new and after some advice

[jamie_uk]

Hello, I have just bought my self and dad a celestron nexstar 6se  i bought it second hand so it didnt come with any  eyepieces. i have £100 to spend and was hoping for some advice thanks 

[ScottS]

Have a read of this. It may help:

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/43171-eyepieces-the-very-least-you-need/

[ronin]

Would say 2 BST's 25mm and 15mm, £49, however that would swallow the whole budget.

Alternative is 3 Vixen plossls, £35, 25mm, 15mm, 10mm. The 30mm Vixen is £45 so I left that out.

Possibly look around at the astro shops in and circling London and they may have used items in.

[Schorhr]

Nice telescope! :-) Did it come with a star diagonal for easier views?

As you have no eyepieces and a limited budget:

The 27gpb 66degree eyepieces work well at that aperture ratio, are great budget eyepieces, nice wide angle views compared to Plössl, and available in 6, 9, 15, 20mm.

6mm will give 250x, should be plenty as seeing conditions limit magnification to 200 often.

To view the largest field on a 1.25" focuser/diagonal a 32mm Plössl (16-30gbp) is the best budget solution. Not as pretty as a 24mm wide angle eyepiece, but still acceptable, shows the same field, and a little larger exit pupil for deep sky objects.

6mm - 32mm and one or two inbetween would be a good start. With GoTo gaps inbetween are less critical and can be filled later.

Due to the long focal length you should consider getting a t2-to-2"-ep adapter (I've seen these for the 5" celestron maks, I guess it works for this one, too) and 2" eyepiece to view larger deep sky objects (Star clusters, Andromeda galaxy and larger nebulae).

[jamie_uk]

thanks for the reply guys  30 25 and 10  would cost £118 would that be a good starting point 

[jamie_uk]

Nice telescope! :-) Did it come with a star diagonal for easier views?

As you have no eyepieces and a limited budget:

The 27gpb 66degree eyepieces work well at that aperture ratio, are great budget eyepieces, nice wide angle views compared to Plössl, and available in 6, 9, 15, 20mm.

6mm will give 250x, should be plenty as seeing conditions limit magnification to 200 often.

To view the largest field on a 1.25" focuser/diagonal a 32mm Plössl (16-30gbp) is the best budget solution. Not as pretty as a 24mm wide angle eyepiece, but still acceptable, shows the same field, and a little larger exit pupil for deep sky objects.

6mm - 32mm and one or two inbetween would be a good start. With GoTo gaps inbetween are less critical and can be filled later.

Due to the long focal length you should consider getting a t2-to-2"-ep adapter (I've seen these for the 5" celestron maks, I guess it works for this one, too) and 2" eyepiece to view larger deep sky objects (Star clusters, Andromeda galaxy and larger nebulae).

hi there buddy yea it did have a  star diagonal its a real nice peace of kit can not wait to use this also come with a power tank  

i  could stretch my budget to around the £120 mark if needed 

[Schorhr]

Budget solution

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/OSTARA-HR-PLOSSL-30mm-EYEPIECE-1-25-BARREL-FOR-ASTRONOMICAL-TELESCOPE-/360392683252?pt=UK_Telescope_Eyepieces&hash=item53e913eef4

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/wide-angle-eyepiece-1-25inches-66-degree-F-6mm-/140717462903?pt=UK_Telescope_Eyepieces&hash=item20c36a1577

and the 15mm, or 20&9mm, or all three ;-) For planets definately the 9mm as it will be more often usable at bad seeing conditions

Better eyepiece type is

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-25-8mm-BST-Explorer-Dual-ED-eyepiece-Branded-Starguider-/161134743886?pt=UK_Telescope_Eyepieces&hash=item258461114e

or

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-25-9mm-58-Degree-TMB-Planetary-II-eyepiece-/160858488367?pt=UK_Telescope_Eyepieces&hash=item2573e9be2f

but with the aperture ratio of your telescope the cheap one work quite well, too - and offer a nice 66 degree wide angle apparent field of view.

[jamie_uk]

thanks  i was told about a filter to reduce light pollution as i live in london do not remember which tho   would u know what sort i would need 

[jamie_uk]

just looking at the 9mm 58 degree tmb one will put a offer in i think £30 

[Schorhr]

They sell from 38gbp / 46 eur here (germany), if youcan get one for 30gbp why not

Though you'll find that a good overview eyepiece is just as important - many deep sky objects require low magnification.

I have one of those light pollution filters. They help on some nebulae. But they don't do mirracles. For some nebule where suited a UHC Filter can be useful.

For planets and moon you don't need a filter. Only if you find the moon to bright, a ND/gray filter can help. Cheapo-version: Wear sunglasses :-)

For planets sometimes color filter can help. But I rarely use color filters.

Having mentioned color filters, stay clear of eyepiece kits with a dozen filters, half of the stuff you'll never use ;-)

[jamie_uk]

im going to look for a 9 30 and 15 would that be a good start   really appreciate your help thanks

[brantuk]

It's usually a good idea to have a range of eyepieces with 4mm-5mm size gaps. Personally I like 4mm gaps so I have 8mm,12mm, 16mm, 20mm and 24mm. Then I hop to 2" widefield eyepieces of 30mm, 35mm and 40mm. You can reduce the number of eyepieces by using a 2x barlow. So for instance a 20mm and 16mm with barlow also gives you 10mm, and 8mm eyepieces as well.

So you'd need to work out what size gaps suit you and the scope, and which sizes (with/without barlow) satisfy a useful range of magnifications. Then you can start looking at make and quality of eyepiece against your budget. You don't need them all at once - you can add more at a later date - but it's a good idea to include a barlow at the start to give the widest range.

You can also consider a zoom lens which allows you to satisfy 4 or 5 steps in one eyepiece. Hth

[Schorhr]

Indeed, especially if the seeing is bad, it's nice to have a range of eyepieces to evaluate what the highest magnification is you can use for planets :-)

I observed with just 30x, 80x and 200x for a long time. It's possible, even without GoTo :-)

Especially at the beginning you can get carried away with accessories.

I rarely use my zoom eyepiece anymore- the good ones cost quite a bit. The cheap ones have a narrow apparent field of view on one side, and the zoom costs about as much as two 66deg eyepieces that have at least the same performance... And much more apparent field of view.

The best zoom solution I 've seen so far are the Astrozoom kits :-) They make zoom out of eyepieces like the HR Planetary without changing the large apparent field of view.