Skip to main content

Planetary Pursuit

In this episode, Planetary Pursuit . . . 

“We are voyagers on Earth sailing through space, like passengers on a ship, and many of us have never considered any part of the vessel beyond the cabin we occupy.” –S. P. Langley

Hello, everyone, and welcome back to On the Fly! Today, we're diving deep into planetary observing with my Celestron 500mm f/5 refractor telescope. We'll cover telescope basics, different eyepieces, the planets, and how to use 40mm, 25mm, and 10mm eyepieces to reveal stunning views of our celestial neighbors.

1. Learn the Night Sky; Before standing in the dark, wondering what to do, download "The Planets” app (free) on your smartphone or tablet to locate and identify each planet and when it’s visible.

Modern telescopes feature computer-aided go-to functions, but you'll pay considerably more for one with this capability. This may lead to frustration when the telescope doesn't perform as expected. However, remember you have a smartphone, and the Planets app is free; start with that instead.

2. Understanding Your Setup: Let's start with a quick overview. A 500mm f/5 refractor is a powerful instrument with a wide aperture, ideal for viewing planetary details. The 'f/5' indicates a fast optical system, offering a brighter image and a wider field of view. With this telescope and a combination of eyepieces, you can expect magnification ranges from 12.5X to 50X. Don’t be disappointed; this gives you great views of the planets with a telescope that will not break the bank.

When I purchased this instrument (~2000), it came with 25mm and 10mm eyepieces. However, adding a 40mm eyepiece offered a more expansive, low-power view, ideal for locating planets in the sky and orienting yourself. This saved me a lot of frustration trying to find an object magnified too high.

A few years ago, I upgraded my 25mm eyepiece to a Celestron X-Cel LX Series Eyepiece to improve image quality. This eyepiece offers a good balance of field of view and magnification, which is ideal for initial observations and enjoying larger planetary disks like Jupiter.

Here’s the challenge: when you start looking at eyepieces, you can quickly go down a rabbit hole of expensive options. I suggest not getting fooled by ads that say 2000 times magnification. The image distortion, complications, and frustrations are too problematic.

The 10mm eyepiece provides higher magnification, enabling you to focus on finer details such as Jupiter's bands and Saturn's rings. It’s thrilling to experience this for the first time.

3. Planetary Targets: Before viewing any object at night, align your telescope (during the day) with the finder scope that came with it. However, replacing that finder scope with a Celestron Starpointer Finder Scope ($23.95) simplifies alignment and makes locating objects at night easy. For too many years, I struggled with the original finder scope that came with my telescope.

This month, January 2025, let's concentrate on these planets; here’s what's visible–

1.     Jupiter: Currently well-placed for viewing, look for its four Galilean moons and try to spot its cloud bands.

2.     Saturn: Its rings are a must-see! The 25mm and 10mm eyepieces will provide excellent views.

3.     Mars: Even though it may not be at its closest, you can still observe its reddish hue and some surface features.

4.     Venus: It's the brightest in the night sky. Observe its phases, such as how we see the Moon.


Moon & Venus

Observing Tips:


Allow your telescope to cool to ambient temperature before observing to minimize image distortion.


Use a sturdy mount (or tripod) to minimize vibrations; eliminating vibrations is impossible. The image may appear blurry, so remove your hands from the focus knob and allow the telescope to stabilize. Carefully focus each planet using the telescope's focuser. This can be challenging at higher magnifications; adjust–allow the scope to settle–and then readjust until you achieve satisfactory results. You'll need to make slight changes as the Earth rotates.


Planetary viewing can sometimes be challenging due to atmospheric conditions. Don't get discouraged!


Using Your Eyepieces: Let's break down how to use each eyepiece:


First, if you want to calculate the magnification of your telescope with different lenses, here’s the formula:


Focal Length of the telescope / focal length of the eyepiece.


For example: 500 mm / 25 mm = 20X (That’s 20 times what you see with your eyes).


40mm (12.5X): Start with this for easy location and initial viewing.


25mm (20X): This will increase magnification for a more detailed look at Jupiter.


