Question about 2" eyepieces

[DaveGarland]

Could some one tell me, is the point of a 2" eyepiece that it lets more light through than a 1.25" eyepiece? If so, does that mean that mean that my 1.25 ep's are actually blocking some of the light from my primary mirror? Will I be able to see fainter objects with a 2"?

Dave.

[NGC 1502]

Hi Dave. The point of 2" eyepieces is to get a lower power and wider field of view. For instance, with my 'grab n go' refractor (in my sig below) I use a 2" 27mm eyepiece to get a 3.8 degree field to see all of the Pleiades in one lovely view, rather than just a bit of them at higher power/narrower field of view.

Your 1.25" eyepieces are not blocking any light, it's just that for medium and high power the 2" barrel is simply not needed.

You won't see fainter objects with a very low power, just a wider view. Sometimes a higher power will show faint objects better as the sky appears darker and the contrast between object and sky is greater.

HTH, Ed.