Hi....I just recently collimated my 8" f/5 newt and was observing Saturn and Jupiter in the early morning. Star testing showed everything was in
alignment. Saturn was very crisp. Cassini was visable around entire planet. Sometimes the crepe ring popped into view. When I turned to Jupiter, its image was not as clear. I realize that it's lower in the horizon and this does have an affect on it. But considering how crisp Saturn was I expected better. Also, Jupiter's disc had a sharp edge on one side and more fuzzy on the opposite side. Does this suggest further collimation? And finally, I had a 2.9 lens in the scope at the time. That about 350x. I hear most observations at around 250x. Am I full of it? If everything was optimal...seeing, optics,
collimation........what detail should I see on
Jupiter at 350x? I see banding. Some of the banding has an irregular edge. To me that "suggests" clouds, but I have never resolved
an image where I definitely thought I was observing swirls or clouds. Should I try to stop down my aperture? I'd appreciate your thoughts and suggestions...........
thanks,
dave

• RE; Jupiter - ben777 - October 7, 2002 - 17:30 UTC
  • collimation - punczki - October 8, 2002 - 23:10 UTC
    • Secondry probs - ben777 - October 12, 2002 - 00:37 UTC
      • if your collimation is off... - slamhound - October 12, 2002 - 17:04 UTC
• Don't stop down your scope - danieldgj - October 26, 2002 - 04:23 UTC
• P.S. - danieldgj - October 26, 2002 - 04:28 UTC
• jupiter - stevec - November 30, 2002 - 11:29 UTC