I'm an ameteur astronomer. I have an Orion Observer 70mm EQ Equatorial Refractor. I have attempted to get full planetary detail on Jupiter, and have failed. I am quite sure it was Jupiter, but I need to know if my scope can acheive fairly good detail.

Jupiter12:

I'm an ameteur astronomer. I have an Orion Observer 70mm EQ Equatorial Refractor. I have attempted to get full planetary detail on Jupiter, and have failed. I am quite sure it was Jupiter, but I need to know if my scope can acheive fairly good detail.

If by full detail you mean like you see in images of Jupiter,  that's not going to happen with a 70mm telescope.

What you need in order to see views of Jupiter with a good amount of detail is Clear Dark Stable Sky conditions.  Along with that you will need the ability to achieve a magnification that will allow you to see detail such as the GRS and festoons in the cloud bands. For that you will need larger aperture.
For a good amount of discernible detail on Jupiter and Saturn you want about 250x magnification or better. And the telescope has to be able to achieve that with resolution.  Larger aperture equals Higher resolving power and the ability to use higher magnification effectively.  Atmospheric conditions permitting.

A general rule of thumb we follow where magnification is the issue. Maximum Useful magnification is approximately 50x per inch of aperture, or, 2x per millimeter. Above that is just empty magnification, or the image is severely degraded.
In other words a 70mm telescope can reach a maximum useful magnification of 140x. Well below what you will need to see very fine subtle details like that you see in photos.  Besides that, what you see in photos will not be the same as you see through the eyepiece even if the telescope were much larger.

Sorry if this is not what you wanted to learn.
There is something you can do to get that detail you want to see.  Take pictures of it through your telescope.   With the use of a good web cam you can get images that show you more detail.  And since you really don't require tracking for images of the planets,  with a little practice you will be able to get some nice images.

Have A Nice _________

I have looked at Jupiter just recently (my first times, actually) first with a 70 mm (toystore) refractor and then with a 8" Newtonian reflector (203 mm).

I saw nothing but a bright white dot with the 70 mm refractor, though I could see three moons.

With the 8" Newtonian, I could see two bands on the little dot of a disk and four moons at 40x.  At 100x I could see more faint banding and when the air was still ("seeing was good") and clear, at 200x I could see even the color, though faintly (mostly blue gray and brown red on a white disk) and some of the festooning and swirling on the wider bands.  I didn't catch the Great Red Spot, but I think it may have rotated out of view.

Now, I can see some bands even at 40x because of the larger aperture in the reflector telescope.  My refractor is essentially the same as yours and as Mr. Kerr said, it won't show very much with Jupiter. 

Is it possible to acheive the slightest detail when observing the inner planets with my telescope? Or is my telescope mainly good for just observing the moon? And if this is the case what type of telescope would you recommend for planetary observation in this solar system? Thank you for ansewering my forum, and sorry for all the questions.

Jupiter12:

Is it possible to acheive the slightest detail when observing the inner planets with my telescope? Or is my telescope mainly good for just observing the moon? And if this is the case what type of telescope would you recommend for planetary observation in this solar system? Thank you for ansewering my forum, and sorry for all the questions.

The Inner planets don't really offer up much detail even in larger telescopes. Mars being the exception however. Unfortunately in a 70mm telescope it will probably look like nothing more than a small featureless red disc. Even in my old 114mm reflector that is all it looked like, even when Mars was at its closest to the Earth. 
Venus is interesting because you can watch it throughout the season and watch it go through phases much like the moon. Currently it is the evening star still close to the sun.  As far as detail there isn't much there. It is quite bright due to its highly reflective atmosphere.
Mercury is very small and too close to the sun to observe.  You can however get yourself a solar filter and watch it when if transitions across the face of the Sun. It will look like a dark spot moving across the Sun.

Have A Nice ___________

Jupiter12:

Or is my telescope mainly good for just observing the moon?

Don't forget there's a lot of stuff outside the Solar System that you can see with your scope. Scan the area just to the right of Jupiter (in August, 2008) and you'll find some pretty cool clusters and nebulae.  

goon:

Jupiter12:

Or is my telescope mainly good for just observing the moon?

 

Don't forget there's a lot of stuff outside the Solar System that you can see with your scope. Scan the area just to the right of Jupiter (in August, 2008) and you'll find some pretty cool clusters and nebulae.  

Yes definitely, There are all kinds of star clusters, asterisms and Nebulae in that area that are well within the grasp of a 70mm telesocpe.  Further to the north, the Andromeda galaxy and a few others will also be visible in small aperture telescopes and binoculars.

Have A Nice _________

Thanks for all the help, I'll start saving up for a reflector now so I can expand my viewings.