How to observe the Moon and planets

Post your comments in regards to recent Articles and Reviews.
User avatar
Bigzmey United States of America
Moderator
Moderator
Articles: 8
Online
Posts: 7548
Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 7:55 pm
4
Location: San Diego, CA USA
Status:
Online

TSS Awards Badges

Re: How to observe the Moon and planets

#41

Post by Bigzmey »


Kos wrote: Tue Oct 29, 2019 2:22 pm Bigzmey, добрый день!

Скажите пожалуйста, вот вы в своей статье рекомендуете читателям применить катадиоптрический телескоп, диаметром 5-11 дюймов. Мне вот интересно, а почему вы не порекомендовали телескоп Ньютона? У него ведь ниже % центрального экранирования, нежели у Шмидт-Кассегрена или Максутова-Кассегрена. Ведь по законам оптики выходит, что Ньютон должен быть "резче" в связи с малым центральным экранированием. Термостабилизация опять же у Ньютона лучше.

Спасибо за комментарий к моему вопросу!
Чистого неба!
Thanks for the comments Kos! I agree, good quality (preferably slower) Newts or DOBs could be fine planetary instruments. I saw stunning images of Jupiter coming out of well made larger DOBs. However, if you take a mass produced telescope, on average you would get better planetary views with CATs over Newts/DOBs.

Typically, slower scopes provide steadier views of planets, they have less optical aberrations and do not require well corrected (and expensive) EPs to get good views. From this point of view CATs have clear advantage over fast Newts and DOBs.

Another, consideration is that entry level Newts are in a different price category than CATs and as a result made with larger tolerances and cheaper components. Combined with fast optics the image tends to degrade faster at higher magnification than in CATs. More often than not I see users stopping down Newts and DOBs to achieve acceptable views of planets, which in turn decreases resolution.

BTW, it is not just fast Newts. From my experience fast achro refractors (even though they don't have a central obstruction) are not as good on planets as small MAKs and SCTs. I love my 6" achro refractor. It is a superb DSO machine. But my 5" Mak (with about half of light gathering power) delivers much better planetary views at less than half price.
Scopes: Stellarvue: SV102ED; Celestron: 9.25" EdgeHD, 8" SCT, 150ST, Onyx 80ED; iOptron: Hankmeister 6" Mak; SW: 7" Mak; Meade: 80ST.
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.

Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2382, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 255
User avatar
Lady Fraktor Slovakia
Co-Administrator
Co-Administrator
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 9860
Joined: Mon Apr 29, 2019 9:14 pm
4
Location: Slovakia
Status:
Offline

Re: How to observe the Moon and planets

#42

Post by Lady Fraktor »


Thefatkitty wrote: Fri Oct 25, 2019 2:03 am Hi Andrey,

Thanks again for another informative article! I learned a few things, most notably about observing planets. I thought I was missing a lot, as the Moon, planets, and brighter DSO's I see from home, but at a dark site, I mostly go after DSO's. I took a look at Jupiter a few times at said site, and was underwhelmed to say the least. I remember thinking it seemed better from home, but that can't be right....
Well, I guess it is, thanks for that! Now I know I'm not losing my mind/sight, yet :lol:

Interesting as well about the diagonals. I have a total of two I use; an iOptron dielectric I bought as an open box special for $80 CDN, and the diagonal that came with my orange circle-V Celestron 80mm. That one uses a prism, which I cleaned as I would a scope mirror. Here's a pic of the two:

diag.jpg



Simply put, I think the Celestron prism diagonal is the better of the two. A slightly wider FOV; more noticeable in my long f/l fracs, and better overall detail on planets. As well, double stars are just that much easier to resolve. Background darkness is really the same in both.
A good example would be the Trapezium in Orion. Using my 80mm f/15 and the prism diagonal and a KK ortho 12.5mm, I can easily pick out the four main stars on a good night. Switch the diagonal with the dielectric, and yeah, they're there, just not as easy to see and defined to look at. Not sure how else to put that, but there it is...

I'm sure my lowly prism is no match for a Baader, but again, I couldn't figure how it beat out a low-mid range dielectric, what with it being 99% reflective and all. Now I know!

Again, thanks for all that Andrey. I hope you have a few more articles to come, I'll enjoy the read I'm sure!

