Eyepieces for the Moon and Jupiter

[Fordos Moon]

Total beginner, I have the Skyliner 200P and the 10mm and 25mm that came with it. Fell in love with our Moon and Jupiter tonight. What type of eyepiece(s) should I consider for improved moon viewing and greater detail on Jupiter? Apologies if not used correct terminology, there's a lot of it in this game!!

[Spec-Chum]

Do you have a budget? You could do a lot worse than the Vixen NPL range from at £30 from FLO but the eyerelief below 15mm is somewhat tight. Or any Plossl really, Meade, Skywatcher or even Televue if you're feeling plush

Failing that I can whole heartedly recommend the BSTs from Skies the Limit on EBay for £47, they have much better eye relief and give fantastic views for the price.

[Fordos Moon]

Just the sort of answer I hoped for, not got a fortune to spend but always looking for value for money! Thanks for the comprehensive response, much appreciated!

[jimmyjamjoejoe]

I think in terms of value for money there are 3 great contenders, depending on just how low your budget is. The vixen npls are sharp and cheap at £30. The bsts are pretty sharp and slightly wider in terms of FOV, at a slightly higher £47. I think after the bst the next logical step up would be the celestron x-cel lx, or maybe even a second hand hyperion.

[Spec-Chum]

No worries.

For lunar and planetary an Ortho (Baader Genuine Orthoscopic for example) would be best, they would have the cleanest view with fantastic light transmission, perfect for this task. You may be able to get one second hand for about £50, if you're lucky. They also have the same eyereleif as Plossl's though.

Edit: Forgot about these said to be about as good as BGO's but sell for £55 new...

[alan potts]

Fordos,

Have a read of the post started by Moonshane,called " cheap v expensive " This man knows what he is talking about and covers the two very eyepieces you have at the moment. Other than that there is an eyepiece known as BST that is worth looking at, they come in various F/L's and you can work out your magnifications by deviding the focal length of the eyepiece into the F/L of you telescope.

EG, telescope 1000mm Eyepiece 20mm magnification equals X50.

Alan.

[ronin]

For Jupiter you will not go far wrong with the 8mm or 12mm BST, magnification depends on the 200P that you have the f/5 or the f/6.

For the moon do you want all of it in view or a part of it.

For all you need a field of about 1 degree meaning 50-60x so a 20mm plossl, the 25mm would be a bit better. With more magnification u=you get lees and less view and the 12mm BST (mentioned previously and assuming the scope is the f/6) you would get 0.6 of a degree and the moon would fill the eyepiece, owing to rotation it would would move off the edge almost immediatly.

The 8mm would give 0.4 degree and as the moon is 0.5 degree it is larger then your field of view. The 5mm BST would give only 0.25 degree view - as in about half of a full moon only in the eypiece.

[Mr Spock]

For your scope something which gives you x200 would be ideal. The BST seems to be a popular choice of eyepiece. With good sharpness and plenty of eye relief they are just right for you.

[Moonshane]

I use a 200mm dob for the school space club. I found that the moon and Jupiter showed great detail last year with a cheap Meade 15mm plossl and a generic 2x barlow. these cost £15 each, used.

[Fordos Moon]

Chaps many thanks for the advice! I was enjoying part views of the moon through the 10mm showing a level of detail I was surprised to see, although now I've got greedy and want more detail! I will check out the link and the BST. Jupiter was a slightly fuzzy orange and yellow ball on a very bright moonlit night, perhaps I was asking too much to see the cloud stripes ( never can remember the right words for those things!).

[Moonshane]

you need to wait either later in the year or later in the night and Jupiter will reveal good detail. with the eyepieces and scope I mentioned, even inexperienced children could see the GRS, main cloud bands and a moon shadow as it transited the disc. this was when Jupiter was high in the sky.