first eyepiece

[Triscross]

i need to buy my first eyepiece my scope is a tasco 302012 it is 114mm x 900mm. i would like to look at planets saturn and galaxies

i know i will need more than one but where do i start 

iam looking at the 1.25 15mm bst wide angle but tbh i have no idea where to start 

[wookie1965]

That is a excellent eyepiece for Planets you could go with more magnification and with galaxy`s you could get the 18mm which is nice, but DSO`s come out best in lower mag i would suggest to pick what you want to look at first planets get eyepiece for that Galaxies get eyepiece for that. I use and 8mm on Planets and 32mm plossl to find the dso`s then my 18mm if they will take it.

[Sandancer10]

Welcome to SGL and you are in thr right place to get loads of help.

I use a 25mm to start as it has quite a wide field of view and it's easier to get the image in the centre of the eye piece. Then you can use 10mm or smaller. I also have 4mm but with that one I have to make sure the image is dead centre otherwise stepping from the 10mm can lose the object as the FOV is so small but, making the planet appear larger in the eye piece.

Happy stargazing

[Big_Daz]

Hi Triscross and welcome to the forum, did you get any eyepieces with the scope when you purchased it? if so what sizes are they and do you have a barlow?

[Triscross]

i do have a h40 eyepiece but it is of very poor quality, a barlow will be on the list of future purchases

[Reeny]

Hi Triscross and welcome to the forum, did you get any eyepieces with the scope when you purchased it? if so what sizes are they and do you have a barlow?

There is an eyepiece kit advertised for £60 in the classifieds which would suit you to get started.

Unfortunately you can't see the classifieds until you reach 50 posts.

It's the Revelation kit - selling for £120 new

http://www.telescopehouse.com/acatalog/Revelation_Photo_Visual_Eyepiece_Kit.html

I bought the 9mm and 12mm individually with a Barlow for £90 new.

So the kit is well worth the money to get you started, even if you only use half the gear and the hard case.

Once you find your favorite eyepiece sizes, you can invest in some more expensive kit.

[Reeny]

Where did that quote come from?

I meant to quote Triscross.

[Big_Daz]

I have been advised in the past to not buy any Huygen or Ramsden eyepieces (eyepiece has a "H" or "SR" before the number) apparently these are a really old design of eyepiece with many faults, however I have been told that some of the Kelner ones are okay. The ones I own are a modified achromat to which I believe are a modified type of Kelner.

I think most people would advise a minimum of a Plossl though. If you would like to know more about designs of eyepieces then I can strongly recommend reading this great post. http://www.swindonstargazers.com/beginners/eyepieces.htm

If all else fails, the BST Starguider EP's at the bottom of the link get great reviews.

[Pig]

BST's seem very popular within the forum and are highly regarded, it may help people give you better advice if you can give an indication of your budget  The Celestron X-Cel LX are a very good midrange eyepiece.

[ronin]

For planets and galaxies you are looking at 2 different eyepieces.

Jupiter will show up well at 80x and Saturn at 120x, you do need them to be sharpish especially on Saturn. Blurred rings are not that good,

The 8mm BST Starguider would give 112x so would (should) be fine for both.

For DSO's more difficult, you first need to find them, low power, then centre and magnify enough to see them.

Other then M31 most galaxies are small and dim, and a 900mm scope would need something like a 50mm eyepiece to get all M31 in view. If you go for M31, use binoculars to see all of it and a scope for the central bulge.

After M31 M33 and M81 are probably the next easiest galaxies (neither are actually easy)

Sense says a 25mm to locate and say a 12mm to view, equally the 8mm for planets might show it reasonably. The 12mm would be smaller as you would expect but it would be brighter.

Just looked at list of Messier objects (Wiki) and M81 has a picture showing spiral arms, if you click on the M81 link the hubble image shows a somewhat plain flat disk of no great detail. I suspect that the plain flat no detail disk is the honest view.

If possible I would suggest the Starguider, all experience of them have been good. The Wide Angles are a bit more unknown, also oddly the Wide Angles have a narrow angle then the Starguiders. The advantage of the Wide Angles are they come in more focal lengths and cost less.

Not sure I would suggest the 5mm Starguider for your scope, it would give 180x and could be beyond the capabilities of the scope.

[Charon]

BST eyepieces are excellent value, I have owned two in the past and would of kept them had I not gone down the black and green path to poverty.

[Triscross]

sorry my budget under £100  what i need to do is decide if i should buy a set of lenses sub £100 or buy new bst's 1 a month 

i have just found a set for sale "meade super plossl 4000 6.4mm, 9.7mm, 12.4mm, 15mm and a 20mm" in my price range

are these similar quality to the bst lenses ? 

 

[Reeny]

Plossls are OK.

I junked the standard H and SR freebies and bought the Revelations as an upgrade for our 3" x 700mm reflector scope.

It made a massive difference to the quality at the higher magnifications.

They also work in the 8" dob - but they are restrictive compared to the 60degree BST Starguiders, or the similar priced Maxvision 68degree eyepieces.

Plossls are fine for bright planets or lunar views.

But at 52 degrees they give a darker, narrower view.

You get what you pay for.

If you can get 5x good quality Plossls for £50 or less you can't go wrong to get you started and find your feet.

The range of sizes listed above will help you to decide on your next eyepiece selection.

Then if / when you decide upgrade your scope or add a new one to the collection, you won't have spent a fortune.

[Reeny]

Don't forget about using a Barlow lens.

If you get an 18mm and a 12mm BST and use them with a 2x Barlow, you will have 18 / 12 / 9 / 6 mm lenses for £130 - £140

That would give you 50x / 75x / 100x / 150x

You would need a good quality "branded" Barlow lens, not a £10-£25 horrible plastic thing.

I would think about the 18mm BST and a decent Barlow for starters.

Then you can add the others at a later date.

This is the Barlow I use = from £32 (note: it has an actual 2.1x magnification / not 2.5x)

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/revelation-astro/revelation-astro-25x-barlow.html

http://www.telescopehouse.com/acatalog/Revelation_Astro_2_5x_Barlow_Lens.html

The Meade shorty has also been recommended on the forum by other users = £38

http://www.telescopehouse.com/acatalog/Orion_Barlow_Shorty_2x_1_25__.html

[Triscross]

Don't forget about using a Barlow lens.

If you get an 18mm and a 12mm BST and use them with a 2x Barlow, you will have 18 / 12 / 9 / 6 mm lenses for £130 - £140

That would give you 50x / 75x / 100x / 150x

You would need a good quality "branded" Barlow lens, not a £10-£25 horrible plastic thing.

I would think about the 18mm BST and a decent Barlow for starters.

Then you can add the others at a later date.

This is the Barlow I use = from £32 (note: it has an actual 2.1x magnification / not 2.5x)

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/revelation-astro/revelation-astro-25x-barlow.html

http://www.telescopehouse.com/acatalog/Revelation_Astro_2_5x_Barlow_Lens.html

The Meade shorty has also been recommended on the forum by other users = £38

http://www.telescopehouse.com/acatalog/Orion_Barlow_Shorty_2x_1_25__.html

iam realy swaying towards taking this advice a 18mm bst a quality barlow but i will buy a few ostara plossi this should keep it to my budget "ish"