what a night

[mr snoops]

hi everyone, fantastic clear skies last night so put the scope out last night around 20.00, at around 22.30 went out & found saturn. What a sight could see the planet & the gap between the rings with hardly any jumping, there was an object to the bottom right of the planet am i to assume this might have been one of saturns moons?. I,m eager to see this planet in more detail, my scope is a skwatcher 130 with a 25 wide angle eye relief & a super 10 eyepiece plus a barlow lens. Can anyone recomend some suitable additional eyepieces to enhance my observing. The othe question i have a red dot finder supplied with the scope, what is the best way to use it to find objects easily? thanks in anticipation.

[mr snoops]

Hi everyone, silly me i have just carried out a search & found some info regarding lenses, but any advice regarding the use/upgrade of the finder scope would be appreciated. thanks

[ronin]

Eyepieces are heavily dependant on the budget you are willing to pay.

I half suspect that the supplied ones are not plossl's so even a upgrade to plossl's should improve things.

To reiterate the common options you have:

Plossl's: Something like the GSO's or Vixens have good reports. I have some "old" Celestrons rolling around that seem pretty good, and have no idea where they came from. Plossl's have short eye relief at the lower end so may not be suitable.

Planetary's: Usually around the £45-50 mark. Sky's the Limit have a selection as does TS (Telescope Service) along with a few others - check 365Astronomy and Harrison's.

BST Skyguider: Probably the best when it is a good eyepiece for a fair cost, they are £47 from Sky's the Limit.

X-Cels: Celestron eyepiece with a good reputation, £69 at FLO.Arguements about which is best X-Cel or BST Skyguider.

The BST+X-Cels are in different focal lengths at the lower end, so could be worth thinking carefully about what you want. Beyond these the cost goes up by a jump.

RDF's are a bit of an art. You need to be able to look "through/past" the RDF at the distant object, then the optics of the RDF work and project a dot on the eye. If you look at the RDF then things are wrong.

To set up is the same as any finder (difficult) aim scope at something distant through the day and centre it, then adjust RDF to get the dot on the object vis the assorted adjustment screws. Best done on a nice day with plenty of time and a coffee or two. The RDFwill ahve a wider view then the scope so you should find it easier to point the scope at the correct area and so have the object wanted in view. It really is a case of get a few ideas and then just give it a go. Will say finders are another area where personel preference is highly relevant and for wahtever reason you may not get on with a finder that someelse finds brilliant.

[mr snoops]

Thanks Ronin, a lot to digest but i daresay by making the right eyepiece choice it will be worth any money spent. Thanks again

[mr snoops]

Hi Ronin, followed your advice & could not get the red dot to project onto the lens of the finder. Then i thought what an idiot i have mounted it back to front, i hope this gives everyone a laugh at this time in the morning as i feel so embarrassed. Hopefully now i should find focussing on objects a whole lot easier.

[ronl]

For a really good guide to eyepieces try

this link http://www.swindonstargazers.com/beginners/eyepieces.htm

Hope this will help

[mr snoops]

Thanks Roni, ill check it out

thanks again

[northwalesparry]

I have the same scope and on a budget so I upgraded my EP and filters to this and to be honest im very happy with them.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AicA_bbAN5Q

[northwalesparry]

I have the same scope and on a budget so I upgraded my EP and filters to this and to be honest im very happy with them.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AicA_bbAN5Q

sorry wrong url

[AlexB67]

Hi Ronin, followed your advice & could not get the red dot to project onto the lens of the finder. Then i thought what an idiot i have mounted it back to front, i hope this gives everyone a laugh at this time in the morning as i feel so embarrassed. Hopefully now i should find focussing on objects a whole lot easier.

I wouldn't worry mate. I've been there, the first schoolboy error I made was to leave the cover on the scope and wondered why everything was dark, it took me the best part of a few minutes to realise it, it was pretty dark after all, but it was a bit of a

moment.