got my first scope and its great but how can I make it better

[puregeordie]

OK, got my hands on a great deal as per sig, and have used it for my first time view on saturday night before the clouds turned up. I've never used a scope before so this is all new to me so hopefully got the right beginners scope!

Anyways after checking collimation by doing a star check which in my view seemed to pass and look OK, then decided to check the finder scope and make sure it was correclty aligned, which I also did OK.

Then I just dived straight into it and used my lowest magnification to get the feel for it, Pointed toward Jupiter and got the wow factor immediately, albeit being a bit small I wanted bigger to used my 3X TN barlow with my 10mm that came with it and could see detail but still thought it would look a bit bigger than it did!

Is there anything I could do to try a get a more detailed bigger image up ion this type of scope or have I probably hit the limit? All views seemed to give quite good crispt views but like most I just wanted it bigger:D

Thinking about maybe a 5 or 8mm eyepiece? Any recommendations on what to get please or it this about the maxI could comfortably achive with this scope. I would also like to get into astrophotography as well but lets get the basics out the way first eh;)

Cheers, Si.

[sunshine185]

Hi geordie, congrats on what is a great scope, i am in the process of saving up for a high power ep and have been recommended the celestron x-cel lx 7mm or a hyperion if funds allow.one thing that does puzzle me a bit, you said even with the 10mm, jupiter was still very small? Agreed it isn't huge, but still should be a pretty big jump from the 25mm.

[John]

The practical limit with Jupiter is 150x - 200x depending on the seeing conditions. Your 10mm will be giving 120x but with a 3x barlow the 360x you get will be no use - you may get a bigger image but all the contrast and detail will be washed out.

You may want to think about getting something like a 7mm eyepiece for 171x - that would be good on Jupiter most nights.

That the planets like Jupiter seem small in the eyepiece is one of the commonest comments from people new to using scopes. The reality is that small, sharp and contrasty images are what we aim for, rather than bigger, mushy ones.

[puregeordie]

Hi, Sorry just noticed on my thread a few spelling mistakes, I'm just excited!

Anyways, maybe one of these 1.25" 8mm BST Explorer Dual ED eyepiece on eBay! or a 5mm?

Just wondering if I'm able to get the bigger picture,

Cheers, Si.

[kniclander]

well, it is 500million miles away seriously, smaller and sharper can be better than bigger and fuzzier. a 10mm e/p with a 3x barlow gives a mag of x360 with your scope (f/l 1200mm) which tbh is probably quite a bit higher than you might want to go.

[puregeordie]

Hi geordie, congrats on what is a great scope, i am in the process of saving up for a high power ep and have been recommended the celestron x-cel lx 7mm or a hyperion if funds allow.one thing that does puzzle me a bit, you said even with the 10mm, jupiter was still very small? Agreed it isn't huge, but still should be a pretty big jump from the 25mm.

Yeh, sorry it was a fairly big jump but thought it would be bigger:o!!

The practical limit with Jupiter is 150x - 200x depending on the seeing conditions. Your 10mm will be giving 120x but with a 3x barlow the 360x you get will be no use - you may get a bigger image but all the contrast and detail will be washed out.

You may want to think about getting something like a 7mm eyepiece for 171x - that would be good on Jupiter most nights.

That the planets like Jupiter seem small in the eyepiece is one of the commonest comments from people new to using scopes. The reality is that small, sharp and contrasty images are what we aim for, rather than bigger, mushy ones.

I see, that makes sence then, Thanks for that, 7mm it is, let me know what I should get for around the 40-50 mark and I'll get one.

Do you think using a barlow is probably a nono as it will just wash out the colours etc as you say, makes the image bigger though.

How can you tell I'm knew to all this..

Cheers lads, Si.

[jnc71106]

in the uk you can use x250 on very good nights of seeing and these night are fairly rare a lot of the time around the x180 will give you a better view

the 200p with a focal length of 1200mm a 6mm will give you x200 and a 7mm will give you x170 anything higher power than that will hardly get used

is the scope collimated as this does impact on the quality of the view

jake

lol everyone beat me too it im far to slow go take a look at http://www.skysthelimit.org.uk/ for some good planetary ep's plus you can try before you buy which is great

[puregeordie]

well, it is 500million miles away seriously, smaller and sharper can be better than bigger and fuzzier. a 10mm e/p with a 3x barlow gives a mag of x360 with your scope (f/l 1200mm) which tbh is probably quite a bit higher than you might want to go.

