43 replies to this topic

[Universe XY]

No, not really windy. I'm at about 620 ft elevation on the San Fernando Valley/ It's hot in the summer.

 

It has been breezy the last few days or week but not terribly so & actually welcome to have a nice cool breeze.

 

Two nights ago the night sky was really turbulent.

 

Didn't even have enough time to change ep tonight. Started w the 15mm TV wide & never got to bump it up. Looked nice but it was literally a few minutes & the clouds came in. 

[Pierre C]

... Would Neptune just be a tiny faint starlike pinpoint? That's all I observed to the left of Saturn but it seemed to be closer next to it not above as in the chart. Couldn't be a moon? 

Depending on your circumstances and time of year, Neptune may appear as just a point of light or a very small disk through a small aperture telescope. A bluish tinge may or may not be discernable.

 

The moons of Saturn will be found on the same plane as the rings. Sky & Telescope have a calculator that illustrates this. Note their distances relative to the diameter of Saturn and its rings.

 

https://skyandtelesc...ons/saturn.html

[Sebastian_Sajaroff]

Thanks, Everyone for sharing those stories of stellar excitement. Saturn is definitely a big leap in the deep sky of the solar system. Jupiter is really great & Venus the crescent is grand but Saturn is just so far out!!!

Astronomy bug bit hard last night. Spent 2A to close to 6A checking out the sky...mostly trying to get a view of Saturn from just an approx location & my internal radar. Finally Saturn again at 90X. Better!!!

Spent the entire night up until about 6AM. Lucky I could sleep on & off until noon.

The SV 90/9D has really good color. Moon was white no color fringing but very turbulent. I don't think it was the telescope but the smaller 72mm doublet apo really was killer sharp & steady. Probably conditions of a bit of both better glass.

Changed over to the Raptor on the Porta Mini/Bogen 3036. Very shaky. Much more so than the Bogen 3046 with the SV MC2. Well, that's a plus that I'm going in the right direction.

Last night was very turbulent. The air made the photons dance & the even the Moon was in a dense shifting wave. It's edges just a superposition of where it was & where it was not. Really pleased to have two nights that were clear & not cloudy so can't complain about the turbulence. 90X last night so Saturn was bigger a real nice fat dot & the line of the rings.
Expect to see this again after 2:30AM if conditions allow. The Moon & Saturn in excellent view with Neptune being a small star.

The Porta Mini is maxed. Last night it would not hold the 90 mm carbon scope up when i brought it inside. Have to check things out with that but it really should not be at or above 8 lbs even though it was handling it but add a 2 inch TV diagonal & it's pushing the limit.

I even tried to 3X barlow a 15mm but it was dark & not detailed at all. Oh well, I suppose 5mm was too much for the conditions.
All in all it ended on a high note. Very frustrating in the beginning trying to get Saturn & balance the scope again. Taking the tube out to focus with a diagonal & ep really shifts the balance. Hard to view when you're trying to balance a heavy scope in the dark at 3AM. I guess that's part of the learning curve,

Question: Do objects encounter more turbulence when they are lower in the sky or was last night just a really rough night? At one point the moon was just wigging all over the place as the light waves were making a mesmerizing delusion.

Hope to sleep & get up 2:30A tonight & get a quick look with a better set up. Saturn is just darn too cute! Would Neptune just be a tiny faint starlike pinpoint? That's all I observed to the left of Saturn but it seemed to be closer next to it not above as in the chart. Couldn't be a moon?

Naptune Saturn June 18 2 30 VG.JPG

On a 3"-4" refractor, Neptune looks definitely stellar.
A grey dim "star", if you pay attention you’ll notice it doesn’t twinkle at all.

[MrsM75]

On a 3"-4" refractor, Neptune looks definitely stellar.
A grey dim "star", if you pay attention you’ll notice it doesn’t twinkle at all.

 

 

^^^ This.

 

If you use a 1900 focal Mak like me, Neptune definitely round, and it a teal color.

 

But if you use a fast scope short focal length, then it won't be round, you need to pump up magnifications.

 

Neptune, Uranus, Asteroids, Blinking Nebula, Owl Nebua, those planetary nebula, you need magnifications.

Edited by MrsM75, 19 June 2025 - 07:03 AM.

[Universe XY]

Might try the Meade ETX 90 x 1250. Really wasn't all that happy with it the first few times I used it. Should give it a chance but been busy with others.

