What did I just see through my Telescope!?

Question

Ok, So I was out tonight (its half 12 here, UK) Trying to catch a glimpse of some meteors before its peak on tuesday, and I saw about 4 in 45 mins! hehe

But, I saw a Very bright star slowly rising in the night sky, The first thing I thought was Jupiter, because it was the next brightest thing in the sky next to the moon!

I got my telescope on it (Which isnt the highest spec telescope) and at first it was just what seemed a bright starm but as I changed the focus, It turned into a shape I can only describe as a "Mini creasant moon"

A bit like this, but really small/blurry - http://img2.travelblog.org/Photos/5703/93701/t/600677-Crescent-moon--Luna-creciente-0.jpg

What was this I was witnessing?

Thanks in advanced =)

Answer 1

Jenna -

I suspect that you were seeing a star (ADDED: or possibly Jupiter, although it should have been high in the South by that time), but your scope is way out of collimation. If the scope is properly collimated, when you de-focus it you will see what appears to be a fuzzy donut, with the central spot centered. If it is not collimated, the central spot will be off center. If it's bad enough, it will look like a fuzzy crescent. In order to get the best out of your scope, it should be collimated. This is not hard to do - there should be directions for doing it in the manual or on line.

ADDED: Here is a link to some good info on the subject. It looks daunting, but once you get the hang of it it only takes a few minutes - Note the picture of the view with a defocused star and a well collimated scope. If you are way off, as I think you are, that central spot will be way over to one side. Your scope will work much better once it's collimated.

http://www.atmsite.org/contrib/Carlin/co...

Good Luck.

ADDED(2): Note that at around 12 midnight, you would never be able to see either Venus or Mercury, both of which are the only planets that can exhibit phase behavior. In fact, you cannot see them at that time for the same reason that they exhibit phase behavior, i.e. they are closer to the Sun than we are. Therefore, while you may be able to see phases on those planets, you can only see them near sunrise or near sunset - they will always appear close to the Sun and never opposite the Sun in the sky.

Since you are farther north than I am, you may be seeing Jupiter lower in the sky than I am. You probably were seeing Jupiter, but I still think you are badly out of collimation. If you fix that, it will probably look a lot more like Jupiter.

Answer 2

Hmmm this is an interesting question. One would jump to the conclusion of Venus, but Venus is currently not visible. The only other planet to have phases would be Mercury, and Mercury is visible. I'm not sure how big it showed up in your telescope, but the only thing I can think of is Mercury. Sorry, but I can't confirm it. But Mercury isn't as bright as you described it. Could it be you pointed your telescope at the wrong thing? Because the brightest object in the night sky next to the moon, currently, is Jupiter. I'm going to have to go with Mercury on this one. Good luck and happy observing.

Answer 3

it was prbly neptuns moon even though you cant see neptune

Answer 4

That is not correct.  After the sun and moon, venus is the next brightest object in the sky.  

Answer 5

Are you sure its not an lens artifact or some kind of reflection.

Answer 6

It sounds like Venus, but Venus is not visible at that time. So I guess I don't know!

Answer 7

posibley a small bug or fingernail that fell on the microcsope.

Answer 8

I saw the object you're talking about two nights ago. It's jupiter I think. It appears gray but has a dark spot on the left?