Jump to content

DSO EP help.

Chris Hopson

Recommended Posts

Chris Hopson

Chris Hopson

Posted
Posted

Hi All,

If any for you could advise me, or steer me in the right direction I would be very

Grateful.

Up to now with my limited experience i’ve used my S/W 25mm EP to find objects in

My S/W f6 Flextube.

I would like an EP which could be used to find DSO’s & view the larger objects in

Nice detail / contrast, like M31, M8, C13 & C34. I’ve read that the Panaview 32mm, Aero 30mm & the GSO 32mm are popular .I’ve also heard a 26/28mm will give better contrast?

Would a UHC filter work well at these ranges & which EP would be the best punt?

Also if I can budget for around £150 for the EP, would one of these or similar be more suited to an f4.7 or f5 scope if I upgraded in a few years, if any?

I was also wondering if I should get a Wide angle EP or one in the range of 12mm to 25mm / 32mm for viewing the smaller DSO’s . Maybe a 15mm/18mm BST, or a 16mm Nirvana?

My current Eypieces are:

S/W 10mm

S/W 25mm

BST 8mm

Tal 2x Barlow.

Sorry there are a lot of questions!

Many thanks.

Chris

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Replies 40
  • Created
  • Last Reply
Naemeth

Naemeth

Posted
Posted

You would do very well with a GSO/Revelation/Celestron 32mm Plossl to be honest, you don't need to spend a fortune :), and they are all around £30-£40.

What finder scope do you have, as you may find updating or adding a finderscope may help things too, the supplied Skywatcher MA really isn't that bad.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Josh Wilson

Josh Wilson

Posted
Posted

Generally, low-power, wide-angle EP's are common for DSO observing because most DSOs are faint and high power makes them fainter and harder to see. This isn't true unless you have a larger aperture telescope and therefore you can push higher mags. I prefer to stick with medium to low power for DSO observations. With accurate tracking and alignment (if you have a GoTo or NexStar), you don't have to move the telescope as often while observing DSOs and allows you to use higher mags.

IMHO, stick with low or medium power for DSOs and I also suggest getting some EP filters such as an O-III filter for M27, M57, M8, and many others. I use a 26mm Meade Series 4000 Super Plossl. It has wide field views and good contrast with minor coma.

Types of EP filters include O-III (Oxygen 3), UHC (Ultra High Contrast), H-Beta, H-Alpha (ones for nighttime viewing), and S-II (Sulfur 2).

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Nevy

Nevy

Posted
Posted

I use to have a skywatcher 26 panaview , it was a nice eyepiece , very comfortable to use , I liked it alot the only thing wrong with it was the shocking edge performance, I sold it and got a 26 nagler.

Sent from my AWSOME iPhone using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites
John

John

Posted
Posted

The ideal "finder" eyepiece for an 8" F/6 scope would be a 32mm I feel. The 2" format allows a much wider field of view than the 1.25" one which gives you more sky in view at any one time - nearly 2 true degrees of sky is possible with a 2" eyepiece giving a 70 degree apparent field of view. The max a 1.25" can manage is around 1.4 degrees. I think either the 32mm Panaview or the Aero ED 30mm would work well with your scope although the stars would not be pinpoints right across the field of view - that sort of performance costs more £'s.

While the above will work well as a finder eyepiece and for viewing large deep sky objects such as M31, the Veil Nebula (with a UHC or O-III filter) etc, for more compact DSO's or a closer view of portions of the larger ones, more magnification is very useful. It also has the effect of darkening the background sky which makes faint objects easier to spot. If you could get one, a 16mm Skywatcher Nirvana / William Optics UWAN would be a good purchase. These are 1.25" eyepieces but offer an 82 degree apparent field of view and are well corrected across the field of view, considering their price.

Both the above suggestions would work well enough with a future F/5 or F/4.7 scope although the Aero ED is better corrected in faster scopes (still not perfect though) than the Panaview is.

Hope that helps a bit :smiley:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Chris Hopson

Chris Hopson

Posted
  • Author
Posted

John, the description of the panaview sounds more pleasing to view through, in regards to port hole type space views. But wouldn't the Aero be similar?

I really like some of the comments on the Nirvana & it's spec. I wasn't sure if 75x mag was in the ball park, but from other comments this would make it a medium power EP right?

I can't splash out on both EP's right now, & this may be a personal question, but in my shoes which would be the better first purchase out the two?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
John

John

Posted
Posted

John, the description of the panaview sounds more pleasing to view through, in regards to port hole type space views. But wouldn't the Aero be similar?

I really like some of the comments on the Nirvana & it's spec. I wasn't sure if 75x mag was in the ball park, but from other comments this would make it a medium power EP right?

I can't splash out on both EP's right now, & this may be a personal question, but in my shoes which would be the better first purchase out the two?

Both the Panaview and the Aero ED are very nice to look through and both offer a large eye lens and more or less the same apparent field of view. The edges of the field of view in the Aero ED are better corrected in fast scopes. Aero ED's are also quite light for 2" eyepieces so don't tend to upset the balance of the scope.

Difficult to say which to get first. A 16mm Nirvana / UWAN would more or less make your 25mm redundant as it shows a slightly wider field of view (ie: more sky) than the 25mm.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
crazyjedi

crazyjedi

Posted
Posted

You could consider the 24mm TeleVue Panoptic too....

INDEED! The TV Pan in this focal length is something of a legend plus I'm sure I saw one selling right here in the classified section yesterday. Could be worth checking out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Chris Hopson

Chris Hopson

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I looked at a ES 24mm at TH & it looked the business! Would take a few more £'s through.

I've also seen a 24mm panoptic on Astrobuy for £180 in the last couple of days. I think the 27mm would be the one I would go for money was no object.

Chris

Link to comment
Share on other sites
crazyjedi

crazyjedi

Posted
Posted

I got my ES 24mm from the US. It saved me a fair few pounds despite having to pay the £20 VAT and £8 Royal Mail Handling fee I think it came to around £130 all in, which was pretty good. It does take a bit longer to arrive though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Naemeth

Naemeth

Posted
Posted

24mm ES at 68 or 82 degrees would give you more than the standard 25mm, don't worry about that :). At a guess, I'd say the Panoptic would probably be sharper and would certainly hold it's value, but there have been many positive reviews of the ES, so if it's price you're worried about, the ES would be a better choice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 1 month later...
Chris Hopson

Chris Hopson

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Just a quick update.

I bought the 30mm Aero & have to say the views are excellent! It really is like looking through a port hole to the stars!

Scanning along the milkyway, especially near Cygnus was yet another WOW moment!

I also bought the 12, 15, 18, & 25mm bst's to complete what I think will give me a very nice range of lower to mid magnifications.

So I held off the Nirvana, but maybe when I'm more experienced I could rethink. But for now I'm very pleased.

Looking forward to Herstmonceux, & hopefully putting the EP's & me through our paces.

Chris

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.