Posted by David Arditti at 14:53 on 2010 Aug 11
I think your initial assertion, Robin, that you could see the moons as discs was almost certain correct. I would expect them to be resolved at 280x in a 150mm scope. I was looking last night (morning of the 11th) as well, with a 14" SCT and a 5" SCT with binoviewers. Obviously I could see far more detail in the 14", but the view through the 5" was interesting as well. I did not think to look to see if I could resolve the moons with the 5", but I will see next time. I suspect the answer would be yes, and even with a smaller aperture under good conditions. One thing I have learned (from imaging) is that Dawes’ Limit, developed for resolving double stars, does not apply to solid objects like moons and planetary detail. You can often resolve them below Dawes’ Limit. I took some images with the 14" (not yet processed).