How can I make the most of my scope with eyepieces?

[eoinzy]

Hi,

First post so I hope this is in the right place!!

I just bought the Skywatcher Heritage 130P today (still unopened) as a Christmas gift for my mother. I'll also make use of it when I can!

Anyway, it just comes with the 2 standard 10mm and 25mm eyepieces, which I'm guessing won't be great for looking at Jupiter or Saturn. Overall I suspect they'll both be nothing more than white dots, but if possible, I'd love to be able to improve the image with eyepieces so as to see more detail, or to be more accurate, see as much detail as possible!

I bought this particular scope purely for its size and ease of storage, and also so my mother can actually use it!! I don't think she'd be able for a big heavy scope, not to mention the lack of storage space in the house!! I'm aware it isn't the most powerful of scopes, but since I'm a beginner, I thought I'd ask on here for advice on how to squeeze the best out of what we have.

So, can anyone tell me what eyepieces I should get to squeeze that extra bit of quality out of the scope, and take advantage of its maximum magnification??

Thanks in advance!

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

You will see some detail with the 10mm at 65x, but a 5 or 6mm will show more, and is not yet over the top (4mm could also work, but needs better seeing). I do not know whether your mum will wear glasses when observing but note that many short focal-length EPs become uncomfortable. Long eye relief generally improves comfort (for everybody). Without breaking the bank TMB Planetary EPs and clones can perform well for a modest price. Vixen LV are also good especially for the money (close to Televue Radian, except in terms of field of view). BST Explorers and Celestron X-Cel-LX EPs also get a good press.

[eoinzy]

Hi, thanks for the reply.

First of all, yes she does wear glasses. But also sometimes contact lenses. Does this have an effect on what types of eye pieces I can buy?

Also, would I have better luck buying these eyepieces, or going for a 2X Barlow?

I looked on Google and found sites selling the EP's you mentioned, and they seem to sell roughly for $50, regardless of size (4mm,5mm,6mm). Do you know of any sites in Europe that sell these?

Will a 4mm actually work with this scope? I'm assuming that they all have a standard top so that they can all screw on to any scope?

Thanks.

[laney88]

Hey,

Here is a link to where I have just purchased a couple of BST explorers at £47 each which I haven't been able to try due to clouds

http://skysthelimit.org.uk/telescope%20eyepieces.html They have a page on ebay to purchase them.

As long as they are 1.25" eyepieces they should fit your scope.

I would certainly recommend giving the eyepieces you have a try first before deciding you need an upgrade.

[Naemeth]

Hi, thanks for the reply.

First of all, yes she does wear glasses. But also sometimes contact lenses. Does this have an effect on what types of eye pieces I can buy?

Also, would I have better luck buying these eyepieces, or going for a 2X Barlow?

I looked on Google and found sites selling the EP's you mentioned, and they seem to sell roughly for $50, regardless of size (4mm,5mm,6mm). Do you know of any sites in Europe that sell these?

Will a 4mm actually work with this scope? I'm assuming that they all have a standard top so that they can all screw on to any scope?

Thanks.

You only need to wear glasses at the eyepiece to correct a defect such as astigmatism, long and short sight is usually compensated for by focus .

A 4mm is perfectly usable with this scope, although I would recommend either a 5mm or 6mm, it may get more use (I don't use my 4mm very often as I don't observe planets very often, and conditions aren't always good when I get to use it).

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

A long-eye-relief eyepiece is essential if you need to wear glasses while observing (e.g., due to astigmatism), and generally more comfortable for any body else. Teleskop Service in Germany, and Robtics in the Netherlands sell various types mentioned, as does APM.

[wookie1965]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-25-5mm-BST-Explorer-Dual-ED-eyepiece-Branded-Starguider-/160808578961

This is an excellent eyepiece and is brilliant for spectacle wearers it has twist up eye relief.

[eoinzy]

Just to follow up on this, I actually took the advice of looking through the eyepieces I actually have before committing to buying anything. So over the Christmas period, I looked through the eyepieces. The 25mm one has a good field of view. I can see the moon in the centre, with loads of space around it. I can't make out much detail on Jupiter though.

With the 10mm, the difference is incredible! I can see bands across Jupiter and 5 moons. Our own moon is very detailed too.

So, my initial reaction has gone from "Hmm, they don't seem that good, I should probably get better eyepieces" to "Wow! Thats incredible! I want to see more! I should probably get better eyepieces!".

So now I've had a bit of time to look up some eyepieces and found this on eBay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-25-5mm-58-Degree-TMB-Planetary-II-eyepiece-/160858482702?pt=UK_Telescope_Eyepieces&hash=item2573e9a80e

And what about this for a Barlow:

http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p53_TS-Barlow-2fach---1-25----achromatisch---kurze-Bauweise.html

Also, I wont be doing any astrophotography.

Cheers

[alan potts]

Eoinzy,

I believe though not 100% sure one of you moons is a star. I think you can only see 4 moons, there are of course many more though too faint to be see with anything but a large telescope. I like the idea of a gift to your Mum for Christmas, is this right, I wish my mun had been into it I would have bought her a 14 inch LX 200, had I have done, I think I may have ended up wearing it.

Going back to your eyepieces you will see some good detail on Jupiter with 130mm, but you will need about 5mm-6mm to make it large enough. BST do a 5mm which is about 45 pounds I believe.

Alan.

[eoinzy]

Hi Alan,

Yes, that is true. It was a Christmas gift to my mother. We go out our back garden every few days when there are no clouds so its now a family present, instead of just for my mother!!!

RE: the BST 5mm. Is 5mm OK for a 130mm scope with focal length of 650mm (f/5)? Its apparently capable of max magnification of x260, so could I use that 5mm with a 2x Barlow, or should I stick to my existing 10mm if I want to use the 2x Barlow (that I intend on buying also)?

My understanding is that the Barlow just doubles the mag of any lense so if that goes above the max, (260 in my case) then the image distorts. So then it might be best to maybe get a 6mm or 7mm if I want to use the Barlow. Is this correct?

[rwilkey]

Hi Eoinzy, a 5mm ep will give you 130x, which is the optimum magnification for viewing planets, you don't need the Barlow, it will be too much. Better not to go to too high a magnification as the image just gets feinter, a good crisp view at 130x you will find very pleasing.

The 'fifth' moon you saw with Jupiter was indeed a star, so I agree with Alan, the moons were, in order and the right way round - Ganymede, Io (closest to Jupiter and slinking behind it later), Europa and Callisto.

If a Barlow is used and the resultant magnification is too much, you will not see anything, won't even be a blur, it will just be blank. It is unlikely you will have seeing conditions for 260x very often, also very few scopes work at their theoretical maximum.