What telescope to see Jupiter's moons?

[Danhig]

And where to buy it in Thailand?

I'm interested in getting a telescope for viewing the nightsky.

I suppose it's best to have an objective.

A good objective is probably to be able to see the moons of jupiter, and possibly the colours and face of Jupiter.

What sort of telescope would be needed to do so? What else in the solar system would one be able to see?

thanks.

[Tywais]

Doesn't take much to see the moons of Jupiter, nearly anything will do. I even got photos of the moons (4 of them) using my camera with a 600mm lens on it. 48x will start to see the color bands and 100x or greater, the cloud structure of Jupiter.

http://www.astronomyhints.com/observing_jupiter.html

[Tywais]

Here is a Thai website http://www.thaiexcite.com/Telescopes/

[Danhig]

Doesn't take much to see the moons of Jupiter, nearly anything will do. I even got photos of the moons (4 of them) using my camera with a 600mm lens on it. 48x will start to see the color bands and 100x or greater, the cloud structure of Jupiter.

http://www.astronomyhints.com/observing_jupiter.html

Great, so 100x and you'd get to see the cloud structure of Jupiter. Great.

With x100 what other bodies in the solar system would you see?

I'll have to check it up later. I guess there is a list out there of what you can see with the different level of er, zoom(?) magnification(?).

[daveAustin]

Andromeda Galaxy, globular clusters in our own galaxy, Orion Nebula, the Sun (filtered), the planets, the Moon, meteors, satellites, etc etc. I'd either get a good refractor telescope or a decent pair of binoculars. Avoid going cheap and get on a hill away from city lights.

[thehelmsman]

I can see clearly through a large bottle of Leo

[Danhig]

About what magnification would you need to see similar to:

100x?

[Tywais]

About what magnification would you need to see similar to:

100x?

That would be about 100x. Often buying a scope you will get a couple of eye pieces such as 48x and 100x. Important to keep in mind though is the diameter of the aperture, either mirror or lens, or you may not get the colors due to loss in light collection. A couple of articles to look at to get an idea.

http://oneminuteastronomer.com/10036/purpose-of-a-telescope/

http://www.deepskywatch.com/Articles/what-can-i-see-through-telescope.html

You can select different apertures on this site to get an idea of what Jupiter will appear as. http://astronomyhints.com/simviews.html

[Danhig]

Wow, great.

Not as expensive as I thought.

This one from your link if 4k baht and mentions highest theoretical magnification as 152x.

But includes eyepieces for only 15x and 30x.

http://www.thaiexcite.com/Orion-FunScope-76mm-Tabletop-Reflector-Telescope.html

For 9k you get a max of 200x, but only 20x and 40x eyepieces.

http://www.thaiexcite.com/Orion-SkyScanner-100mm-Tabletop-Reflector-Telescope.html

200x must be pretty bladdy good.

[Tywais]

200x must be pretty bladdy good.

You need to read those articles I linked to closely. The purpose of a telescope is not so much magnifying but gathering light. 200x on a small aperture and cheap optics and your colors will be either washed out or gone and you will have a blurry mess. One article I read indicated even the enthusiasts keep the x factor down to no more than 50x due to these issues. Part of that is due to magnifying atmospheric phenomenon such as thermal waves. I remember when I was into astronomy seeing ads for 675x or 1000x scopes but guarantee you will have a really crappy image. I had a 60mm refractor but would love to have a large 10" - 12" reflector at the time but proper ones were out of my price range then.

[3NUMBAS]

is there a thai astronomy society with a Patrick somchai nee moore at the helm ,a man with bushy eyebrows ??

[Danhig]

I found these articles on viewing Saturn interesting.

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/viewing-saturn-the-planet-rings-and-moons/

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/observing-news/see-saturn-best-in-2014/

"The rings of Saturn should be visible in even the smallest telescope at 25x. A good 3-inch scope at 50x can show them as a separate structure detached on all sides from the ball of the planet. - See more at: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/viewing-saturn-the-planet-rings-and-moons/#sthash.sUMdF7du.dpuf"

Edited October 8, 2014 by Danhig

[Danhig]

This is also a good run down.

Buying the right telescope

[DanielGoldfish]

Tywais, do you happen to know anything about those GSO Dobsonias on Thaiexcite? Are they any good in comparison to Orion Dob telescopes?

[Tywais]

Tywais, do you happen to know anything about those GSO Dobsonias on Thaiexcite? Are they any good in comparison to Orion Dob telescopes?

Usually I look for Celestron or Meade as those are usually top quality but the reviews for GSO/Orion seem good. Might look up 'GSO telescope reviews' and 'Orion telescope review' as any info I may have would be outdated.

http://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/review/telescopes/gso-dobsonian-gsd-250-c

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=105492

http://www.wpo.net/orion_telescopes.html

[sdanielmcev]

refractors are good for near sky objects (our solar system), While reflectors are good for deep sky viewing. Even though each can be used for the other. And, get good optics, don't worry about magnification as much. Orion makes very good optics for the price. Building your own telescope is not as difficult as it seems. I've built a couple of

Dobsonians. Oh, and a good mount/tripod is absolutely critical.