Thanks for that,

Most pics you see on this forum seem to be huge or is that the rendering software that people use make them look bigger than they actually are?

Si.

[cosmological]

My last telescope was a 1200mm focal length and with a 6mm eyepiece and a 2x barlow that gave me a 400 times mag but I always thought that was pushing it, in the end I stuck with 200x because the image quality was so much better than at 400x. So with pushing your telescope beyond 360x you might lose quality of image.

[jnc71106]

Thanks for that,

Most pics you see on this forum seem to be huge or is that the rendering software that people use make them look bigger than they actually are?

Si.

the pics are bigger mainly because the imaging equipment can get past the seeing conditions by taking lots of frames so you can push the mag when imaging much much higher and hence get a nice big picture. they can be a little decieving to new members sometimes

[sunshine185]

Tbh i sold the deluxe barlow that i had and put the funds toward a cheshire collimater, also, bst ep's like you mentioned are said to be great ep's for the money. Btw si, if you can, try to get a look at m42, one of the most amazing things i have ever seen.

[cosmological]

My last telescope was a 1200mm focal length and with a 6mm eyepiece and a 2x barlow that gave me a 400 times mag but I always thought that was pushing it, in the end I stuck with 200x because the image quality was so much better than at 400x. So with pushing your telescope beyond 360x you might lose quality of image.

By the way, that was Jupiter.

[puregeordie]

Thanks, all good advice as usual from you lot:D

righty o then, looking at these BST they go from a 5mm to an 8mm but no 6 or 7 which looks like what you guys are suggesting:confused:

Any ideas what to get bang for buck, Cheers, Si.

[puregeordie]

Btw si, if you can, try to get a look at m42, one of the most amazing things i have ever seen.

Sounds like getting a clear night might be more challenging:(

[sunshine185]

I also find just generally slewing around gives wonderful views, so with that in mind i am also looking to get a nice widefield ep, something in the region of 30mm to 42mm.been looking at the revelation 2" , only £37.

[jnc71106]

look at the 7mm TMB planetary II they are good highly regarded ep's

[sunshine185]

Is also a good idea to look into setting circles for the dob base, this, along with an inclinometer can turn your scope into a bit of a goto, which does work, i did it on my last scope.

[Damo636]

Slightly over budget, but i have read these are comparable optically to a Televue Radian...

First Light Optics - Celestron X-Cel LX eyepiece

[puregeordie]

I see, thanks for all that.

I also have a 2" eyepiece holder thing that came with it, If I used this and got some different eyepieces how would this perform compared to the 1.25" Would I get a bigger more detailed image instead of using the 1.25"

Thanks.

[John]

I also have a 2" eyepiece holder thing that came with it, If I used this and got some different eyepieces how would this perform compared to the 1.25" Would I get a bigger more detailed image instead of using the 1.25"....

No, 2" eyepieces are used for lower power, wide field viewing for things like the larger deep sky objects.

I think you need to get past this urge to massively magnify things and concentrate on teasing the details out when viewing at a realistic and usable power.

Get a decent 7mm eyepiece and then build your experience up in viewing Jupiter and later Saturn and Mars carefully at each opportunity you have.

[brantuk]

A 5mm or 8mm eyepiece would be good but get a good one - I like Radians and Hyperions - for planetary. General stuff you could do include flocking, Telrad, Wixey, AZ setting circle, RACI, secondary dew heater, dew shield, carry handles, etc. There's loads of things people do with dobs.

[sunshine185]

Couldn't agree more, getting a dob is just the beginning.

[jimmyjamjoejoe]

Wouldn't the 25mm with the 3x barlow give the equivalent of an 8-9mm?

[callisto]

Couldn't agree more, getting a dob is just the beginning.

LOL,

When you own a Dob, the brain just ticks away of the thinks you can add to it

[blusky]

I find a decent quality 5mm gives you just about max detail you could see with a 200P. My 12mm + 2x Barlow gives a more washed out image though.