Can you see jupiter with a telescope

Jupiter also has easily observable 4 Jovian moons which rotate around it, occasionally transiting and casting a shadow over the planet's disk. There are several visible moons around the Saturn as well. In a moderate telescope Venus and Mercury will reveal their phases a crescent shape and Venus can even show hints of cloud details with a right filter. Neptune and Uranus will look like small, featureless, bluish or greenish disks through any telescope.

The Pluto is very hard to observe visually, especially now - when it's in the milky way area, and even if you succeed it will look like a featureless faint star. The following images show comparison of how Jupiter and Saturn should look in different instruments, at their highest useful magnifications:.

In order to see fine planetary details - the telescope, apart from quality optics and sufficient aperture - must be properly collimated and, in case of larger apertures, properly cooled. Apart from the telescope, the factor which greatly affects the observable planetary details is so called "seeing".

It is the amount of atmospheric turbulence which causes the image to "dance" and become blurry it is also the phenomenon which causes stars to twinkle. The images above show how the planets look during a moderate seeing.

Under better conditions an experienced observer with a quality, properly collimated and cooled instrument might be able to resolve more surface details. And the opposite is true - the image can be much worse if a telescope isn't properly collimated, cooled or the seeing conditions are poor. These illustrations simulate the visible detail rather than the actual field of view.

As you can see in the following example - the planetary discs look really small through an eyepiece. Deep sky objects DSO is a general name for galaxies, nebulae and star clusters - objects beyond our solar system.

Unlike with planets - observing deep sky objects does not necessarily require using high magnifications. What important is the aperture of your telescope, since you need to gather a lot of light.

Another factor affecting our ability to observe DSO is sky darkness, and it is even more important than aperture. The following sketches simulate the level of details you can expect to see in some of the brightest deep sky objects, through telescopes with different apertures, under truly dark skies and by "dark" I mean a place where you can see the Milky Way bright and detailed :. There are only several dozens of deep sky objects which will show this amount of detail.

The vast majority of visible DSOs will look much fainter. The following images show some more examples of deep sky objects which you may observe there are hundreds of such objects as they would look in a moderate telescope:. Note that these illustrations show what an experienced observer should see. Most of the deep sky objects are really faint and a beginner will have a hard time trying to see fine details or resolve the faintest objects.

Also DSO will usually show no color not even close to what we see in photos. The only colorful ones are brightest stars in some open clusters and several planetary nebulae. For more examples visit a gallery in "sketches of deep sky" section.

As was mentioned above - the observing location is critical for observing deep sky objects. Under truly dark skies, where the milky way is bright, highly structured and you can barely resolve the constellations due to the sheer number of stars, a large mm telescope will show you thousands deep sky objects, with hundreds of them showing a fair amounts of details as in previous illustrations.

If you observe in the countryside or dark suburbs, where you can barely see the Milky Way, the number of deep sky objects you will be able to see is much smaller thousands. Also you will be able to see less detail in them. Living in a light polluted urban area does not mean you can't observe the deep sky.

However keep in mind that only a handful can be seen and details of them will be far less impressive. The following images illustrate the effects of light pollution on some of the brightest deep sky objects, which are observed using the same telescope from different locations.

In this particular example - The Great Andromeda galaxy through a large telescope [3] :. Effects of light pollution on fainter DSO such as distant galaxies will be even more dramatic. See an example of how some members of a Virgo galaxy cluster should look through a large telescope in different locations. As you can see - many fainter galaxies become invisible in areas with stronger light pollution:.

If you plan to observe deep sky objects from an area with a moderate light pollution - it is best to concentrate on objects like open clusters, double stars, brightest of the emission nebulae and also some bright planetary nebulae due to their high surface brightness.

Even through the largest telescopes - stars appear like small dots of light though they will look brighter, with enhanced colours. However any details you might think you are resolving are due to optical issues such as aberrations, eyesight, focus and atmosphere. A telescope dramatically increases the number of observable stars.

This year the best month to observe will be July! From the 11th to the 16th, Jupiter will be at its brightest!

Hi, I have observed Jupiter many times through my 6 inch telescope. I can clearly see the north and south belts, and Galilean moons. Just starting with an amateur telescope. We live in the Mojave desert. We are trying to learn our telescope with Jupiter. Hey Sharad, thanks for your comment. I use a mobile app called Stellarium and it allows me to see the exact time that the great red spot is facing the earth. You can then determine the best time to observe the red spot.

You live in a great spot for stargazing as well! Make the most of it and happy stargazing! Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Skip to content. How to see Jupiter through a telescope. Last updated: 24th June To download the application on Android, click here. To download the application on the iPhone, click here. Learn how to use a star chart here. View and print the current star chart for your location here.

How to see Jupiter better in 5 steps. Play Video. Reducing the effect of the atmosphere. Dark skies. Air Turbulence. Seeing conditions. When is the best time to observe Jupiter in a telescope? Which telescope is best to see Jupiter? What does Jupiter look like through a telescope?

Great red spot. Belts and zones. Galileans Moons. Telescope views of Jupiter. Below are some examples of telescope pictures of Jupiter:. Jupiter through a 6inch telescope. Jupiter through an amateur telescope. Jupiter and Galilean moons. Planetary filters can enhance Jupiter's appearance. More Planets to Observe. Venus from a telescope. Mars from a telescope. Saturn from a telescope. Uranus from a telescope. Frequently Asked Questions. Icon source: Icon8. Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest.

Welcome to StarLust. You can either download the software or try out the web version. I am going to select the later. Once you go to the web version, it should automatically locate your geographical location. Once you set the location, the screen should offer you a view of the night sky that is observable from your location.

Now all you need to do is write the name of the celestial object you want to locate in the search box. Earlier I have mentioned why Jupiter is so easy to observe from the earth.

It is the third brightest object seen from Earth, after Moon and Venus. Consequently, you can easily locate and observe Jupiter even without a telescope. All you need to do is locate the Jupiter first using a software. Referring back to the previous section, in Stellarium, when you locate Jupiter, it will offer you additional information like below:. To roughly measure angles, you can use hand shapes. Click here to learn more about hand shapes and angle measurement.

It will make the planet blurry and hard to focus. So, start off with lower levels of magnification. It will offer a larger field of view which will make it easier to locate and center the planet in the Finderscope.

First, follow step 2 and identify the position of Jupiter with the naked eye. Then set the Finderscope properly and keep the Jupiter on the center of your Finderscope.

Now, look through the eyepiece to see if the planet is in view or not. If you have actually identified Jupiter, the bright object will appear as disc-shaped. You can rotate the focus knob to get a clearer image. To ensure further if it is Jupiter, you should see 4 dots of light directly in a straight line with Jupiter. These 4 dots can be on one side or split up between 2 sides of the planet.

If you can see these 4 light dots, then it is definitely Jupiter. These 4 light dots are the 4 Galilean Moons. There are plenty of telescopes with which you can observe Jupiter.

However, not all of them are completely geared for beginners. I have found Gskyer Telescope to be the most beginner-friendly and best suited for observing Jupiter. It comes with 3 eyepieces: 22mm, 11mm, and 10mm.