Help Identifying

lalee17

Hello all,
This morning at approx. 04:30 I was looking through my telescope, and to the left of the moon there was a very bright star. I focused on it and it looked like what I imagine Uranus is. It was a very bright blue/orange, with a few specks of light around it ( maybe that was just my telescope's fault?). I'm a novice at astronomy.

Delphi91

lalee17 wrote: »

Hello all,
This morning at approx. 04:30 I was looking through my telescope, and to the left of the moon there was a very bright star. I focused on it and it looked like what I imagine Uranus is. It was a very bright blue/orange, with a few specks of light around it ( maybe that was just my telescope's fault?). I'm a novice at astronomy.

It could have been Uranus, but I doubt it. It is far more likely that you were looking at Jupiter. And the few specks of light that you saw around it were some of the moons of the planet - so your telescope is working fine!

Uranus is very close to Jupiter at the moment, but in terms of brightness, it is approximately 22 times more faint, so more difficult to see. Tomorrow morning, at around 4.30am it should be to the right of Jupiter and slightly above.

lalee17

Thanks for the info.

But after a quick google image search, I found exactly what I saw last night..

http://www.ehu.es/iopw/Uranus_images/rv20040812.jpg

Could it still have been Jupiter, but looked like Uranus?

Delphi91

lalee17 wrote: »

Thanks for the info.

But after a quick google image search, I found exactly what I saw last night..

http://www.ehu.es/iopw/Uranus_images/rv20040812.jpg

Could it still have been Jupiter, but looked like Uranus?

Depends - what kind of telescope have you and what was the eyepiece you were using?

lalee17

It's a Celestron Astromaster 130 eq. I think I was using a 10mm eyepiece. (Sorry if I'm not using the right terms)

peterako

Jupiter....

From Stellarium - the sky by the Moon on 2nd July at 4.30am:



Uranus is was between the Moon and Jupiter, but woulkd have been more or less invisible with the Astromaster, or at best a prinprick of light.

But, hey! You've seen Jupiter before me....and I'm ACHING to see Jupter!!

Peter

lalee17

It was amazing *crosses off jupiter on astronomy chart* (yes, I actually do have one) :P

Delphi91

lalee17 wrote: »

It was amazing *crosses off jupiter on astronomy chart* (yes, I actually do have one) :P

Just wait until you see Saturn!!!

Rubecula

The first time I saw Saturn through a telescope I was totally gobsmacked. It was so beautiful. I was fortunate enough to see it with it's rings wide open too.

I could almost sense the distance between us and it and I stared at it for over an hour. (Madly fiddling with the telescope to keep it in view)

That was many years ago and I still haven't had that sort of thrill again.

Even Jupiter with it's moons wasn't a patch on that first view of Saturn.

I envy you as you have yet to see it.