Saturno dimensions

[ezio49]

Dear new friends,
I am totally new to astronomy and telescope, i have this simple and probably stupid question. If I use a Mak 127 at 200x what is the dimension of Saturno I shall see ? Shall it be like a pea (5mm diameter) or like a 1 cent? I am talking about the planet without the rings.
Sorry for the stupid question.
Good day to everybody.

[Celestron]

Well, Saturn will appear something like this:

Capture12345.JPG

I'm not sure about "Saturno". If it's a planet in another solar system you'd have to use something like Hubble to observe it . . .

[OleCuss]

ezio49 is from Italy. Saturn is not spelled the same in all languages.

And sorry, I cannot get you an exact answer. But it will appear quite small.

And with a 127mm telescope you may find that you frequently cannot use more than about 125x.

In this area lately the skies have been clear more than 90% of the time for several weeks - but it's been hazy and I've just not been able to use the higher magnifications no matter how big a telescope I've been using.

[ezio49]

Saturno is the roman name of the planet named Kronos by the greeks several centuries ago. Saturn in english.

[ezio49]

Thanks to Celestron for the attached picture. If I could really see Saturn with the dimension of your picture a shall be happy, but it seems too much.
I am thinking to buy a Celestrom Nexstar 127 SLT (Mak). Have you any experience about this instrument?

[OleCuss]

I have no experience with that scope. I do have the ETX-125 which has similar optics. The Mak-Cass tends to be very good on the brighter planets.

The best thing to do, however, is to go to star parties and see if someone there has a similar scope through which you can look. That is the best way to determine which scope you like and will serve your purposes.

And yes, I know that not all of us have access to star parties. That is unfortunate.

[pikaia]

Saturn is 17" wide at the moment, so at 200x it will appear 3400", or about one degree, which is about twice the apparent diameter of the moon. This is about 10mm at arm's length (depending on the length of your arms!).

[Phil Leigh]

What? - Saturn is 17 inches wide and twice the apparent diameter of the Moon?

[OleCuss]

I think you are having fun with us. . . But oh, well.

In this context, 17" should mean 17 arc-seconds.

And the comparison is to the apparent size of the Moon as viewed with the unaided eye.

[pikaia]

What? - Saturn is 17 inches wide and twice the apparent diameter of the Moon?

17" means 17 seconds of arc.