Additional Eyepieces

[Brian123]

Hi, as I am a novice stargazer and just had bought a Celestron Astromaster 130EQ as a Christmas present what additional

eyepeices would you recommend as it only came with the 10mm and 20mm eyepieces.

Thanks

Yorkie

[ronin]

Well it is f/5 so a 5mm should be fair if you get one that is OK at f/5 and gives the eye relief you want/need.

My one concern is that it has some optics in it to create an erect image, I assume that this is in the focuser and really is of no benefit to astronomy and likely detrimental to astronomy viewing.

Plossl's go down to 5mm but at 5mm your eye will be very close to the top lens, possibly too close for comfort.

That leaves eyepieces like the BST Star guiders, Skys the Limit, at £49.

Celestron X-Cels, FLO, at £65.

BST Wide Angles, Skys the Limit, at £43 (or something like that)

There used to be Antares W70's - check Rother Valley as they used to sell them.

They are the common ones I am aware of.

The Starguiders are good and a good price, the one minor drawback is they come in 5mm, 8mm, 12mm.

The X-Cels come in 5mm, 7mm, 9mm amd 12mm - a slightly better selection

No real information on the BST Wideangles.

The Starguider 8mm has many reports of being a good all round eyepiece with reasonable magnification.

As in many things in astronomy the budget is a significant factor.

[joehay_yorkshire]

i got the SW 130m i'm looking at the same question and from what i've read, something around the 8mm mark for planets and a longer focal length one for DSO's BST, maxvision and baader all seem to review really well.

also look at solar filters and such

[JulianFR]

I have the 8, 12 and 18mm BST Starguiders and my experience is that they are super eyepieces, especially given the price. Bargain. What I have learned from this community, though, is that for a novice like me it's a good idea to get some viewing time in with new kit and then decide what eyepieces are required for what kind of viewing with the particular telescope.

[rwilkey]

I would avoid the Baader (Hyperion's) as they are a bit soft at f/5.  The BST StarGuiders are a good economical choice though and work well at all focal ratios.

[Ally8446]

Well it is f/5 so a 5mm should be fair if you get one that is OK at f/5 and gives the eye relief you want/need.

My one concern is that it has some optics in it to create an erect image, I assume that this is in the focuser and really is of no benefit to astronomy and likely detrimental to astronomy viewing.

The Astromaster 114 is the birdjones design with the built in barlow. The 130 has a standard focuser. I used to own one before getting my dog.

I can definitely recommend the BST ep's. Excellent value for money.

[Ally8446]

Sorry, don't know what went wrong with my last post

[Ally8446]

AAAAHHHH. Before getting my DOB. Predictive text is a real p.i.t.a.

[Paulo83]

I have the 8mm, 12mm, 15mm and 18mm BST Starguiders. They are fine eyepieces which are good value for money. Quite an upgrade from the supplied pieces. I've also just purchased a 32" PanaView but haven't had chance to try it out. Too early to recommend.