Planetary EyePiece

[Omega]

Hello All,

I am looking for a new eye piece for my 200P Dob for planetary viewing. I only have the stock SW 10mm and 25mm eye pieces that came with the scope.

Is it worth getting a decent barlow, or am I better off getting a good quality EP @ say 5-6mm?

I don't want to waste money on a cheap eye piece, I'd rather pay good money for a good quality EP that will last me and give my good views.

This is my first scope and as such I'm not familiar with the best manufacturers etc. So would welcome people's suggestions....

Thanks.

[jnc71106]

Tmb planetarys, bst explorers are very good planetary eyepieces and won't break the bank

Of course there are orthoscopic eyepieces as well which are probably the best planetary eyepieces if you can live with the smaller fov and tighter eye relief

You can pick up orthoscopic ep's very cheaply as well

Have a search on here and you will find reviews for all mentioned above

[Bart]

I can vouch for the BSTs. There are no doubt better EPs out there for which you will pay. The BSTs are good value for money @ £41 delivered. Definite improvement. As always, it depends on your budget.

Bart

[sunshine185]

Just treated myself to a celestron x-cel lx 7mm after reading some good reviews on here, not had chance to try it out yet though.

[cotterless45]

Wouldn't go smaller than 7mm for an f6 scope. There's also tracking to consider. I use a 12mm Bst explorer for Jupiter and Saturn. This gives x100 and gives you enough time to focus and nudge. It is also a superb EP for galaxies and deep sky.

[twotter]

Well I'll vote for the 8mm Baader Hyperion, and the 14mm & 28mm fine tuning rings. In combination that will give you 8mm (x150), 6mm (x200), 5mm (x240) , & 4.3mm (x279)

More info on how they work:

http://www.baader-planetarium.com/pdf/hyperion_brief_description_e.pdf

And where to get them from:

First Light Optics - Baader Hyperion 68 degree eyepiece

First Light Optics - Baader Hyperion Finetuning Ring

[ecosse]

I have an 8mm BST and can confirm that it gives great views of Jupiter. I will be adding more BST eyepieces to my collection over the coming months

[Karen]

For a non-tracking dobsonian a widefield planetary eyepiece of 68 degrees or above will mean a lot less nudging to keep the object in view than with a orthoscopic or plossl.

[Omega]

Ok thanks for the pointers everybody. So an eyepiece such as this would be ideal for a non tracking dob for good planetary views?

[up2nogood]

Ok thanks for the pointers everybody. So an eyepiece such as this would be ideal for a non tracking dob for good planetary views?

I have a 8mm Baader Hyperion 68 degree, and a 8mm BST (which i'm returning).

It's for my 8" dob also!!

even tho the BST is pretty good, the Baader Hyperion 68 degree EP has a much bigger FOV, so i dont find my self nudging as much! it's big brighter too. but also huge lol. the BST is still good little EP for the money.

I just ordered a 7mm Celestron X-Cel LX. as i wanted to compare it to my Baader. so i let you know once it comes after christmas

Everyone has different views i have found, but i guess what suites me might not suite someone else..

[Bart]

the LX would be fine. I used to worry about nudging but even at mags > 200 I don't find it tricky. If you're the kind who always want the object reasonably central, then you will be nudging anyway, the wider FOV is just a

[Bart]

the LX would be fine. I used to worry about nudging but even at mags > 200 I don't find it tricky. If you're the kind who always want the object reasonably central, then you will be nudging anyway, the wider FOV is just a

frame

[paul schofield]

Ditto for the TMB'S and BST Explorer, great E.P'S for the money. Some people like Barlows some don't, I personally love my Tal x 2 barlow for the extra magnification it gives but you do sacrifice a bit of image clarity. Happy gazing.