Eye piece and barlows

[MrButterRug]

hi everybody....... I have recently bought myself a skywatcher 130. ive seen quite a few planets with it already And the moon is impressive but im wondering what to go for next?

i have a barlow x2 but im wondering if its worth going for a x3 or x4 barlow and whats the max i could get out of it?

the scope came with the standard 10mm and 25mm wide, both are ok and i can get nice views of saturn with the 10mm and barlow x2 but i want more

what next ?????

any advice would be appreciated

[Shibby]

Hi and welcome to SGL!

The maximum "useful magnification" of your 'scope is around 250x. A 5mm eyepeice + 2x barlow would get you to around about that level. However, a pinch of salt is required with that quoted magnification!. Also note that on some nights you might be limited by the seeing (distortion from atmospheric turbulence) before you are by your optics!

[damnut]

Hi MrButterRug,

There is a great article by Warthog in the eyepiece section. Have a look before spending hard earned cash.

Cheers.

[Duffer]

I bought a cheap 3x barlow, I tried it with Saturn & the 10mm. It works OK for a bit of fun. It's the biggest I have ever seen Saturn, but the image wasn't exactly crisp! So don't spend too much. As has been mentioned this is pushing this scope right to the max.

[MrButterRug]

cheers ........... think i'll go for a new eyepiece maybe a 6mm ?

[cyborg421]

Whenever you view you need to take into account that the seeing can vary enormously. As you get more experienced you will begin to understand what that means. Don't automatically decide an eyepiece is good or bad on the basis of one nights viewing. Don't expect the Barlow to work miracles. I prefer a separate eyepieces but realise not everyone has the funds to do that.

Simon

[kenmyers]

some eyepiece magnifications for you (these relate to the heritage 130p FL650mm AP130mm)

10mm = x65

8mm = x81

6mm = x108

5mm = x130

4mm = x162

3mm = x216

For saturn you want a 3mm, 4mm or 5mm. The 5mm will show Saturn exactly the same size as your 10mm with your x2 barlow, but a lot crisper and clearer.

6mm would be best to get as you dont have that range yet and you can barlow to make it a 3mm. Saturn will be huge but a bit of a smudge.

[Ganymede12]

Whenever you view you need to take into account that the seeing can vary enormously. As you get more experienced you will begin to understand what that means. Don't automatically decide an eyepiece is good or bad on the basis of one nights viewing. Don't expect the Barlow to work miracles. I prefer a separate eyepieces but realise not everyone has the funds to do that.

Simon

This is true! The first time I used my 10mm eyepiece I thought It was useless! But now I'm getting used to using it with the Barlow. Saturn looks slightly more blurry through that combination but at the same time It looks more magnified and it isn't too blurry to be unusable.

[Lenny147]

I found a couple of EP upgrades with that scope really opened up the scope dramatically, i found the Vixen npl series works great with the scope. Also a Tal x2 Barlow if you can get one

[Foggymike]

Ah, the hens tooth that is the Tal x2 A bit like Jupiter they are out there somewhere!

[StarryBob]

It depends on whether your scope is a 130P or a standard 130/130M as the focal length is significantly different, one is 650mm (130P) & the other 900mm. This will make a huge difference in what EPs you should choose.

[70x7]

what other things can the OP view with his setup?

I ask because I am in the same situation with my scope but dont want to hijack the thread. Mars is a red dot, saturn is pretty decent but somewhat smaller than expected, the moon is cool but want more.

with the scope he has and the eyepiece add-ons, can any visible galaxies or other things be seen?

[Richardisgreat]

The Tal 2x Barlow can be found at Rother Valley Optics

http://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/tal-x-2-barlow-lens-1-25_d2722.html

I bought one from here and im very pleased with it.

[Albenn]

As you can see from my signature, I too have the Heritage 130P and use Vixen NPL's with a TAL 2X Barlow and can vouch that these give really clear sharp views.

Hope this helps.

[LukeSkywatcher]

As you can see from my signature, I too have the Heritage 130P and use Vixen NPL's with a TAL 2X Barlow and can vouch that these give really clear sharp views.

Hope this helps.

Perfect combo.