Guest bastaad525 Posted January 29, 2004 Share Posted January 29, 2004 For any of you guys that have a telescope, even a low priced one, you guys NEED to get out some night soon and take a look at the sky. For anyone who might not know both Saturn and Jupiter are very easily spottable in the sky right now. Saturn is currently one of the three brightest objects in the sky right now not counting the moon (the star Sirius and Venus are the other two biggies). With a moderate telescope you can actually see the cloud 'stripes' of Saturn as well as a couple of it's largest moons (I was able to spot four). The famous 'dark spot' isn't visible though Saturn isn't nearly as bright... but it is easy to pick out if you have a star map. It's north and to the east of betelgeuse in the Orion constelation, and has an orangeish hue to it. Even a low magnification telescope can easily make out the rings of Saturn as an oval encircling the planet... it gives saturn and eye-like shape and is VERY cool to see with your own eyes. Both Saturn and Jupiter can be seen really well after about midnite. Venus of course is the other very easily spottable which is spottable right around the time the sun sets and four a couple hours afterwards, though you dont really ever see any good details looking at it thru a telescope. Anyways I just wanted to share this with you guys as I'm not sure how commonly known it is and it makes that money we spent on our telescopes well worth it so I thought I'd spread the news! Good luck planet hunting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silicone boy Posted January 29, 2004 Share Posted January 29, 2004 When I was about 10 or so, I asked my parents for a telescope for XMAS. Instead, I got a stupid watch. That scarred me for life. To make up for it, I got myself a telescope for Christmas a couple of years ago and it has just sat there since then. I think I'll dust mine off and have a look. Thanks for the tip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aaron Posted January 29, 2004 Share Posted January 29, 2004 Cool, I may have to get out the wife's Canon and telephoto lens. Me made a few cool shots over the summer when mars was very bright. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted January 29, 2004 Share Posted January 29, 2004 hehe the views of saturn and jupiter put what I saw of mars thru the same telescope to shame. It has really given me a sense of scale, to think that saturn and jupiter are so far away and yet show up much larger and more detailed in the same telescope. Mars just showed up as a big orange dot for me, but seeing saturns rings and jupiters 'stripes' along with four of jupiters moons all lined up in a row was very cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted January 29, 2004 Share Posted January 29, 2004 here is a link to a sky map that can help you find both planets: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/myspace/nightsky/index.shtml Jupiter is easy to spot on it's own as it's the brightest 'star' in the sky after about 10 or 11pm and is off to the east. Hard to describe how to find saturn and it's not very bright at all, but if you can spot the constellation Orion in the sky (one of the easiest constellations to pick out by far) and use the sky map you shouldn't have too much trouble. Saturn forms the northern most tip of a triangle between itself, Betelguese, and Sirius (the brightest non-planet star in the sky). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David K Posted January 30, 2004 Share Posted January 30, 2004 I have a telescope. The main reason for me having it, is that i live right in downtown Long Beach, on the 4th floor of a condo complex, right across the courtyard from a 15 story apartment complex. Sometimes you can watch an apartment party wind down, and the last few couples are drunk, and wild. Women walk around naked, with their balcony doors and windows wide open. They think nobody is looking....... Hey, my lady enjoys watching also, its all natural human curiousity! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.