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New eyepiece?


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Alright guys, got my first dumb question. So I'm using a Celestron 130mm Astromaster scope and I bought the Celestron lens kit with it as well. So my question is will buying a $200 Televue eyepiece make a huge difference? It's obviously going to be better than the Celestron kit I bought, but I'm assuming that I am somewhat limited by the cheaper nature of my scope. Any input would be appreciated.

On a different note, thanks for the welcome! This is with a doubt the friendliest forum I have ever been on.

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Hi Droopy,

with these things it is a case of a law of diminishing returns. Each time you add a piece of glass in front of the light path it might disperse it slightly or some might be reflected. The premium wide angle eye pieces may have 5 or 6 lenses which all reduce light and clarity. Televue use expensive glass to minimise this and also the design might offer a slightly wider angle than their competitors or better eye relief giving a more comfortable viewing experience. The difference in eye pieces could be small but its still there

Ultimately though a bigger aperture scope will collect more light producing brighter images so in your case i would make do with budget brands until you upgrade your scope

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The astromaster is a fine starter scope but its not quality enough to upgrade to any extent. If you want better views get a bigger scope and sell your astromaster to recoup some of the cost some new starter to astronomy may appreciate this fine starter scope. When you have a bigger better scope then its worth spending 200 dollars on eyepieces. Poor eyepieces on a good scope is more apparent than good eyepieces on a poor scope. Not that the astromaster is poor its just limited

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It will make a huge difference to your bank account, some difference to the view but not I suspect as much as you would want or expect. Not sure of the 130 Astromaster, there are a couple of 130's around and one is not a godd design - shortish tube but a long focal length. Someone sticks a cheapish barlow in the focuser and that upsets everything.

If you want a better eyepiece then look at the Astro-Tech Paradigms they are $60 and a few places sell them in the US Agena and Astronomics are 2 I think. Pick a useful size and see how it works. The view may/should improve over the supplied items. My concern is if the scope has a barlow built in then this will limit any image and so spending $200 will not give you anything better then the Paradigm.

The other factor IF there is a barlow built in is that it can cause problems collimating the scope. The inclusion of a set of optics in the focuser makes life more difficult.

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Hi, it depends which Celestron kit you bought, if it's the Plossl 'Eyeopener' kit I would say stick with it, if it's the cheaper H and SR kit then ditch it and get some decent Plossl's. I don't think it is worth spending on a TV at this stage, you will need a bigger aperture scope (200mm+) to appreciate the improved views that a fine ep will give you, so put any spare cash towards upgrading the scope in the future.

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There's a great deal on Explore Scientific on in USA at the moment, which makes them the best value at the moment. Upgrading your eyepieces will show sharper stars for more of the field of view, especially on your short reflector, so it would be a worthwhile investment.

Upgrading your scope would be even more worthwhile as already suggested.

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