Celestron 114EQ eyepiece

[mtnhkr]

I just found Jupiter and its moons, but I could not see any colors on Jupiter.  My smallest (?) eyepiece is a ten millimeter, is a six mm the smallest usable eyepiece for my telescope and will this allow me to see Jupiter's colors?

[iwannabswiss]

The smallest would be a 4mm but that's getting close the end of good visibility.  I've got the same setup and it works but still not going to have any color improvement, it'll still look white with the red bands.

[mtnhkr]

I have read that my maximum magnification is equal to twice the aperture.  Since my aperture is 114 my maximum should be 228x.  The focal length of my telescope is 1000mm, so I believe 6mm would give a magnification of 166x.  If this true then 4mm would be 250x and too much.  Is this correct?

Thanks

[mtnhkr]

The reason I am wondering about the highest useful magnification is that in the specs for this scope it says that the highest useful magnificetion is 269x.  So I figure I must be calculating wrong or there is something else I need factor in.  Can anyone clear this up for me?

Thanks

[iwannabswiss]

Your focal length is 900, not 1000.  You're correct, according to manufacture the highest useful mag is 269x; The 4mm would put you at 225x but again  you still aren't going to get a super clear image.

[AWR]

Always be wary of manufacturer's maximum magnification claims.

I assume you have the AstroMaster (1000mm FL) rather than the PowerSeeker (900mm FL)

The twice the aperture rule is a good rule of thumb as to the maximum magnification but there are many other factors which will determine which is possible such as the seeing conditions (how stable and transparent the atmosphere is), the collimation of the scope and whether it is fully cooled down.  These will usually lower the maximum usable magnification so I think that your 6mm calculation is about right.

With my 127 Mak, (1500mm FL) I find that my 9mm is often my best (166x) and occasionally I will barlow my 15mm plossl to give 7.5mm (200x).  My 6mm EP is usually reserved for use with my dob.

Is your 10mm EP the one that came with the scope?  If so, it may not be the best quality (mine certainly wasn't)

This post: Eyepieces - the very least you need. is a really good starting point.

Andrew

[mtnhkr]

Thanks, that is a lot of help.  I hope it warms up a little here, 15 - 17 degrees is a little chilly for me.

Mike