Eye piece help needed

[bendiddley]

hi all. I'm a newbie in astronomy and have just purchased my first scope, a 200p dobsonian, i haven't got it yet as it's for my birthday so i have been researching accessories in the mean time. as i understand the eye pieces that come with scope this aren't that great, so i was hoping that someone would be able to give me some advise on what would be better and what magnifications i would need. i'm not looking for the best as i can't afford the best, but something middle of the road that will be better than what i've got and give me a good start is what i'm after. hope to hear from anyone.

[Scott]

i would say hold off with the new e.p.s until you've had a go with the supplied ones. magnification depends on what you want to look at. there is a sticky about eye pieces that covers magnification quite well. HTH

http://stargazerslounge.com/showthread.php?t=80772

Scott

[twotter]

There's nothing really wrong with the supplied eyepieces and they're perfectly good enough to get you started. I used mine for months before buying additional eyepieces and had good views of a variety of targets, including the Moon, planets and DSOs.

So try them, then decide how much you want to spend before building your own EP collection.

Btw, nice telescope - choice of champions

[jonathan]

From advice on here I only really own three eyepieces - the 25mm Plossl that came with my Celestron scope, a 10mm, and a 38mm.

25mm is usually the first eyepiece that gets used when finding targets, and is good for viewing stars, certain wide-field objects such as clusters, the Orion nebula, and Andromeda galaxy; if seeing isn't great then 25mm may be your best eyepiece for the night, 10mm tends to lose focus in less than ideal seeing conditions (hazy high cloud, windy, etc). 10mm for those things that you just want a closer look at, maybe a double star or the lunar surface. 38mm for the Orion nebula and wide clusters, there are some beautiful sights that just don't fit in a 25mm.

You may be able to use 6mm, 12mm, 25mm, 38mm with your 200P and many in between, but essentially you probably only need three out of this range.

That is just for visual, if you start talking about photography then the advice will be different (but don't ask me because I know next to nothing about it!)

[sologuitarist61]

I agree that, for a start, that you use the eyepieces that come with the scope.

It is true that they are not the best, but they aren't rubbish either and not being experienced you may not see any difference between them and a 'better' EP. As you learn to use them then the shortcomings will become more apparent and that is the time to spend more money. By then you will have more idea of what you need from an EP.

For the time being - just enjoy your scope

[Daniel-K]

yup i agree use your money and buy a star atlas red torch and a telrad every dob should come with a telrad as standard http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sky-Telescopes-Pocket-Atlas/dp/1931559317 a great pocket atlas that will learn you the night sky as your observing.

[bendiddley]

thanks all for your comments so far. i think like you say, probably best to try the ones that come with the scope out first, i'm just a bit impatient and want to get the best out of it (within budget that is) as soon as, but wise advice i think.

[stevetynant]

there'll be plenty of time to spend on your new hobby take it from me lol

great scope btw - you'll have some great views with it.