lenses and colours of the imagies

[azzamw21]

hi my names aaron im 32 i have autism so bare with me if i come across dumb

i have a celestron nexstar 130slt that my wife got me for xmas it came with a pack of lenses but they didnt seem to be very clear or was able to see far into the night sky so i was told to buy  a starguider ED 18mm lenses  now i can see the stars and moon quite well but im wondering how do i get to see the colours ect  and is there any other lenses i can buy that will show a it all in more detail

thanks in advance any help most welcome  

[Matt Scunthorpe]

Hi Aaron,

Unfortunately, colour is not something to be seen through a telescope, apart from the planets and some of the brighter stars, which even then are just a pinhead of light. It all comes down to how the human eyes work, not any kind of eyepiece or telescope. You can see colour on the planets as they appear rather large in the eyepiece compared to say a star, but they are also a lot closer.

Deep sky objects, such a nebulas and galaxies will never display any colour when observing them, its only through photography that you can get colour. Its to do with the colour cones in your eyes, I wont go into it as I don't really understand it.

However that's not to say that it should detract from your viewing because, just the fact you can see the object in the first place is amazing enough, to me anyway

Matt.

[ronin]

Unfortunately the "colours" seen in the images will have been added to improve the impact.

It is easier to say nothing will show colour, one or two exceptions but the scopes required are large.

Stars will display a colour, ones like Betelgeuse, Aldebaren Arcturus and others are basically red, then you have the hot blue ones like Rigel, Sirius.

If coloured stars appeal there are lists for coloured double stars, google for "coloured double stars". One site that should appear is Delaware AA. They have a short list of the best coloured double stars that can be observed. Think it is about 20 long which is a easonable number to get going with. There is a bigger list on the web, it should appear in the search given but cannot recall the title.

There a list of Carbon Stars, these are a deep red and dim, if you want a bit of a challenge search and then try them.

[rwilkey]

Hi good buddy, I do hope you are well!  As said above, only a few objects display colour in a telescope, the gas giant planets are good examples, as are double stars.  You will need a more powerful eyepiece to look more closely at these, I suggest the 5mm StarGuider giving you 130x magnification. 

Two of the best doubles in my opinion are Albireo in Cygnus (visible in the Autumn) and Eta Cass (Struve 60) in Cassiopeia, nick-named the 'easter-egg double', visible most of the year round when clear.  You should be able to download star maps for these from some websites, or if not, let me know and I will send you the locations.  The Washington Double Star (WDS) catalogue is the main resource for double stars, but having said that, I use the Cambridge Double Star Atlas as my main source for finding these great objects.  Good luck!