to the main telescope might be like: Please try again and let me know if you need any more help. Then using the finder scope first to point directly at the planet you are much more likely to have the planet already within your 36x field of view, or worst case need only a very small, much more restricted search. If your telescope does have guidance, then perhaps it needs to be (re)calibrated.Īlso as suggests, if you telescope has a finder scope, it's really worth your while to take some time to align the finder to the main telescope, perhaps using an object on the horizon during the day, or the Moon. If your telescope doesn't have a guidance system, I'd recommend using a laser pointer (and a good friend) to point at the planet while you look through the eyepiece, tracking the laser trail until you find the planet. (This, BTW, is why many enthusiasts give up on their telescopes after a few unsuccessful attempts at seeing a planet). Are you 100% sure you're aiming the telescope exactly where the planets are? Planets are surprisingly difficult to target, due to the small FOV you get when using a telescope. The only "diagnosis" I can think of, barring a hardware defect, is that you're not really looking at the planets. It's virtually impossible NOT to see those features, actually. I can all but guarantee that you should definitely be able to see Saturn rings and Jupiter moons (and even some planet bands) through your scope. I'm a VERY amateur observer myself and my telescope has the exact same aperture as yours.
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