Recommended eyepieces for viewing Saturn & Jupiter?

[bluemac]

Hi all,

Just looking for some advice and recommendations for viewing the planets - in particular Saturn & Jupiter. Currently I have the stock 10mm and 25mm eyepiece supplied with my Skywatcher Explorer 130M, along with the stock 2x Barlow. I've read that a 5mm eyepiece would be a good choice, but I was hoping that perhaps some users with some experience of similar scopes might be able to recommend some specific types/models for this purpose. Also any general advice would be much appreciated.

Cheers,

Matt.

[Lux1]

Hi all,

Just looking for some advice and recommendations for viewing the planets - in particular Saturn & Jupiter. Currently I have the stock 10mm and 25mm eyepiece supplied with my Skywatcher Explorer 130M, along with the stock 2x Barlow. I've read that a 5mm eyepiece would be a good choice, but I was hoping that perhaps some users with some experience of similar scopes might be able to recommend some specific types/models for this purpose. Also any general advice would be much appreciated.

Cheers,

Matt.

I find a good 6 or 9mm or even a 15mm with a 2x barlow.

I have an Astro Revelation eyepiece set, for about £90 you get a 32mm wide angle eyepiece, also 20, 15, 9mm and a very good 2x barlow - along with filters. Everything you could really need. (In my humble opinion!)

[bluemac]

Thanks for this, I'll have a look into it!

Edited September 27, 2011 by bluemac

[Adz]

For planetary viewing I can nothing but recommend the Baader genuine orthos. They come up cheap second hand (£50) and will not be beaten on sharpness and contrast

[faulksy]

For planetary viewing I can nothing but recommend the Baader genuine orthos. They come up cheap second hand (£50) and will not be beaten on sharpness and contrast

as said reading lots about bgo,s no one says anything bad about them only praise

[Adz]

Yup they do a fantastic job for the money, provided you dont wear glasses and are okay with small eye relief at the high magnifications.

[great_bear]

Consider a TMB Designed eyepiece from Sky's The Limit at £36 <click>

I'd recommend you try out both a 5mm and 6mm - keep the one you like and send the other back. Sky's the Limit have no problem with this so long as you let them know in advance it's what you intend to do.

The 5mm will give you 180x magnification in your scope, which may be too much, and the 6mm gives 150x magnification.

Edited September 29, 2011 by great_bear

[smudgeball]

Hi

I was getting some great views of Jupitor with my Hyperion last night. With or without my 2 x barlow.

Was really comfortable viewing Saturn earlier in the year.

Although I'm not in the same category of scope as you.

9mm BGO is next on my shopping list.

Once I get the paper work signed in triplicate by the "accountant" and she says yes

Neil

[great_bear]

- oh - forgot to say that if the Barlow that comes with the 130M is not the "Deluxe" one, then it's really not much use for anything. Seriously! - I'm not being mean or anything - the SkyWatcher "Standard" Barlow that ships with some scopes is really, really poor!

Edited September 29, 2011 by great_bear

[DrNeb]

i can recommend the william optics 6mm spl.

Fantastic little eyepiece worth every penny in my opinion. I bought it for Saturn earlier this year. I just used it last night on Jupiter and i my jaw dropped!

[bluemac]

- oh - forgot to say that if the Barlow that comes with the 130M is not the "Deluxe" one, then it's really not much use for anything. Seriously! - I'm not being mean or anything - the SkyWatcher "Standard" Barlow that ships with some scopes is really, really poor!

I have an inkling that you may be right about this. The Barlow provided seems useless on all but the brightest objects from what I've seen. Worth replacing this as well then?

[great_bear]

Not if you're using the "stock" eyepieces

Since one only needs about 3 to 5 eyepieces (depending on the scope), many people forgo a Barlow entirely and just buy modern, long-relief eyepieces of the required focal length.

Eyepieces are a terrible slippery-slope really. You can spend one heck of a lot of money if you're not careful. That's why it's good to purchase second-hand, so that if you don't get on with one, you can sell it at cost - since different telescopes respond to eyepieces differently.

[bluemac]

Not if you're using the "stock" eyepieces

Since one only needs about 3 to 5 eyepieces (depending on the scope), many people forgo a Barlow entirely and just buy modern, long-relief eyepieces of the required focal length.

Eyepieces are a terrible slippery-slope really. You can spend one heck of a lot of money if you're not careful. That's why it's good to purchase second-hand, so that if you don't get on with one, you can sell it at cost - since different telescopes respond to eyepieces differently.

I've been looking into the advice you've given, and was hoping you might be able to provide a bit more info for me. You mentioned the 5mm and 6mm eyepieces from Sky's The Limit and their respective magnification powers of 180x and 150x. What would make the 180x 'too much'? I'm currently achieving 180x (I think) by way of a 10mm eyepiece and a 2x Barlow lens and it look good, focuses well on it. Reading about the scope itself apparently the maximum potential power would be 260x.

So yeah, just wondering what you mean by 'too much' - I don't mean to sound iffy (I'm desperately trying to word my question without any negative tone, but seem to be failing), I'm genuinely interested. I of course would like to see Jupiter at the best my scope can offer, so I was thinking that perhaps one of the 4mm (which should give 225x) would be the best I could get away with whilst managing to actually focus on the object?

Also, what's the difference between the 'TMB Designed' and 'TMB Planetary II', and which would provide the best performance for planetary viewing (I'm aware this sounds like a stupid question given the product names - but who knows!)?

Thanks in advance!

Matt.

[great_bear]

All good questions.

The limit of scopes for resolving detail is little over 30x magnification per inch of aperture, which roughly equates to an exit-pupil of 0.75mm. In summary, if you multiply your scopes focal ratio by 0.75, that's the length in mm of your highest-power eyepiece.

