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MC Hammer

By MC Hammer
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MC Hammer

MC Hammer

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Hi there, my name is mark and thanks for letting me join this great site! i`ve been intrested in astronomy for ages but only recently bought a Celestron 102mm refractor, it`s my first scope and i`m looking to make it a little more powerful if i can, i`ve got a 25mm and 9mm eyepieces and i was thinking about a Barlow x2 eye piece to go with it, would this make sense or am i going to waste money?

many thanks in advance ;)

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dtr42

dtr42

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itttttttttttttt's hammer time:) hi and welcome

barlow will make the 25 mm equivalent to the 12.5mm but the 9mm works out to 4.5mm for your scope, think it's a 1000mm long so would give you x222 magnification [so may be a bit too much unless you get a clear still cool night ] but the barlow will give you more detail on the 25mm[although i will probably be corrected by more knowlegable folk here:)]

edit see its not this one celestron omni xlt 102 which is the 1000mm one

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MC Hammer

MC Hammer

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Hi Mark and welcome to the forum. Which refractor is it? as EP's will depend a bit on focal length. A barlow will give you 12.5x and 4.5x with your existing EPs.

Thanks guys ;)

the focal length is 660mm i think, it`s a Nexstar 102 LST thanks Catweazel, so which make should i be looking at?

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JamesM

JamesM

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Hi Mark and welcome to the forum. Realistic magnification on any scope is really limited to x180-x200 magnification on most clear nights, it's only on exception clear nights (2 or 3 per year) that you can go beyond this. On the basis of the focal length being 660mm and the need to get maximum magnification, a 4mm eyepiece would provide a magnification of x165, which is great but perhaps a little short of the extra that you might want. Can you buy a reasonable quality eyepiece that is modestly priced, well only you can decide that as we don't know your budget is. Some brands of eyepiece might not provide an eyepiece with such a short focal length and may only offer 5mm or 6mm.

If I am being really honest, there isn't enough light grab (aperture) to capture enough light that can be stretched (that's why an image darkens as you magnifiy) so far as to give you greater magnification without the image itself deteriorating to such an extent that it isn't worth doing. Your scope is designed to provide a wide view and is excellent for comet chasing, open clusters and riding the milkway itself. If you want greater magnification for better planetary detail for example, I would getting a scope with a longer focal length (900mm) and if possible a little more aperture. Observing in astronomy is always going to be the case of trading off one design aspect with another and managing your expectations accordingly - no matter what scope you may own.

Clear skies

James

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