Just opened a new toy - I want eyepieces!

[Stargazer_00]

Hi all,

My SkyWatcher Explorer 150P came the other day and I had my first clear sky last night (and tonight hopefully!)!!

REally loved it and enjoyed myself thoroughly, limited only by my knowledge of the sky..

Now my first impression was that I had a little trouble oreienting myself around the eyepiece, even a small sway off exact centre of the EP meant I lost the image. This is on a 1.25" EP.

Couple of things I'd like to see what is possible;

I have a 2" option on the scope, should I invest in 2" eyepieces? I assume these just give a bigger image in terms of what youa ctually see when over the EP you see the same magnification just a large FOV and i would also expect that even if you physically move in relation to the EP there is more tolerance before you lose the image from view.

I have a 10mm and a 25mm and a 2x barlow, all 1.25". This, on a 6" neewt, what would be good EP options going forward?

I am keen to see planets and DSO.

Also should I get some filters? I live in a town so have a moderate LP problem. I saw orion nebula last night as a faint white smudge, turn left at orion depicted more detail on it (almost wing like structures) whereas I saw only the brighter centremost parts of it. All the stars in the trapezium were very very clear (far clearer than the book expected them to be).

Basically just after some good EP advice, I assume the EP make the entire viewing experience better?

Also some advice on a good container to put all my stuff in would be good, fishing tackle box doesnt seem like the right choice for optical equipment.

thanks!! Can't wait to get out tonight!!

[DOBBY]

Hi... most people use these Rugged Case (Large) : Flight & Rugged Cases : Maplin Electronics

a 2 inch 26mm or 32mm panaview from skywatcher will give you nice wide angle views with your 'scope.

for planets the celestron X-Cel LX range is worth a look...the 9mm or 12mm

for 'budget' EP's try the BST explorers

[John]

Hi... most people use these Rugged Case (Large) : Flight & Rugged Cases : Maplin Electronics

a 2 inch 26mm or 32mm panaview from skywatcher will give you nice wide angle views with your 'scope.

for planets the celestron X-Cel LX range is worth a look...the 9mm or 12mm

for 'budget' EP's try the BST explorers

Great, concise summary of the options there - I agree 100%

[hemihaggis]

hi there , i would just take my time getting to know the scope and how to get the best out of it .. if you have never had a scope before it can take some time to get used to looking in an ep , trust me its all a learning curve ,

a good 2" ep to use on a "fast scope " will be quite expensive .

if i wanted a really good ep that would not break the bank and would make a big difference ,i would go for somthing like a celestron c-cel lx , these are 1.25 .

[Stargazer_00]

Thanks alot for thw responses. I'm still a little stuck though.

If I had a 25mm 1.25" and a 25mm 2" would I see an identical size image but in the 2" just see more around the object? That's what im thinking. Is that an accurate assessment of the fundemental difference between 1.25 and 2?

I assume if i wanted to see a larger image than what im seeing in the current EP i need to increase the magnification.

I viewed Jupiter and all of the moons last night in a 10mm with 2x barlow with beuatiful clarity but a small image (equivalent roughly to the size of a 5p on the floor looking at it from 6 foot up) If i wanted to increase that size to say the size of a tennis ball on the floor from 6 feet up I guess I'd need to increase the magnifcation significantly, right? And to get the moons in view and also increase the mangiification i'd better get a 2" EP to use the extra FOV to keep the moons in view. Is that about right?

I see there are EP's in the 2.3, 5 mm range, would these be incredibly bad?

I guess i'd be best off just finding a society close by and making a practical judgement by using other people's EPs :/ Just want to understand the principles behind it all. I am not sure what not to buy other than EP I already have either directly or as a result of combination with a barlow.

[John]

2" eyepieces do just show a wider view.

The planets do look smaller than you expect they should though. 180x (a 4mm eyepiece with your scope) is about as much magnification as Jupiter will take on most nights so there is really no point in using more power - you just get a large but mushy image which is not going to show any more detail - less in fact.

Your 10mm eyepiece with the barlow is giving you 150x so not far off the max that is going to be useful.

You could invest in a better quality 5mm eyepiece - some examples have been given in previous responses. The result will be nicer views but the same size.

[Stargazer_00]

Also what is eye relief, I see it alot..figured it was the bitof rubber on the eye peice itself?

