127SLT+Hyperion 10mm+14mm FTR =?

[M4lcs67]

Have been using my scope for quite a while now and while I have only just got my Hyperion 10mm I have been looking at the ftr for the Baader. Been speaking with Martin at FLO and he mentioned the 14mm FTR as this would get the 10mm up to a potential 8.4. With this in mind I think I will have wrung the maximum out of this scope, eyepiece combination. He did also suggest the 28mm ftr and that would bring the 10mm Hyperion to 7.1mm. He also commented that at such a high mag on my scope it could be something of a problem when the seeing is nothing less than perfect.

Therefore I think that the 14mm ftr would be the safest bet.

With this in mind what could I expect to see in the way of galaxies and detail on planets with the above scope, ep, ftr combination? My light pollution situation isn't the worst in the country, but I guess it could be better and if I could increase my possibilities by going dark then I could take a drive out. Currently I do have a relatively dark east facing garden and I live on the edge of some moorland.

So far when using my 24mm Hyperion with Barlow and while aiming my scope where there should be some galaxy activity there is nothing visable. Thus far all I have been able to see with my original stock eyepieces and Barlow is a faint smudge when looking at Andromeda a few months ago. I do know thats all I will be able to see with my scope and I am fine with that, but I would love to be able to see more. Now I have some decent eyepieces that actually do justice to the scope it would be nice to view even more.

I have also just bought some anti vibration pads (which haven't arrived yet). Perhaps I am expecting too much and maybe I have wrung all I can out of the scope and eyepieces, but for the sake of a tenner to get the ftr maybe it is worth a punt to see if I can extract that little bit more.

Ultimately I wan't to give myself the best possible opportunity with the equipment I have. If I can't then I will obviously have to lower my expectations, but if I can get some pointers and hints from anyone I would be eternally grateful.

[Dunkster]

Hi Malc - I know we're sort of in the same boat... with Saturn coming up, I asked a similar question... here.

I got a bit carried away with the cost of EPs over the pond and probably bought more than I could practically use (the 5.5 gives 273x!), but my overriding feeling was... What _if_ we have some good seeing and I miss the opportunity? It does happen occasionally, and if the extra FTR is just another tenner, then you've not got much to lose

Where I live, the LP is pretty bad for the most part, so I've almost resigned myself to not seeing galaxies from here, but I do have M81/82, the Sombrero galaxy and the Virgo area high on my list for the next clear and moon-free night. For Andromeda... I think it might be just too big for our FL=1500mm scopes... have a go with a pair of bins instead

I've had a bit better luck with clusters and nebulae - got myself a UHC-S filter a while back and Orion was awesome, and even managed to see the blob of M1 (shocking from here really) - but still looking to get out of town at some point to get some extra darkness. For that, I've also just bought a Nagler 20mm to give me about as wide and contrasty a view as I expect I'll get out of them at 1.09 degrees (thread here)

So far, still loving it... but can't say I haven't got a touch of aperture fever especially after a fine chap across the pond let me look through his C1100 Edge HD... but that's another story