Even though Mars was now very unnaturally green in color, seeing the extreme contrast between a very dark Lowell Band against a very bright, albeit light green, polar cap was quite dramatic. The polar cap looked more like a giant bulls-eye on the edge of the planet! As a specialty filter for Mars, I now keep a #58 Tricolor Green filter for just this purpose as it produces a very spectacular view on this feature.
This means having your observing sessions when there is no cloud cover and reduced dust. Regarding seeing Discover the best telescope for beginners right here! , the other thing to look out for is atmospheric turbulence. One important thing to know about magnification is that a telescope’s usable magnification depends on the seeing conditions at a given time.
Now that you’ve observed Jupiter visually, take your experience to the next level by capturing detailed images of the king of the planets with your smartphone, DSLR, or a planetary imaging camera. You can hold your phone up directly to the telescope’s eyepiece to take advantage of its image scale with higher magnification to capture the planet and its four brightest moons. You have the option of using the smartphone’s digital zoom feature to increase Jupiter’s size to your liking. It can be tricky to center your target correctly, but using a smartphone adapter like the Basic Phone Adapter #81035 or the NexYZ 3-Axis Universal Smartphone Adapter #81055, centering Jupiter will be quick and easy. People with larger telescopes and high magnification (say 100x to 250x) might be able to make out clouds in Mars.
Each month, as the moon goes through its regular phases, you can see the line of sunrise and sunset on the moon progress across the moon’s face. This line between the day and night sides of the moon is the terminator line. This is the best place to see lunar features casting long shadows in sharp relief.
The Celestron NexStar Evolution 8″ Schmidt-Cassegrain has an 8″(200mm) aperture, giving it a useful magnification of 400x. The telescope’s focal length is 2032mm, which makes it easy to reach high magnifications. Most people complaining about their telescopes say the image quality is poor even when using small magnification, but the problem is that their scopes are out of collimation.
Our daily newsletter arrives just in time for lunch, offering up the day’s biggest science news, our latest features, amazing Q&As and insightful interviews. The Moon’s features cast more impressive shadows, and are hence easier to pick out, when they’re close to the ‘terminator’ – the dividing line between the Moon’s dark and illuminated portions. So a crescent or a gibbous moon can be just as interesting as a full moon, especially when seen through binoculars. Don’t browse on your phone while you wait (its bright screen will ruin your night vision).
This is an important specification because it affects how much light is coming in. A wide aperture lets light pour into the optical tube, which results in a brighter and more clear image. A longer focal plane means that the light is manipulated more within the optical tube.