Greetings, I come baring questions. (Magnifications/Eyepieces)

[Ryno]

Hello everyone.

I was wondering, at what magnifications can I see planets and DSOs with a telescope that has a theoretical magnification of 400x?

Also, what are a few brands of eyepieces and Barlows that you would recommend?

[rory]

there's alot there to answer ryno. id start by reading the stickies up top of this forum. theres lots of advice there.

and ignore promises on the side of boxes that promise x 400 mag. most people even with good quality telescopes will never really go over 250x and you need good conditions for that.

give you an idea,youll see plenty with as little as x10 to x50.

give some info on your scope,and folks with more knowledge will give you pointers mate. but read the stickies too.

clear skies...and welcome..

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I agree with Rory, 250x to 288x is what I use under really good conditions. 200x is more common, but sometimes 143x is the best I can do. Still a lot to be seen at that magnification.

[John]

A common newbies misconception is that a telescope is all about magnification. The main purpose of a scope is to capture as much light as possible and bring that to a focus so thats why we go on about aperture (the diameter of the main mirror or lens) much more than magnification. As has been said, it's rare to need / be able to use more than 250x and most observing, especially of deep sky objects, is done at much lower magnification than that.

There are some deep sky objects that can be seen with the naked eye, ie: no magnification at all but a scope (or binoculars even) will enhance that view because they capture a lot more light than our eyes can.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

True, for DSOs I use 50x and 92x (using the Paragon 40mm and Nagler 22mm respectively) most of the time when I am using the 8" (with its 400x theoretical maximum). On compact and bright DSOs (such as some planetary nebulae) I go for 119x or even 143x (Nagler 17mm and Meade UWA 14mm).

[damnut]

H Ryno,

Echo comments above, also you have not told us what scope you have and your budget for the ep's so we need more info!!.

Cheers

[Ryno]

I'm using a 8" Orion XT8. 1200 focal f/5.9

Also, I was just including theoretical mag. because it incorporates aperture into the equation, if I understand correctly. I'm not a complete newbie

Jahmanson: So does that mean I'm going to want something with wide degree viewing for deep space objects?

Does the brand not matter at all? (As long as it's a quality made eyepiece)

And thanks to everyone for the great input!

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

For deep sky, wide field objects, an F/5.9 scope would match very well with a 30mm EP, preferably in the ultra-wide angle bracket. I want something like that for my F/6 scope. Cheap EPs are not an option for faster scopes, though many say F/6 is still often OK. The Nirvana 28mm gets a good press, and the Explore Scientific 30mm 82 deg is what I am gunning for. The 31mm Nagler is excellent of course. For many smaller DSOs something like a 13mm ultra wide angle is very good.

[John]

I'm using a 8" Orion XT8. 1200 focal f/5.9

Also, I was just including theoretical mag. because it incorporates aperture into the equation, if I understand correctly. I'm not a complete newbie

Jahmanson: So does that mean I'm going to want something with wide degree viewing for deep space objects?

Does the brand not matter at all? (As long as it's a quality made eyepiece)

And thanks to everyone for the great input!

Sorry for assuming you were a newbie but there was no way for me to tell what experience you have from your original post plus newcomers to the hobby do seem to get obsessed about maxing out magnification.

As you no doubt know, theoretical maximum magnification bears no resemblance to the max you can use in practice, mostly due to the seeing conditions we usually have to put up with in the UK.

Michael sets out some nice options and, yes, you will want a low power, wide field eyepiece for finding and viewing deep sky objects. Brand does matter as you will see from the many, many threads and posts on the forum on this topic

The Skywatcher Nirvana 28mm and Tele Vue Nagler 31mm are large and heavy 2" eyepieces with ultra wide fields of view and excellent for extended deep sky objects such as the Andromeda Galaxy. Their cost is high as well though at £245 and £475 respectively. The Explore Scientific 30mm is a relative newcomer to the scene but is also getting great reviews - it retails for £289.

There are lower cost options available through starting at around £80.

[JimStan]

Without naming specific brand names, I would proffer that the Plossels are some of the best eyepieces that you can get for the money. There are other, more expensive eyepieces out there that offer wider field of views, or perhaps greater magnifications than the Plossels, but for their money, as I said, they do offer fairly wide FOV with fairly sharp images all the way across the viewable image.

Save your money for the Ethos and Nagler style eyepieces til later, and you see which kind of viewing gives you the greatest satisfaction. You can almost purchase a whole set of Plossels for the price of one of the expensive varieties !

Jim S.

[Capricorn]

How about approaching from the other direction:

To get all of Orion and The Pleaides in view you need 1 degree field of view or a little more.

To get 1 degree with a plossl you need a magnification of 50x, this will give a little more then 1 degree. So in your scope that means a plossl of 24mm.

If you use say a 60 degree eyepiece it means 60x and this is a 20mm eyepiece in your scope.

To pick out the trapesium in Orion then as best I can tell that is 1/4 degree so 240x and a 5mm eyepiece.

The moon is 1/2 deg, so to get all of it in one view means 100x and so a 12mm plossl eyepiece. Alternatively with a 60 degree eyepiece then 120x and a 10mm eyepiece.

I quote the 52deg and 60deg eyepieces as that includes plossl's and the Explorers that are held in good regard. SWANS tend to be 68 degree but they do not come in a great number of focal lengths. There are just 3 WO SWANS in a set.

Planetary eyepieces, TMB's, have a range of focal lengths and a field of 55 degrees.

Unless you want wider views and higher magnification then it seems you can quite happily get along without purchasing the top end eyepieces.

The one "drawback" you have is that a 32mm plossl will give a 1.3 degree view and you may want more when locating objects.

[Ryno]

Thank you guys for the great responses! I have learned a great deal from them!

I ran into a problem though, as I was searching for eyepieces, I couldn't determine who were reputable dealers and who were not. Recommendations on websites on which to buy quality eyepieces from multiple brands would be greatly appreciated!

[rory]

U.K. Astronomy Buy & Sell

this is a good well known second hand astronomy site.

some times theres bargains to be had regarding eyepieces.

[staryeyes]

Hi Ryno, here is a link to a very informative guide to eyepieces and magnifications, much more than i could ever explain, hope you find it useful, i did

Astronomical Telescope Eyepieces: A Discussion for the Beginner

[Chris H]

First light optics, Telescope House, Rother valley optics, Greenwitch to name a few.

[todd8137]

I'm using a 8" Orion XT8. 1200 focal f/5.9

Also, I was just including theoretical mag. because it incorporates aperture into the equation, if I understand correctly. I'm not a complete newbie

lol i have been 3 years in and consider my self a newb

[John]

We have a section on the forum for supplier reviews:

Supplier Reviews - Stargazers Lounge

I believe you can view it but not post there until you have 50 posts.

Personally I've used and been very happy with the following suppliers:

First Light Optics

Telescope House

Greenwitch

Harrison Telescopes

Modern Astronomy

Opticstar

I've used others too but the above stood out as being efficient and helpful.

The UK Astro Buy & Sell website that rory links to above is also a good place to browse.