eye pieces

[daz01968]

a couple of things really, why is it once you have found  an object in the sky using a 25mm long eye relief , you change to a 10m and the object is no longer in your sight,,,,,, what is the best or easiest way to sort this out !!!!

also i suffer from bad headaches ,,,so after about 10mins my heads is killing me,,, is there a way round this

[emadmoussa]

This means either your object is not dead centered in the 25mm field of view..so once you pump up the power and minor shift in FOV will make  a difference. Or you shake or nudge the scope when you swap between eyepieces, which is quite common.

Whenever I lost an object, I usually moved the scope 2-3 fields of view vertically and horizontally and it's always there. It's basically a compensation to some minor shake-off in the mount or change to higher power EP - which has a smaller field of view.

As for the headache, I'm assuming you're using plossls/stock EPs with very small holes at high power? If so, then yes...I found that looking into a very tiny hole (10mm or less EP) gave me migraine. that's why I have changed to wide field eyepiece ages ago. Some people are perfectly fine with them though.

[rwilkey]

Hi Daz, it always happens like that esp. when new to astronomy.  With experience it gets much better quickly.  Some of it depends on how well set up your finder scope is.  My finder scopes are set up so accurately that once I have found an object and centered it in the cross-hairs, it is exactly central in the eyepiece.  I find my eye frequently moves from the eyepiece to the finder scope, they work together as a team if you will.  It doesn't help that the eyepieces you are using are not parfocal, but that's an aside to your query - but it would help if you did not have to refocus.

Not sure about the headaches, I have never experienced this at the eyepiece, perhaps someone else will come in on this.

[Moonshane]

re the headaches, what scope are you using? I find dobsonians much better and more comfortable for observing visually. equatorial mounts often require some gymnastics to get your eye to the eyepiece. comfort is an important factor for me when observing.

re the eyepieces, I agree I think it's lack of centering or the scope moving when you remove the eyepiece and replace. you'll get the hang of it soon enough. the moon will be better positioned from tonight again so maybe practice on that if clear.

[proflight2000]

In respect of the headaches..... not trying to pry, but do you suffer from any blood pressure issues? I do and the one thing I have to be careful of is the way I use my body, constantly bending to view with the head not above the chest etc causes me to either get dizzy spells or headaches. If you are finding that you are getting these headaches when you are in certain positions then get a check done, it could be something with blood pressure. One other, do you wear glasses? could be you are over straining your eyes, that's when you will need to look at probably more user friendly eyepieces.

[LukeSkywatcher]

Try observing from a seated position. This helps take the strain off of your neck and eyes. 

[bingevader]

+1 for the seat, get yourself as comfortable as possible.

As for the eyepiece swapping business, don't worry, you'll get used to it.

The fact that the earth is spinning doesn't help much either!

It's surprising how quickly objects disappear off the edge of the field of view, especially in higher powered eye pieces.

[emadmoussa]

The fact that the earth is spinning doesn't help much either!

It's surprising how quickly objects disappear off the edge of the field of view, especially in higher powered eye pieces.

And that's why the ES 100-deg EPs are awesome!!!

[AndyWB]

I find that if I'm changing an eyepiece at high magnification I try to center the field of view ahead of it, then swap the eyepiece, so that as it drifts it moves closer to the center of my view.

It is amazing how quickly the world spins!

[ronin]

And that's why the ES 100-deg EPs are awesome!!!

Have you got a scope to put them in yet ? :eek:

Easier to buy a goto and track the things up there. :rolleyes:

[emadmoussa]

I had them - except the 5.5mm - with several scopes before. But nah, not at the moment. A scope is landing in 2-3 weeks.

Yeah, i miss tracking...but don't miss all the wiring and preparation time.

[Dude_with_the_tube]

I had them - except the 5.5mm - with several scopes before. But nah, not at the moment. A scope is landing in 2-3 weeks.

Yeah, i miss tracking...but don't miss all the wiring and preparation time.

Emad,

all it takes is 1 additional trip to bring out the power tank and  1 min to put the wires in place.thats it. 3 mins to allign the scope and off you go.I love tracking ability  as i can keep the object centered for a very long time without worrying to loose it.this gives me the ability to play around with Ep`s and different magnifications without being worried to loose the object,plus my family can participate or any other who are not that keen on nudging a 14" dob around.Even my 12 years old son is getting on quite well with the controls of the "beast"

[Davey-T]

If you're observing from home you could get a video camera and view with a laptop.

Dave

[emadmoussa]

Emad,

all it takes is 1 additional trip to bring out the power tank and  1 min to put the wires in place.thats it. 3 mins to allign the scope and off you go.I love tracking ability  as i can keep the object centered for a very long time without worrying to loose it.this gives me the ability to play around with Ep`s and different magnifications without being worried to loose the object,plus my family can participate or any other who are not that keen on nudging a 14" dob around.Even my 12 years old son is getting on quite well with the controls of the "beast"

It is definitely a family thing. When I was considering a goto my main focus was enabling my wife to see things without having to nudge the scope. But obviously she doesn't care much So, yeah...

[emadmoussa]

If you're observing from home you could get a video camera and view with a laptop.

Dave

I contemplated this idea a year or two ago, but thought it was a bit soulless...As an astronomers your fingers must fall off from the cold to feel a sense of achievement

[bingevader]

If you're observing from home you could get a video camera and view with a laptop.

Dave

Seriously?! 

Then there's always APOD!  Save you a lot of money too!

[Davey-T]

I contemplated this idea a year or two ago, but thought it was a bit soulless...As an astronomers your fingers must fall off from the cold to feel a sense of achievement

Seriously?! 

Then there's always APOD!  Save you a lot of money too!

Don't mock 'till you've tried it. If the eyes don't work so well it's a good solution, in fact you can see much more detail in things like the Ring Nebula than you can with you're eyes, also several people can view at once.

Personally I'm with EMad can't beat getting your eye frozen to the eyepiece.

Dave

[avtaram]

If you're observing from home you could get a video camera and view with a laptop.

Dave

I've tried that but it just isn't the same as having your eye at the eyepiece.

I feel more involved when at the eyepiece and there is a sense of actualy being out amongst the stars, especialy when using a wide FOV eyepiece or Binoviewers. The whole experience sends a tingle down my spine.

Avtar

[Tinker1947]

Its a bit further down the observing road than somebody new to the hobby will want to go but i use a ST-80 as a guide scope, setup on guide rings with a Lodestar for collecting the photon's, so the scope is setup to place a Star/DSO in the centre of the PHD viewing window with the  bulls eye on, when the scope slews if its a bit out i adjust using the Xbox wireless remote or the direction keys on the EQMod screen, centre the object and it right in the middle of the EP, with a large enough overlap that it doesn't need to be in any part of the EP FOV, not the cheapest route to aligning but i don't have to move from my PC keyboard so there no twisting on the spine ect...

[cutepetgroomer]

I myself used to have more difficulty than I do now switching eps out. I have discovered however, between the 40mm and the 25 mm, the only thing that really changes is that I have to just simply refocus. I have also discovered that sometimes, all I wanna do is just stick to the lower power eps, I keep the higher power eps for the moon for the most part. probably why I am becoming really fond of my 3x barlow lens, I can use the lower power eps and have something close up without losing the comfort.