where are the stars?

[roscoe]

hi guys.i have a 8" classic lx200 and various eyepieces.can anyone explain why i dont seem to be able to see many stars.if i point my binoculars into the sky,i see loads of stars in milkyway,yet when i do this with scope i dont!would a dobsonian be better for this?is my scope intended more for planets and moon.im having real trouble seeing anything like galaxies.is my scope not powerful enough for anything but planets?what would be a good scope for seeing galaxies etc with naked eye or is it only possable through imaging.

also any idea which would be best for 8" sct classic meade lx200? Siebert Optics Black Night Binoviewer or wo?which is best quality etc.also do they all have 125 fitting or is there 2",which would be best if so?any pointers on good prices anywhere,best ive seen is wo at £169 free po.would i need extension to keep focal aperature?many thanks,advise most apreciated.

[decomo50]

Sounds a bit confusing, I can only imagine that you are seeing a wider field of view with the bino's at low magnification, whilst the magnified view with the scope shows less as you have a smaller field of view - you might say that with standard eyepiece fields of view compared with binocular field of view is the difference between looking into a room through the window (binos) or looking through the keyhole (scope) - Find your lowest mag eyepiece and check out ...for example the Pleiades ...just a thought

[starguest]

hi guys.i have a 8" classic lx200 and various eyepieces.can anyone explain why i dont seem to be able to see many stars.what would be a good scope for seeing galaxies etc with naked eye

Interesting, there's someone else in here with a scope at least half as powerful who's also complaining about not seeing anything !!!

To be pedantic, seeing with the naked eye does not involve pieces of glass or mirrors (excluding spectacles) in front of the eye. And in a darkish part of Cornwall the only one you'll see that way is Andromeda.

Here's a simple analogy. On a clear night just look up at the sky, you should see a fair number of stars. Now take one hand, curl the fingers up leaving a little hole you can look through. Put the hand up to eye and look through the little hole, you may need to move it around until you see one of the brighter stars you had already seen. That is the difference between using even 10x50 binoculars and a telescope, particularly one like yours with a longer focal length.

Quite simply, start with the widest eyepiece you have. What is that? Should be at least 25mm, and 32mm would be better. I don't know if that LX200 has the full GOTO with a stars and objects database. Even so, point it using the smaller finderscope at things you can see with naked eye. Then you will know what you can't or can see wrt naked or binocs.

As for galaxies. First you need to know where they are and then given the "seeing" conditions, if pointed correctly, you might just see them with a wider EP, but having a narrower view EP, 10-15mm, will magnify them a bit more.

There is, IMNSHO, a kind of "Dob Mafia" who lead people to believe that they are the be-all-and-end-all. If your LX200 optics are in exc condition then stick with it. Understand that its longer focal length does inhibit the widest views but if you want to really see an object in greater detail you are streets ahead of any similar aperture dob.

[sologuitarist61]

Absolutely - naked eye vision includes so much peripheral vision that you see a great deal; binos on the other hand cut the field of view some what but you can still see a fair bit;, a telescope, because of its longish focal length, reduces that even more and so at each stage you see slightly less of the star fields.

[ollypenrice]

Yes, this is just a case of seeing through a straw. The scope has a tiny field of view.

With a 26mm Plossl the scope in question gives about half a degree field, less than the width of a pencil held at arm's length.

Scopes are like experts. (They know more and more about less and less...)

Olly

[mdstuart]

That LX is a fine scope and should be very able in terms of picking up the brighter galaxies out there but this takes a lot of patience and practice as galaxies are much fainter than you expect the first time you see them.

Try locating M81 / M82 which are overhead using your lowest power eyepiece to give the largest FOV

You can use an atlas / stellarium etc to help find them or this link from my humble effort at a web site.

NGC_3031

Good luck and clear skies..

I am sure others will give you eyepiece and barlow advice. If you have a reasonable 20-25mm eyepiece you should be fine for M81/M82..

Mark

[JamesM]

Would certainly recommend the Williams Optics as they represent good value for money and include 2 x 20mm 66 degree eyepieces that are undercut to stop them falling out, and the binoviewer itself uses anti-marring brass compression rings to avoid marking the eyepieces as well as facilitating their individual focusing. There are many similar looking binoviewers out there that are effectively the same model but rebadged, but the Williams Optics (for the price of £179) has the better build quality/feel about them. Had a quick look at the Siebert brand and didn't find the U.S website helpful in giving me any specifications and seem to focus on the packaging various deals than on clear specifications - not promising. Tried looking for a U.K supplier without any luck and the only mention of them was on birding forums. There is currently on sale on UK Astro Buy & Sell a pair of Siebert binoviewers here interesting at the same price but of course without any matching eyepieces.

One small but important point. Some people have experienced difficulty in bringing both views together to form one image. I'm not sure if they have this difficulty with ordinary binoculars or not but it might make sense to see if you can try some about before buying in case you fall into this category. Hope that helps.

Clear skies

James

[roscoe]

yep.i think i get that now,lol.will start with 40 when looking for star spread,and thanks ,i will look for m81.i,ordered wo's and a solar filter sheet,and got fantastic deal after asking lea at green-witch to match cheapest price online,which they did,and some,thanks to them and you , i cant wait to try them out,will be a new telescope.hopefully see galaxy in sterio,thanks guys