Important Note: Do not look at the Sun with any optical instrument without a professionally made solar filter, or permanent eye damage could result. Also, be sure to cover the finder scope, or better yet, remove it altogether.
C. The Planets
The planets don’t stay put like the stars, so to find them you should refer to Sky Calendar at our website telescope.com, or to charts published monthly in Astronomy, Sky & Telescope, or other astronomy magazines. Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn are the brightest objects in the sky after the Sun and the Moon. Your Atlas 8 EQ is capable of showing you these planets in some detail. Other planets may be visible but will likely appear starlike. Because planets are quite small in apparent size, optional higher power eyepieces are recom- mended and often needed for detailed observations. Not all the planets are generally visible at any one time.
JUPITER The largest planet, Jupiter, is a great subject for observation. You can see the disk of the giant planet and watch the
SATURN The ringed planet is a breathtaking sight when it is well positioned. The tilt angle of the rings varies over a period of many years; sometimes they are seen
VENUS At its brightest, Venus is the most luminous object in the sky, excluding the Sun and the Moon. It is so bright that sometimes it is visible to the naked eye during full daylight! Ironically, Venus appears as a thin crescent, not a full disk, when at its peak brightness. Because it is so close to the Sun, it never wanders too far from the morning or evening horizon. No surface markings can be seen on Venus, which is always shrouded in dense clouds.
MARS The Red Planet makes its closest approach to Earth every two years. During close approaches you’ll see a red disk, and may be able to see the polar ice cap. To see surface detail on Mars, you will need a high power eyepiece and very steady air!
D. The Stars
Stars will appear like twinkling points of light. Even powerful telescopes cannot magnify stars to appear as more than a point of light! You can, however, enjoy the different colors of the stars and locate many pretty double and multiple stars. The famous
Deep-Sky Objects
Under dark skies, you can observe a wealth of fascinating
Figure 21. Starhopping is a good way to locate
you find an observing site well away from light pollution. Take plenty of time to let your eyes adjust to the darkness. Do not expect these subjects to appear like the photographs you see in books and magazines; most will look like dim gray smudges. But as you become more experienced and your observing skills get sharper, you will be able to ferret out more and more subtle details and structure.
How to Find Deep-sky Objects: Starhopping
Starhopping, as it is called by astronomers, is perhaps the simplest way to hunt down objects to view in the night sky. It entails first pointing the telescope at a star close to the object you wish to observe, and then progressing to other stars clos- er and closer to the object until it is in the field of view of the eyepiece. It is a very intuitive technique that has been employed for hundreds of years by professional and amateur astronomers alike. Keep in mind, as with any new task, that starhopping may seem challenging at first, but will become easier over time and with practice.
To starhop, only a minimal amount of additional equipment is necessary. A star chart or atlas that shows stars to at least magnitude 5 is required. Select one that shows the positions of many
Start by choosing bright objects to view. The brightness of an object is measured by its visual magnitude; the brighter an
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