[Stargazer_00]

Missed the reply in the middle there, thanks for the response all good stuff!

[Stargazer_00]

X-Cel-LX looks about my price bracket. Should i replace everything I have?

I got the standard 10 and 25mm and a barlow 2x. Assuming they supply all these as they are a good range to start with would I simply be best of replacing these with better quality of the same so that I still have the broad range of utility but in high quality? Does that make sense?

Or should I just buy other eye pieces? The ones I have arent branded in anyway they just look like cheap chinese knock offs to be honest.

[John]

The supplied eyepieces will be adequate to get you going but no more than that. Replacing them and adding one and / or a decent quality barlow lens would be worthwhile although you need to budget around £120 or so to do that, assuming £30-£40 per eyepiece / barlow, which will get nice upgrades.

Most eyepieces are made in China these days, even the £400+ ones !.

[Astro Imp]

Also what is eye relief, I see it alot..figured it was the bitof rubber on the eye peice itself?

Eye relief is the distance you need to have your eye from the EP. If you are a spectacle wearer you will need more than without, also some people find really short eye relief uncomfortable.

[Capricorn]

Suggest you stick to 1.25" eyepieces. The choice is much greater then in 2" format. Also a 2" eyepiece is significantly bigeer then a 1.25".

For wider views try the BST's they have a 60 degree field, so reasonably bigger then the standard plossl.

In the BST range you could jump in with a 5mm however I would consider the 8mm first. Slightly more magnification then the 10mm you have and hopefully a sharper image. If that is good then perhaps the 5mm.

Eyepieces can be personal item.

[Redpaul]

I have the 200p so I have the same 10mm and 25mm stock eyepieces as you. I got a 7mm Celestron X-Cel LX and the difference in the clarity and contrast is amazing.

Paul

[Stargazer_00]

Ok its decided then, im going to buy all the X-Cel LX range over the next year, get one a month or something, they are well priced. I'll get a 7mm and 25mm first then maybe the 9 and 18 then the 12. Im guessing the 2.3 probably isnt worthwhile given my current scope has 300x highest practical power im just guessing that the 2.3 will be blurry.... how do i work out the magnification again? focal length by eye piece? that'd be 750 / 2.3 = 326... blurry then? better off with the barlow on the 7 to get 750/3.5 = 214?

[John]

.... how do i work out the magnification again? focal length by eye piece? that'd be 750 / 2.3 = 326... blurry then? better off with the barlow on the 7 to get 750/3.5 = 214?

You've got it

326x would be too much 99% of the time. 214x makes more sense. Much astro observing is done at 30x - 100x in fact.

[Stargazer_00]

I just want to get as much magnification as practically possible for the planets (going to get a moon filter when flo back in stock too) and then id probably buy much wider POV longer eye lengths for the dso and star gazing. I am already just using the 25mm straight to view Orion nebular. Havent had much chance to see much else yet as clouds keep rolling in.

Im already utterly hooked, not giving this hobby up. Shouldve got a scope years ago!

Realise I probably need to do some core exercise, my back is already aching feel like an old man at 33!

[Rigel-7]

Good choice of scope ! I'm looking at buying a 32mm 2" Panaview as for storage Maplins have a flight case stack for £29 at the mo + the scope fits rather nicely in a cricket bag.

[Stargazer_00]

Please do let me know how you get on with a 2" and a panaview (looked at both these myself!) Would really like the feedback on my own scope.

If you could compare it, say, to the stock 25mm it came with that'd be awesome.

[John]

I just want to get as much magnification as practically possible for the planets....

What you want is enough magnification to show the best contrast and sharpest resolution - this is what enables us to see the more subtle and intricate detail. Very often backing off the magnification delivers a better overall image. Honestly

[Stargazer_00]

you are right of course, that is a much better description for exactly what i want. Size isnt anything really, just contrast and detail. Im guessing that a 9mm x-cel will look much better in both contrast and sharpness in comparison to the stock 10mm i have?

I know its a bit nooby to think high mag is the key, if i honstly thought that id buy a 750x mag frac off ebay for 50 quid and wonder why i can only see blurs

Just walked past the back window and saw a small break in the clouds an jupiter on the horizon! quickly got my scope out on the decking and set up and got a few minutes more with it before it disappears off the horizon