eyepiece for nexstar 6SE

[kiffy]

hi folks just wondering if its worth me in the future (any & all savings have long gone since i found this forum!) getting a 30mm or lower mag eyepiece for a 150mm SCT, namely a celestron nexstar 6se or should i stick to my 25mm as the lowest mag?

[Rob_UK_SE]

A 32mm plossl would be a good low power option in your scope.

As the focal length is 1500mm you are a little boxed in with standard sized eyepieces.

Unfortunately, a 2" diagonal is not so effective in a 6SE (due to the baffle size) so the 32mm / 40mm plossl is about your lowest 1.25" option.

For the money I would suggest a good 68º-70º ish eyepiece around 24mm would be your best bet. You would see the same amount of sky as the 32mm, but with better contrast due to the increased magnification.

Rob

[Ags]

I think you are restricted to 1.25" EPs for the 6SE (I stand to be corrected) in which case I would suggest one of the 24mm 68 degree EPs - Baader, Meade and Televue make EPs to that spec, which show the maximum field for a 1.25 EP with a generous field of view.

If you went for a 32mm EP, you would be restricted to 52 degrees. But that would give you a 3.2mm exit pupil, which would work well with narrowband filters (they need a brighter image as they reduce the total light coming through).

[kiffy]

thanks for the replies, seems its more complicated than i thought... at the moment the ep's i use are 60 degree. so maybe as funds alow i may look at getting one.

[Dunkster]

The 25mm E-lux that came with the 6SE is OK, so stick with it for now... it's not the widest field of view, but it's wide enough (the scope doesn't allow much wider)

If you're interested in planets, then think about a shorter focal length, 8-10mm for example, and then something in the middle. I have a BST Explorer in a 15mm for my mid-range and really enjoy the views.

[E621Keith]

I recommend the Baader Hyperion Click stop zoom 8-24mm. This will take you from 63x to 188x. You can barlow the eyepiece for rare occasion when seeing is better than 200x.

I'd suggest using a 2" SCT diagonal for added rigidity. While you will not benefit optically from using 2", the added mechanical strength is very useful when using heavier eyepieces such as zoom.