Hi I'm new to all of this and could do with some help please

[Siddle]

I have just got myself a 120mm sky watcher refractor telescope with a focal length of 600mm, iv been out looking at stars birds etc and don't think my eye pieces supplied are the best I have a 25mm wich is okay and a 10mm that ain't up to much lol

I have been looking round and reading alot of reviews and posts and belive I would benefit most just getting separate eye pieces I have my eye on a Navara EP as they seem reasonably prices and have a high 82 degree view, I just don't know wot mm to get I am hoping to look at everything from planets, nebulas galaxies etc just don't know wot mm would be best for my scope to start off wih a 7mm or 16mm or a completely different EP

Would love to hear your views thanks alot

[sologuitarist61]

Hi Siddle, and welcome. The EP's that you have are great focal lengths but as you say, not necessarily the best. Never used the EP's you mention so cannot comment, however a good step up from the ones you have would be the BST range form Skys the Limit. These are well priced at under £50 each and are quality lenses. If I were you I would probably replaced the EP's you have with the 25mm and the 8mm (slightly more magnification) and get one in between to give you a good range, say the 15 or the 18mm. The fields of view are less than the EP you mention but are more than adequate and certainly much better than those you have at present.

As you can see from my signature I have the 8,18 and 25mm versions and I have the same scope as you.

[Ags]

Hi Siddle, welcome to the forum. From your post I believe you have a startravel 120. This is a telescope that is excellent for widefield view of star fields and deep space objects, but it is not so good for high magnification work on planets. This is because it has a lot of chromatic aberation, which becomes more apparent as you increase the magnification. Chromatic aberation (fringes of false color) is also much more obvious when you look at bright things like planets.

So if I was you I would spend money on a good widefield eyepiece in the range of 13 to 28 mm. I believe the nirvanas are very good but I have never tried them. Naglers by Televue are the most expensive but the very best.

I think your scope accepts 2" EPs like the nirvana 28mm, but make sure of this before you buy an expensive 2" EP :-)

Based on my experiences with a startravel 80, I would advise you to stay away from baader hyperions - in my experience, they do not perform well in fast refractors.

To reduce chromatic aberation and enable higher magnification views of planets, you can invest in a minus violet filter that eliminates the wavelengths occuring in the false color fringes, and/or you can putthe lens cap on your scope and take of the little cap in the middle - this stops your scope down from f5 to f8 which will greatly reduce the chromatic aberation.

[Siddle]

Hi ags and solo guitarist, thanks for the great advise.

I would really love to get the 28mm Navara but my scope is a 1.25" scope so I don't think I can get that piece to fit my scope, the next Navarna size down is 16mm, I don't know if there is a bigger size for a 1.25" with similar qualities as the Navara around same price range, think I'm just goin to get one good EP then try get a good Barlow with 2 mag functions, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Also were wondering if there were any pictures showing wot a 120mm skywatcher with a focal length of 600mm is capable of when the conditions are right EP's weather etc thanks alot

[Ags]

Unfortunately it is not really possible to take a photograph that matches what the eye sees through a telescope, as the camera will take a long exposure that reveals far more detail and color than the eye can see.

If you look in the sketching section you may find some sketches drawn using similar telescopes.

Your telescope is good for viewing star clusters, nebulae and the brighter galaxies. Given dark rural skies it will show a great deal.

I think 16mm is about the largest EP you can get that is 82 degrees and still 1.25". I have never used a nirvana so I cannot advise you specifically, but I have heard they are very good.

[newman]

Please take note, it's not "Navara", it's actually "Nirvana". Just to avoid confusion when buying

Overall, I'd look at something quality in the 10mm range first for your scope. It'll give you a nice 2mm exit pupil at 60x magnification, making it a workhorse DSO eyepiece. Then build your collection around that. A 17mm and a 6mm would round the collection nicely, and you can always consider barlowing the 6mm to get 200x. Personally I'd go for quality as you don't want to be stingy at f/5.