eyepieces

[jimmythemoonlight]

Can someone help me and let me know what are the best eyepieces to observe planets. At the moment I have a skywatcher 130 f5 what should I expect to see with a little light pollution but can see the constellation ursa major with the naked eye from were I am. I feel I'm not getting the most of my Barlow lens as I should and maybe it's because I'm using the incorrect EP at the wrong time. Although I've been using my telescope off and on for two or more years I still feel like a beginner, which is worrying so if anyone can help with this problem I would be very grateful don't get me wrong I love astronomy but you should always be looking to improve many Thanx Jimmy

[Schorhr]

Hi there,

the Skywatcher 130 f5 (I am assuming heritage or explorer 130p, or is it the 130pds?) are neat telescopes despite their mirrors not being perfectly parabolic, so your mileage (or maximum magnification) may vary.

Observing planets is not influenced by light pollution as much as it is for deep-sky.

I would guess you own one of those 2x shorty barlows? They are okey but chromatic aberration is an issue, limiting the contrast.

Do you have any eyepieces besides the 10 and 25mm kit eyepieces? The 10mm is not so great either, and combined with the barlow, the result is not as good as it could be.

Now regarding maximum magnification, you will read 260x is possible.

It probably is not. First of all, Seeing conditions usually will prevent you from going much higher then 200x, and then the skywatcher mirror quality varies.

I would say a 4mm eyepiece should work though.

You could also get this ->

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/wide-angle-eyepiece-1-25inches-66-degree-F-6mm-/140717462903

As you can change the distance of the bottom element with a film can or similar (http://blog.pixelgiraffe.com/?p=820). Then it is a 3-4mm eyepiece, and you can test if the mirror quality is alright for higher magnification before buying more eyepieces.

Plus the 6mm wide angle eyepieces beats the 10mm despite having less exit pupil.

If you can afford it, there are the BST explorer, TS NED and HR Planetary eyepieces. Great value, a tad more expensive, but good sharp eyepieces at f/5.

Stay away from Plössl under 10mm, even though you can get them for 10-20€. The eye relief is so short, it is hard to view through and you will bump the telescope and smear the lens with your eye lashes...

A good ED barlow can cost more then one or two good eyepieces, so in the beginning, get a decent set first. The 10mm kit eyepiece is the main problem, probably.

But also keep in mind that even with 200x planets will be relatively small, especially mars. Still, you can see a lot of detail if the eyepiece has high transmission and good contrast.

Avoid "home made" seeing such as windows, roof tops, balcony...

Also consider the astrozoom.de eyepieces, basically the same as with the film can, but more professional. This way you can adjust the magnification to the maximum possible, without loosing apparent field of view as with most zoom eyepieces on the market.