Help please!!!...Can't find Jupiter or Saturn in the sky with my telescope?

Question

Every night I look for hours but I can't find them. May be I am looking in a wrong section of the sky.

Is there an easy way to find them?

Answer 1

Jupiter was in opposition on July 8/9 just above Sagittarius.  The moon will pass 3* south of Jupiter on July 17Th.  That is using three fingers at arms length away from your eyes. Best viewing from about 10 to 12 PM.   As  for Saturn it is briefly seen just above the horizon at dusk and sets quickly in the Eastern sky.  Better shot of Mars also just  at dusk in the Eastern sky.   With all the cloudiness in the northeast next day or two okay.  At midnight Jupiter will be due south and at 19h 10min and at -24* Declination if your in an open valley or atop a hill better.  With the moon setting you should get a good view at a brightness of -7.

Answer 2

Saturn will be due west in the early evening at about 30-35 degrees elevation.

Answer 3

Jupiter is straight overhead at midnight (well "over" head depending on your latitude).  But between 10PM and 2AM it will be very close to the brightest thing in the southerly sky overhead.

Saturn is aligned with Mars -- very close!

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/...

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Answer 4

Jupiter is the really bright star in the southeast early in the evening. Use the source to make a sky map showing where the planets are.

Answer 5

jupiter is hard to miss. look for the extremely bright object in the south.

saturn is a little harder. try jupiter and teh moon first.

Answer 6

http://www.stellarium.org/

AND

http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/

These are both great freeware that you can download to answer many questions that you have about the cellestial targets in your sky. These are what I use.   Just tell them where you are and they will tell you what you see.  

Another good free one is:

http://www.earth.google.com/

But on this one you have to click on the sky feature to see what is in the sky above you.  

Enjoy

Answer 7

Get a free program called stellarium from www.stellarium.org.

It will show you all the stars and planets visible from your location. I used it last week to find Saturn, Mars and Jupiter.

It works very well.

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