Planet Observing - An Astronomy For Beginners Primer

Not necessarily to read the following lines

The observation of the planets in our solar system with a telescope is a nice part of amateur astronomy. And unlike other forms of observation, as the deep sky , you can do from the center of the city and in the country. No travel required . astronomy for beginners

 Clearly (a rarity here in astronomy for beginners the Pacific Northwest ), which can quickly set one of my telescopes on the balcony and start watching. So here are some tips on how to show our neighbors in the solar system .

telescope

Any good quality telescope more than 60 mm ( about 2.5 inch ) displays some details of Jupiter , the phases of Venus and Mercury and Saturn's rings . If I just want a quick look , I'll go with my 90mm APO refractor . But a astronomy for beginners better view can be had with 150 mm (6 inches ) and larger instruments .

 This is because the planets are small and refine the small details that we need to use high power. And as , at best, can be used 50 times per inch of aperture , you can see the need for size.

The actual type of telescope is smaller, but I personally like to use reflectors or refractor apochromatic (color free ) . Some excellent choices for a global scope are: astronomy for beginners

- A Cassegrain Maksutov 150 mm or more
- A Newtonian reflector 150 mm or more
- A Schmidt- Cassegrain 200 mm or more (which is what I use at the moment)
- An apochromatic refractor 130 mm or more ( if pricey )

But do not despair if your area is not here. Remember that the best telescope is the one used , so use what you have. There are ways to squeeze more performance optics.

mount

One word is all that is really needed here , STABLE . While it is stable , and do not mind pushing a Dobson or non - motorized alt -az without idle control works very well . astronomy for beginners Of course it is irritating to wait for the image to stabilize again after pressing the long run.

 Thus a well-integrated , stable, motor mount is much nicer since the planet will remain in your astronomy for beginners field of vision during the time you want to see. But , again using what you have is more important.

eye

astronomy for beginners Because the planets are small , high magnification is needed to see fine details . But you can go too far. On the best nights , with more stable air , the maximum useful magnification , you can use is 50 times per inch of aperture ( 8-inch scope , 400X ) . But the astronomy for beginners nights are rare. Often you will find maximum magnification of about 25X per inch.

 In my 8 inch eye as I used to work is a global orthoscopic 9mm provides about 222X in this area. This combination gave me a astronomy for beginners unique view of Jupiter , Saturn and Mars.

Note that the lenses are expensive. Maybe, but some eyes and a good quality of all types of Barlow and you can provide years of viewing astronomy for beginners pleasure . But if a high contrast , high detail views is what you want , I suggest that some orthoscopic eyepieces . That you can get for about $ 100 each. Highly recommended . astronomy for beginners

A astronomy for beginners word on enlargement. To determine the magnification of a given eyepiece telescope provide a particular use of the following formula . astronomy for beginners