lens advice for newbie please.

[sooty157]

first of all hi everybody i'm totally new to astronomy but fasinated by what could be up there. i've just bought my first scope, a second hand helios 114mm reflector with 1000mm focal length. it came with a 2x barlow, 8mm and 20mm eyepieces. today i've set it up ready to use and found the 9mm on it's own to give the best results in daylight i.e good magnification and very clear but what would be the best combination at night and what should i be able to see with this tele? thanks.

[Capricorn]

An 8mm and a 20mm is a reasonable spread.

Usually the barlow is not good, so adding it to any eyepiece may well make the image poor.

The scope is f/8.7 and is I suspect a spherical mirror, so if you push the magnification the image could start to show the limitations of it.

The 8mm should be about the best eyepiece for use on the scope. The 20mm will supply wider views and so good for clusters.

If you wanted to try for more magnification then a 7mm or a 6mm, would not suggest anything smaller.

Are the supplied eyepieces plossl's, just wonder if they are other designs. Kelner's and Huygens being the obvious options.

You will at some time need a collimator to maintain the alignment of the mirrors and eyepiece.

For a selection of eyepieces:

6 or 7mm, the 8mm you have, a 12mm and the 20mm you have.

[sooty157]

Hi Capricorn, thanks for the reply and to be honest that was the answer i was expecting as other combinations lose image sharpness however i've just been outside and had my first look at jupiter and venus and there's not much to see i'm a bit disappointed. venus appears as a bright spot in my ep as does jupiter albeit a little better and it does look like a planet but no chance of seeing any detail however i can make out the 4 moons. maybe something isn't right with the scope or am i expecting too much?

[coventry]

am new to. was slightly disapointed with venus, mars....but the detail on the moon wen about 20% lit is amazing and when u see saturn it is quite a sight seeing the ring!

[sooty157]

i'm going to have a look for saturn later, just hope there's more to see.

[coventry]

there is. u shouldnt be dissapointed with that

[sooty157]

i haven't seen the moon yet, is it visable now?

[coventry]

didnt rise till 5ish this morning. next week will most likely be the best for it unless ur up at that time lol

[sooty157]

erm i'll wait i think! lol