Just didn't have time for it as I was using my gifted 80X480mm & then trying to clean up & put back together a 60mm X900 Monolux/Carton which sadly lost it's weight shaft. I've used it but it's really not that easy without a weight. but I've managed it. Didn't want to put any more money into it at the time.

View with the old ep at high power can't compare to modern optics. It's dark on stars but for the moon it's really great.

 

I have too many scopes it is true but I learn from each one & one day will pass or sell some of them.

 

I think I saw Neptune to the left of Saturn. At least there was a tiny gray looking star but it seemed to be not as high as it should have been. 

Not much to see but Saturn was really an eye opener.

 

I'd like to try for some comets & get back to Nebula & Messiers which really are lacking on my starlive chart. Will have to find another one.

[EsaT]

Two nights ago the night sky was really turbulent.
 
Didn't even have enough time to change ep tonight. Started w the 15mm TV wide & never got to bump it up. Looked nice but it was literally a few minutes & the clouds came in. 

Think positive: It could always be worse...
 
Maybe three months ago I saw that Moon was nicely visible.
Then I went to toilet.
After putting clothes on and opening the door I was greeted by shower of snow to face.
 
Could be also colder outside than in freezer...
Or have too much "observing company".

[Stretch67]

It's a tad disappointing that Saturn's rings are nearly edge-on to us right now, but it's still a great sight to behold.

[Skeletontree13]

The first time I saw 🪐 was just like the first time I had the antlers in the cross hair I became anxious nervous and filled with excitement very cool

[Universe XY]

Think positive: It could always be worse...
 
Maybe three months ago I saw that Moon was nicely visible.
Then I went to toilet.
After putting clothes on and opening the door I was greeted by shower of snow to face.
 
Could be also colder outside than in freezer...
Or have too much "observing company".

Lucky I don't have much trouble with snow in S Cal! Still it can get nippy in the winter. 40's or 50's still is cold! 

[Universe XY]

Saturn is up again in the SE 3A. 

Hope to observe it w the NP101

[pmoos]

Saturn is a wonderful sight, and I was up late enough tonight to catch it rising.  It was a very humid dewy night, so not the best for observing, but so great to see Saturn is back again!

[michael8554]

Seeing Saturn for the first time in a big Dob was what started my astro hobby.

[astro-guy]

Nothing like seeing Saturn for the first time... It is something you will never forget. Currently the rings are pretty straight on, so the views will improve from year to year showing more of the rings and even the Cassini division!

 

Also, I believe you can get a nice view of Neptune located to the upper left of Saturn a little more than 1 degree away or so. It's an 8 magnitude little blue dot about the same brightness as Titan (Saturn's brightest moon).

 

Jay

Edited by astro-guy, 02 July 2025 - 08:20 PM.

[Stretch67]

I looked for Neptune this morning at about 5, but it was already getting light.  I'll try again soon, but at about 3 when it's darker.

 

It's always a pleasure to view Saturn, though.  The rings are almost edge-on to us right now, but visible.

[Dave Mitsky]

After observing Saturn at magnifications up to and including 462x, I slewed the Naylor Observatory's 17" classical Cassegrain to Neptune.  I used a high magnification of 324x on the eighth planet.

[Bearcub]

Saturn is very special... even now after seeing many different things in sky saturn is easily one of the best thing to see.. probably top3 moon being the first, orion nebula being second and saturn as 3rd..

[Universe XY]

 Seen Saturn a few times now. Last was really nice! Always a joy to see cute Saturn! Amazing that it's so far away yet it's photons have traveled across the solar system to entertain us! 

[Dave Mitsky]

Nothing like seeing Saturn for the first time... It is something you will never forget. Currently the rings are pretty straight on, so the views will improve from year to year showing more of the rings and even the Cassini division!

 

Also, I believe you can get a nice view of Neptune located to the upper left of Saturn a little more than 1 degree away or so. It's an 8 magnitude little blue dot about the same brightness as Titan (Saturn's brightest moon).

 

Jay

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[Universe XY]

Saturn is still around. I can see it even at 2A. Too tired to bring out the Raptor so used Jon's Scope as I wanted to give it another chance to see Saturn.

Got it this time. Not bad!!!! A little smaller & not as still/sharp but very enjoyable. The night was really calm & for my bortle pretty dark even though the moon was hanging out.

The other mount & tripod runs rings around the bogen 3036 & the Porta Mini but it's still really great as it's light & I can carry it anywhere.