exit pupil contest

[marcopolo]

Whats the biggest exit pupil you can stuff in your eye and how old are you??!!

I'll go first!!

7.1mm just inside, 37 years old. it used to be comfortable when I was younger.

[MjrTom]

Never actually measured it.

A task for this evening I'd say

I know that when the exit pupil is large my eyes show a fair bit of astigmatism

[Chris H]

Whats the biggest exit pupil you can stuff in your eye and how old are you??!!

I'll go first!!

7.1mm just inside, 37 years old. it used to be comfortable when I was younger.

How did you measure it?

[MjrTom]

Darkened room a mirror and a ruler would be my way

Edit mine is 6.8mm @ 33 years old

[MjrTom]

Here is a really good article on the topic

A Pupil Primer - Stargazing Basics - SkyandTelescope.com

[Chris H]

Darkened room a mirror and a ruler would be my way

Edit mine is 6.8mm @ 33 years old

If the room is dark how do you see the ruler? If there is some light then maybe your eye could dilate further.

[MjrTom]

Yes you are correct it's not the most accurate method but fairly close

There is a more accurate method detailed in the link I provided earlier

[Chris H]

I only read page one of the link didn't realise there were 3 more.

[MjrTom]

Yeah I did not realise at first myself

[Chris H]

You could improve on the pencil technique by using metric allen keys.

[RikM]

Just tried this and all I could see was the pencil. Does that mean I loose?

[Gina]

Very interesting article - thank you Mark

[Gina]

I wondered why I could see all the blood vessels on my retina and a few other odd bits when I was testing my Hyperion zoom with 2x Barlow at 8mm yesterday. Now I know. Magnification of 600/4=150. Exit pupil = 80/150 - less than half a mm! Far too much magnification for visual observing. The zoom on it's own for observing then. I was testing using a terrestrial object.

[MjrTom]

Glad the article was helpful

Basically you want to aim for exit pupil from the eyepiece of 1mm to 5pm.

[marcopolo]

I was just meanin the biggest exit pupil from your largest eyepiece but it has turned into an interesting thread!

[John]

I get a 6.5mm exit pupil when I use my 31mm Nagler with my Orion Optics 10" F/4.8 newtonian. I'm just over 50 years old though so I guess my max will be closer to 5mm. I don't use this combination unless the skies are really dark.

[Gina]

Glad the article was helpful

Basically you want to aim for exit pupil from the eyepiece of 1mm to 5pm.

Yes, that gives me 8-40mm for my ED80 scope. Longest ATM is 28mm so I might get a longer FL EP later on. Very useful info

[Mr TamiyaCowboy]

Am getting in a dark room 8.1mm and 40yr old with a mirror and ruler , just a 19 inch widescreen monitor lighting room. i spent 5 mins in darkened room to let eyes adjust a little more. under a 100w (1,900 lumens) i am getting a 3mm pupil.

guess i have owl vision, or its those carrots i was forced to eat as a younger child hehe.