Now, what happens beyond this is very much down to the quality of the scope, but - in short - although the image gets bigger, you won't see any more detail per se. Nonetheless, this is in some ways a "purist" view, and some people prefer to go higher if the view is still pleasing in their scope. If you're observing double stars, you tend to push higher anyway, since you're not after a sharp view, just looking to detect if you can see both stars.

With regard to the "official" spec of 260x, that's just what all manufacturers say - i.e. 2x the aperture in millimeters - but it's a fact that the resolution of fine detail tops out at more like 1.3x the aperture in millimeters.

It's important to understand that optical resolution is a complex subject, and as such "maximum magnification" only has meaning in relation to specific object types and conditions - see my other post here <click> for info.

Regarding the TMB differences - oh what a legal can of worms that one is! Basically the "TMB Planetaries" are the "Official" version of that eyepiece design, and the "TMB Designed" ones are eyepieces that the original factory claimed it was legally entitled to make and sell without TMB's permission. It's really an issue for the law-courts to decide, since none of us are privvy to what was written into their business contract!

[bluemac]

Right, I have a feeling this is going to be a difficult one to call. I'm inclined to ask if Sky's The Limit will do me a huge favour and perhaps let me sample 3 eyepieces (4mm, 5mm and 6mm) before selecting one.

I'm aware that there are of course limitations to telescopes, and that everybody probably wishes they could push their scope just that little bit more to bring out the detail they're after. I'm just hoping that by way of some crafty eyepieces and lenses etc. I may just satisfy my thirst for a better viewing experience.

Regarding the branding of those TMB eyepieces then - I take it I'd be safe buying the 'un-official' pieces? To quote Sky's the Limit, 'If there is no difference - why pay it?'. Wise words.

Thanks for all of this information, I'll sit down and properly process all of it a bit later on. If you feel I'm putting a foot wrong still in thinking on a 4mm eyepiece though, please tell me!

Cheers,

Matt.

[great_bear]

I'm aware that there are of course limitations to telescopes, and that everybody probably wishes they could push their scope just that little bit more to bring out the detail they're after.

Sure - and I've certainly been surprised how high my 130P can go when expensive eyepieces are used.

Regarding the branding of those TMB eyepieces then - I take it I'd be safe buying the 'un-official' pieces?

Yes - the official TMB ones may look smarter - but I've not seen any compelling evidence of any optical quality differences (I've had both).

It's definitely a good idea to try all three and see which you like.

[ronin]

The best I have seen Saturn at was 120x and would suggest this magnification. Should be good for Jupiter also.

In yours it means a 6mm eyepiece for 108x and 5mm for 130x - assumes an f/5 scope.

In the small f/5 I have the 6mm is better then the 5mm.

Which make/brand: The TMB copies are good and come in a decent range, the BST Explorers are also good. Both within £5 of each other.

[IIxFUSIONZxMMx]

Hi all I just purchased skywatcher 130p explorer also and had great views of the moon last night but Jupiter looked nothing but a bright star using the 2x barlow lens and 10mm eye piece was wondering is there anyway of taking photos when using this telescope i.e camera not dslr or webcam many thanks mark!

[joehay_yorkshire]

I have the 130M (longer focal length than the 130p) and using just the 10mm on its own to give 90x magnification, i get a very clear image of jupiter, seeing four moons and some surface detail - i.e banding and very faintly the GRS.

There loads of advice on this forum, but i'll just say a couple of things - check the collimation of your scope, let the scope cool down for half an hour so all the optics are at the ambient temperature, adjust focus when looking at the moons until they appear as points, allow your eyes to adjust to the dark for over 15 mins. A couple of last things - try watching it through the eyepiece for a few minutes and you should be able to pick out more detail. Finally, your eyes have two types of cells for picking up light, the ones which are in the center of your eye pick up colour and are less sensitive to light, the surrounding cells are primarily black and white and are far more sensitive to light, so if you struggle to see faint objects (applies more for DSOs), then try looking slightly to the side of the object.

Also it could have been viewing conditions

Good luck,

Joe

[IIxFUSIONZxMMx]

Thanks Joe had another look tonight can see 4 moons as stars and can see  Jupiter as a small planet and a couple of lines around the planet quite small though is there anything I can do or buy to show more detail on Jupiter and make it look bigger if you know what I mean lol I haven't had the pleasure of looking at mars or Saturn yet hopefully they will show more detail and look bigger!! is there anyway I can take photos of what I can see? thanks guys mark

[IIxFUSIONZxMMx]

oh by the way I was using the 2x barlow and 10mm lens

[John]

I've moved this to the eyepieces discussion section so it will get more feedback hopefully 

What scope are you using ?

[IIxFUSIONZxMMx]

^{I am using a skywatcher 130p explorer goto with a 2x barlow lens and 25mm and 10 mm eyepiece thanks}

[Matrim]

I have that scope (caveat I am a beginner myself so take anything i say with a pinch of salt)

With the basic setup I had no problem viewing Jupiter though I usually could only see the moons and the twin lines. I rarely use the Barlow (with the exception of moon watching) and preferred the 10mm. The 25mm was to fuzzy as was using the Barlow with either eye-piece.

I was also recently considering getting a new telescope but have instead decided to spend another year with this one and get comfortable with it as everything is sooo complicated. Instead I have purchased a couple of things which may assist my skywatching. - A Telrad finder to replace the standard (which i managed to break) and 2 new eye-pieces a 26mm Meade thing and a Vixen 15mm. Neither were very expensive or by definition very high range but they *may* be better than the current. From what I have seen these will not help so much with planet viewing but might with deeper objects.

For the planets I may be saving up for a much more expensive 6mm eye-piece. 

[Yad]

I have national geographic telescope 76/700  can anybody suggest me best eyepieces which i should buy. Ta