First light - Skywatcher Aero 30mm ED EP

[Admiral Crispy]

So, yesterday I had first light with my first 2 inch EP, the Skywatcher Aero 30mm ED Eyepiece, which I used with my 10" f/4.7 Skyliner 250px. I got it for Xmas, having bought it for £80 in Bath.

Seeing stability was fine, but transparency was very poor. However, I soldiered on, comparing my views to my 32mm GSO plossl.

First off, the filed of view was very good, with pinpoint stars up to 80% of the FOV, and astigmatism only getting annoying in the final 5% when stars got very messy. The field stop was very clear, and eye positioning was comfortable. The EP itself was very light and the EP grips very useful.

First target was M31. M32 and M110 also fit inside the FOV easily. Contrast was very good, despite seeing being abysmal. I could also miraculously make out some dust lanes in M31, despite never seeing them in my GSO plossl on much better nights. M32 was also visible, and M110 extremely faintly, which was also a miracle considering the seeing, and I can only attribute this to the EP. I turned my attention next to the Crab Nebula. The view was better in the Aero than in my 20mm GSO plossl, which I found unusual considering I found my 32mm Plossl to be inferior to the 20mm when viewing the Nebula.

In sum, I would say the Aero has very good contrast in its FOV, with very good image sharpness for the price. It is a definite step up from my GSO plossls which are themselves good for viewing quality, so I can already so that I am very happy with my purchase! Hopefully I will have clearer skies for my next use, as struggling to find the Crab Nebula witrh averted vision, when normally it is an easy direct vision object was very frustrating!

[John]

Nice report Chris

I've tried the 30mm and 40mm Aero ED's and liked them a lot even in quite fast scopes. Very comfortable eyepieces to use too.

[Damo636]

Congratulations on your new eyepiece Chris and a nice report.

[faulksy]

as said nice report. be good to hear what you think of it on a good night

[Mr Spock]

Sounds like a nice eyepiece.

[Admiral Crispy]

Thanks guys, I will definitely see what this EP can do on a decent night to give hopefully a truer feel of what it can really do!