planetoids and other debris left over from the birth of our sun. Recently astronomers have found large objects in this area and they may increase the number of planets in our solar system.
The four planets closest to the Sun are rocky and are called the inner planets. Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars comprise the inner planets. Venus and Mars can be easily seen in your telescope.
Venus is seen before dawn or after sunset, because it is close to the Sun. You can observe Venus going through crescent phases. But you cannot see any surface detail on Venus because it has a very thick atmosphere of gas.
When Mars is close to the Earth, you can see some details on Mars, and sometimes even Mars’ polar caps. But quite often, Mars is further away and just appears as a red dot with some dark lines crisscrossing it. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune comprise the outer planets. These planets, are made mostly of gases and are
Fig. 5
sometimes called gas giants. If they had grown much bigger, they may have become stars.
Jupiter is quite interesting to observe. You can see bands across the face of Jupiter. The more time you spend observing these bands, the more detail you will be able to see.
One of the most fascinating sights of Jupiter are its moons. The four largest moons are called the Galilean moons, after the astronomer Galileo, who observed them for the first time. If you’ve never watched the Galilean moons in your telescope before, you’re missing a real treat! Each night, the
moons appear in different positions around the Jovian sky. This is sometimes called the Galilean dance. 7 On any given night, you might be able
to see the shadow of a moon on the face of Jupiter, see one moon eclipse another or even see a moon emerge from behind Jupiter’s giant disk. Drawing the positions of the moons each night is an excellent exercise for novice astronomers.
Any small telescope can see the four Galilean moons of Jupiter (Fig. 5), plus a few others, but how many moons does Jupiter actually have? No one knows for sure! Nor are we sure how many Saturn has either. At last count, Jupiter had over 60 moons, and
Looking at or near the Sun will cause irreversible damage to your eye. Do not point this telescope at or near the Sun. Do not look through the telescope as it is moving.
