Newbie Skywatcher 90 questions...

[guitardave]

Hi all, I got a Skywatcher 90 for Christmas, and I must say I am very pleased with it. Tonight was possibly the best views so far of Jupiter - a nice clear evening, and could clearly see 4 moons around Jupiter, plus the distinct bands of colour on the planet itself.

So, my questions... With the supplied 25mm lense - and with the Barlow added in - I get really nice sharp images. However, when I use the 10mm, although the image is more zoomed in, I really struggle to get any kind of sharpness, which is a shame as I would obviously like to be able to zoom in as close as possible. So, can anyone recommend an eyepiece suitable for observing planets with this telescope, that combines the sharpness of the 25mm with a better zoom?

Secondly, is there any kind of adapter that can be purchased to aid in taking photos through the telescope? I would probably just be looking to use my iPhone, just for simple photos as a little record of what I've seen. I managed to take a few photos of the moon, but it is so hard to get the phone lined up correctly, and then the image blurs as it is impossible to hold the phone completely steady when pressing the shutter button.

All help gratefully received!

Thanks :-)

[LittleSkink]

Hi from a newb not so far from Manchester, my 9yo got a little Skywatcher 100p reflector for Christmas and agree with your views of the supplied eyepieces, ie 25mm good 10mm meh. I guess there are a few ways forward depending on how much you want to spend and if you observe with glasses

Because we wear glasses we upgraded the 10mm for a Skywatcher 9mm LER which is reasonably good and works well enough. We also got a 1.5x / 2x Revelation Barlow from Astroboot for a few quid and use the x1.5 on the 9mm LER (making it effectively a 6mm) to get cracking views of Jupiter. You could do worse than get a 12mm GSO Plossl (or maybe even a 9mm) from Astroboot for very little money. They still had the Barlow in the Misc section last time I looked

Sorry no clue about adaptors, but interested to hear what others have to say

[laudropb]

Hello and welcome to the SGL. I am not familiar with your scope but I do know the supplied 10mm ep is not up to much. Look at the ep forum and you will get lots of ideas about a suitable replacement. You can purchase adapters to hold your iPhone, but I do not know how good they are

[Lowjiber]

With a focal ratio of f/10, you're pushing the scope pretty hard with a 10mm eyepiece.  It will work, but seeing conditions need to be excellent to get a satisfying focus.

[Sirius Starwatcher]

Hello Dave telescope house on the web sell an I phone adaptor that fits onto the focuser of the scope hot sure how good they are.