And 10mm for the highest magnification (50X); use this to try and spot finer details on planets like Saturn's rings.


Big Dipper

Safety First: Never look directly at the Sun through your telescope. Use proper eye protection when observing the Sun (if you have a solar filter specifically designed for your telescope). Be mindful of your surroundings and observe from a safe location.


This podcast invites you to pursue the exciting wonders of The Planets using a refractor telescope. Here’s to wishing you clear skies and happy planetary pursuits.


I’m Patrick Ball; thanks for listening; see you in the next episode.

Comments

Most Popular of All Time

Beyond Facts-The Deep Dive

✨ In this episode, Beyond Facts: Reimagining School–in the Age of AI . . .   This week's podcast is a bit different; it's another example of how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can offer tools to creatively enhance your analytical presentation of information. We took this week's blog and copied it into Gemini with the question, “If a story is to work, it must, on some level, create an illusion of escape and also achieve a goal simultaneously. Does this apply to my blog post that follows?” What's created is not just an analysis of the writing, but an AI-generated discussion produced “On the Fly” - Enjoy! Did you know that the word "school" comes from the ancient Greek word scholÄ“ , which originally meant "leisure"? Not a rigid schedule or droning lectures filled with "facts," but free time for thinking and conversation. To the Greeks, learning happened best when life slowed down—when you had room to reflect, to ask questions, and to wrestle ...

A Heart Full of Thanks

Oh, the thanks I could think, and the thanks I could say! For the wonderful people who brightened my day. The first one is Lori, my wife, sweet and true, Who knows just the thing and knows just what to do. She whipped up a feast with a smile and a sigh, With corn on the cob and a steak cooked “On the Fly!” My neighbor, Steve, with a mischievous gleam, Said, “No fence work today! No work, it would seem! You’ll paint with some water, some colors so bright, And sign your new painting with all of your might!" I laughed and I said, “But I don’t know that skill! I’ll slap on some paint and see what sticks still!” Then there’s my friends on the Facebook machine, The best group of readers that ever was seen! They read all my blogs and they hear my podcasts, They send all their cheer that's built to last! And Billy and Linda. A Snoopy card in the mail. A wonderful surprise that was sure to prevail! From very good friends, a delightful new tale ! But the thanks didn't stop, no, not...

The Summer Surprise

In this special episode, The Summer Surprise . . .   Well, howdy there! It's me, Huck Finn, and lemme tell ya, somethin' special happened just the other day. We called it "The Summer Surprise.” Phew-wee! That ol' post box, it coughed up somethin' good! Wasn't no bills, nor them pesky ads, and thankfully, no regular ol' rocks neither. Nope, this here was a letter, folded up neat as a pin, looked a bit like one o' them school lockers, just sittin' there waitin' to be opened. It was from young Sierra, a mighty fine friend, and she'd gone and made some pure, honest-to-goodness artwork with her own two hands. My fingers they was all thumbs, just itching to see what kind of wild wonder she'd whipped up this time. I unfolded that paper, careful-like, you know, and bless my bare feet, there it was! A picture of a whole gymnasium and a mini-soccer field, all done up in colors that just popped. She'd used crayons and pencils, and you could tel...

A Pirate's Ponderings

In this episode, A Pirate's Ponderings: Turning 69 with a Classic . . . When was the last time you were so compelled by a quest that you had your bags packed and your boots on before the first rooster crowed? For me, this summer has been exactly that, a journey where the world outside faded away and the one inside my head roared to life. I felt like that young cabin boy in training, with the vast ocean of a great story stretching out before me. My hand was on the wheel, navigating every swell, riding the waves, and eager to see what lay just beyond the horizon. This wasn't a journey across lands, but a flight of imagination that has been an exciting ride. My adventure took off on the deck of the Hispaniola as I became lost on Treasure Island . My imagination soared, and I could almost taste the salt spray and feel the ship's timbers groan as we sailed toward our destiny. Below deck, in the narrow, shadowy depths, I could smell the hearty meals Long John Silver and Jim Haw...