Re: [OM] Restored Telescope

[Chuck Norcutt]

Saturn is very bright so objective diameter is not very important.  But 
you need to put about 30X magnification to see the rings.  Much more 
than that to see Cassini's division.
Jupiter is much larger and easier to see.  It doesn't have "rings" but 
"belts".  The belts are bands of clouds.  They are also colorful (pastel 
colors) but you need a fairly large aperture scope to see color.  With a 
12" you can see color all the time. With 6 or 8" you need very dark 
skies.  With really dark skies maybe even smaller but I was never 
blessed with such darkness.
Chuck Norcutt


On 7/18/2014 9:31 AM, Chris Trask wrote:
> > Saturn is tough work.  The size of the image produced by a 1000mm
> > scope is roughly 0.006-0.008" at the focal plane.  The angular
> > diameter of Saturn is only about 15-20" of arc.
> I saw it decades ago with a cheap Gilbert 4" reflector with a
> cardboard tube and a polished metal mirror.  You could just make out
> the rings as it was tilted at an angle that made them easy to see.  I
> might get to see the broader rings of Jupiter, according to the 60mm
> folks, or at least the larger moons.  But you need dry air and no
> upper atmosphere winds (reduced scintilation) to be able to do that.
>
> The sky was clear last night, but the higher altitude moisture and
> pollution created a haze that obscured all but the brightest stars.
> The up side is that the relative humidity was less than 10%, the dew
> point was 33F, and the morning temperature was down to 80F.
>
>
> Chris
>
> When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro - Hunter S. Thompson
--
_________________________________________________________________
Options: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/listinfo/olympus
Archives: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/private/olympus/
Themed Olympus Photo Exhibition: http://www.tope.nl/