All the best,
I missed your posting before Mark, these older Celestron made by Vixen prisms were of quite good visual quality and I would recomend them if coming across one for a good price used.
I only replaced mine when I purchased my Zeiss/ Baader 2" prism which is one of my most used diagonals.
See Far Sticks: Antares Elita 103/1575, AOM FLT 105/1000, Bresser BV 127/1200, Nočný stopár 152/1200, Vyrobené doma 70/700, Stellarvue NHNG DX 80/552, TAL RS100/1000, Vixen SD115s/885
EQ: TAL MT-1, Vixen SXP, AXJ, AXD
Az/Alt: AYO Digi II/ Argo Navis, Stellarvue M2C/ Argo Navis
Tripods: Berlebach Planet (2), Uni 28 Astro, Report 372, TAL factory maple, Vixen ASG-CB90, Vixen AXD-TR102
Diagonals: Astro-Physics, Baader Amici, Baader Herschel, iStar Blue, Stellarvue DX, Takahashi prism, TAL, Vixen flip mirror
Eyepieces: Antares to Zeiss
The only culture I have is from yogurt
My day was going well until... people
Image
User avatar
John Baars Netherlands
Co-Administrator
Co-Administrator
Articles: 5
Online
Posts: 2723
Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 9:00 am
4
Location: Schiedam, Netherlands
Status:
Online

TSS Awards Badges

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: How to observe the Moon and planets

#43

Post by John Baars »


Thanks for your excellent article. Glad that highend diagonals and Ortho's are made part of the knowledge about planetary observing again. I have never felt the need for colorfilters, tried them, maybe I am a purist or just a stubborn old observer. I embraced the Atmospheric Disperion Corrector though ( special in this decade, with the big ones low on my horizon).
Refractors in frequency of use : *SW Evostar 120ED F/7.5 (all round ), * Vixen 102ED F/9 (vintage), both on Vixen GPDX.
GrabnGo on Alt/AZ : *SW Startravel 102 F/5 refractor( widefield, Sun, push-to), *OMC140 Maksutov F/14.3 ( planets).
Most used Eyepieces: *Panoptic 24, *Morpheus 14, *Leica ASPH zoom, *Zeiss barlow, *Pentax XO5.
Commonly used bino's : *Jena 10X50 , * Canon 10X30 IS, *Swarovski Habicht 7X42, * Celestron 15X70, *Kasai 2.3X40
Rijswijk Public Observatory: * Astro-Physics Starfire 130 f/8, * 6 inch Newton, * C9.25, * Meade 14 inch LX600 ACF, *Lunt.
Amateur astronomer since 1970.
User avatar
Bigzmey United States of America
Moderator
Moderator
Articles: 8
Online
Posts: 7548
Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 7:55 pm
4
Location: San Diego, CA USA
Status:
Online

TSS Awards Badges

Re: How to observe the Moon and planets

#44

Post by Bigzmey »


John Baars wrote: Mon Jan 27, 2020 7:04 pm Thanks for your excellent article. Glad that highend diagonals and Ortho's are made part of the knowledge about planetary observing again. I have never felt the need for colorfilters, tried them, maybe I am a purist or just a stubborn old observer. I embraced the Atmospheric Disperion Corrector though ( special in this decade, with the big ones low on my horizon).
Thanks John! The color filters from cheap planetary sets are worthless, but good quality color filters do help to resolve low contrast features like Saturn banding or Mars mares. Even with Moon I prefer now orange filter for crescent and green for near full phase over neutral.

Atmospheric Dispersion Corrector sounds interesting, it looks like it adds quite a bit of focuser travel. Do you skip diagonal when use it?
Scopes: Stellarvue: SV102ED; Celestron: 9.25" EdgeHD, 8" SCT, 150ST, Onyx 80ED; iOptron: Hankmeister 6" Mak; SW: 7" Mak; Meade: 80ST.
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.

Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2382, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 255
User avatar
deg13122
Earth Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 19
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2020 6:59 pm
3
Location: Richmond TX USA
Status:
Offline

Re: How to observe the Moon and planets

#45

Post by deg13122 »


Leaving porch light on while observing Moon and bright Planets was my best takeaway from your article. Thanks.
:telescopewink: Three scopes - 10" Apertura Dob; 8" Orion Dob; 6" Criterion DynaScope
User avatar
Bigzmey United States of America
Moderator
Moderator
Articles: 8
Online
Posts: 7548
Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 7:55 pm
4
Location: San Diego, CA USA
Status:
Online

TSS Awards Badges

Re: How to observe the Moon and planets

#46

Post by Bigzmey »


deg13122 wrote: Sun Sep 27, 2020 12:32 pm Leaving porch light on while observing Moon and bright Planets was my best takeaway from your article. Thanks.
Sure thing!
Scopes: Stellarvue: SV102ED; Celestron: 9.25" EdgeHD, 8" SCT, 150ST, Onyx 80ED; iOptron: Hankmeister 6" Mak; SW: 7" Mak; Meade: 80ST.
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.

Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2382, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 255
User avatar
helicon United States of America
Co-Administrator
Co-Administrator
Articles: 584
Online
Posts: 12276
Joined: Mon May 06, 2019 1:35 pm
4
Location: Washington
Status:
Online

TSS Awards Badges

Re: How to observe the Moon and planets

#47

Post by helicon »


I've had to deal with increasing LP including local lights which are hard to screen out. Good suggestion!
-Michael
Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope
Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50
Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl
Camera: ZWO ASI 120
Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs
Latitude: 48.7229° N
User avatar
John Donne United States of America
Orion Spur Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 967
Joined: Mon Oct 05, 2020 5:34 am
3
Location: US
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

TSS Photo of the Day

Re: How to observe the Moon and planets

#48

Post by John Donne »


This is a wonderful article, Bigzmey !
Very well done.
SCOPES :ES127 f7.5, SW100 f9 Evostar, ES80 F6, LXD75 8" f10 SCT, 2120 10" f10 SCT, ES152 f6.5.
MOUNTS: SW AZ/EQ5, MEADE LXD75, CELESTRON CG4, Farpoint Parallelogram.
BINOCULARS: CL 10X30, Pentax 8X43, 25X100 Oberwerks.
EP: Many.

"I am more than a sum of molecules.
I am more than a sum of memories or events.
I do not one day suddenly cease to be.
I am, before memory.
I am, before event.
I am"
User avatar
Bigzmey United States of America
Moderator
Moderator
Articles: 8
Online
Posts: 7548
Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 7:55 pm
4
Location: San Diego, CA USA
Status:
Online

TSS Awards Badges

Re: How to observe the Moon and planets

#49

Post by Bigzmey »


John Donne wrote: Sat Oct 17, 2020 2:25 am This is a wonderful article, Bigzmey !
Very well done.
Thanks John!
Scopes: Stellarvue: SV102ED; Celestron: 9.25" EdgeHD, 8" SCT, 150ST, Onyx 80ED; iOptron: Hankmeister 6" Mak; SW: 7" Mak; Meade: 80ST.
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.

Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2382, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 255
User avatar
messier 111 Canada
Universal Ambassador
Articles: 0
Online
Posts: 9472
Joined: Mon Nov 09, 2020 2:49 am
3
Location: Canada's capital region .
Status:
Online

TSS Awards Badges

Re: How to observe the Moon and planets

#50

Post by messier 111 »


well done , thx .
I LOVE REFRACTORS , :Astronomer1: :sprefac:

REFRACTOR , TS-Optics Doublet SD-APO 125 mm f/7.8 . Lunt 80mm MT Ha Doublet Refractor .

EYEPIECES, Delos , Delite and 26mm Nagler t5 , 2 zoom Svbony 7-21 , Orion Premium Linear BinoViewer .

FILTER , Nebustar 2 tele vue . Apm solar wedge . contrast booster 2 inches .

Mounts , berno mack 3 with telepod , cg-4 motorized , eq6 pro belt drive .

“Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won't come in.”
― Isaac Asimov

Jean-Yves :flags-canada:
User avatar
Bigzmey United States of America
Moderator
Moderator
Articles: 8
Online
Posts: 7548
Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 7:55 pm
4
Location: San Diego, CA USA
Status:
Online

TSS Awards Badges

Re: How to observe the Moon and planets

#51

Post by Bigzmey »


messier 111 wrote: Tue Dec 01, 2020 3:28 pm well done , thx .
Thanks Jean-Yves!
Scopes: Stellarvue: SV102ED; Celestron: 9.25" EdgeHD, 8" SCT, 150ST, Onyx 80ED; iOptron: Hankmeister 6" Mak; SW: 7" Mak; Meade: 80ST.
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.

Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2382, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 255
Post Reply

Create an account or sign in to join the discussion

You need to be a member in order to post a reply

Create an account

Not a member? register to join our community
Members can start their own topics & subscribe to topics
It’s free and only takes a minute

Register

Sign in

Return to “Articles and Reviews”