Eyepiece difficulty

[Scott1990]

Hi I'm new to stargazing but always had a big interest on this sort of stuff I recently purchased a telescope which is a celestron nexstar 130 slt had really good reviews for a beginner my question is what would be a recommended eyepiece to get a clear image of other planets and objects I have a 9mm and an 25mm which come with the scope the 9mm is good for the moon and closer objects my 25mm is good for long distant gazing but I can't see a clear image of what it is any recommendations on an eyepiece u would need to get better views of the longer distant objects.

[ronin]

Slightly puzzled - what do you mean by a clear image ?

Might seem odd to ask but is the Moon and Saturn possibly Jupiter clear ?

Jupiter is very low and may be too low or just not visible.

Reason I ask is that after that things are not exactly clear, the reason being that after the moon and planets you have the DSO's that are traditionally referred to as "faint fuzzies". Fuzzy being not a clear defined edge.

What are you expecting to see?

If it anything that bears any resemblance to a hubble image, then forget it.

Better eyepieces:

Vixen NPL plossl's are good, around £35 from FLO.

BST Starguiders very nice, £49 from Skys the Limit - these get recommended to most people.

Celestron X-Cels, apparently similar to the BST's, about £60 - try FLO again.

There are others, but they do not appear often, may be good but simply not familiar with whatever.

Following "convention" if you go for the BST's try the 8mm first.

If you decide that planets are more your thing then perhaps the X-Cels, they have 5mm, 7mm, 9mm so more at the lower end.

You may need to check the collimation of the scope, if that drifts out then you lose definition, meaning "not clear".

As mentioned though "clear" is a bit questionable on DSO's.

M57 should be visible but there are no "edges", globular clusters are similar in a way you see a mass of stars at the core of them.

Also try this if you need to look up a club: http://www.astronomyclubs.co.uk/

Another thought, you are not keeping the scope indoors (nice and warm) then renning outside with it, aligning and pointing at something are you ?

The scopes need to get to the ambient temperature (cool down) and they are often not clear at first, they get better as they cool.

Finally if the atmosphere is playing up, then nothing is clear.

Locate a bright star, Capella is good, and if it is twinking a lot the atmosphere may be the problem.

Cannot do much about that.

Check the position of the Jetstream.

[ghostdance]

To get you started in the minefield, this thread will give you some invaluable pointers:

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/43171-eyepieces-the-very-least-you-need/

There are some classic brands to choose from, and many differing approaches to ep design (plossl/orthoscopic to name but two). Will come down to some extent on what you want to observe and how much you want to spend...but if you haven't already done so, read the guide above! Should help clarify things a bit...

And, if you've not read before,  this will also help in the wider scheme of things:

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/196278-what-can-i-expect-to-see/

[damnut]

Good advice above, the BST starguiders are great value for money. See also Robin Wilkeys guide  :-- http://www.swindonstargazers.com/beginners/eyepieces.htm

[Moonshane]

A few things to consider before you start spending money on eyepieces:

• ambient temperatures - at lower powers (magnifications) telescopes can just be put straight outside and used. At higher powers, you need to wait for the mirrors to reach the same ambient temperatures as the air outside. This can mean it either has to warm up or cool down depending on the circumstances to give best images. Allow maybe a five minute period per inch of aperture.
• best focus - also more applicable to higher powers (i.e. double stars and planets), there's a technique to focusing which matters. I tend to find best focus and then leave it for a minute or so. you will see the image of the planet come in and out of focus with the atmosphere as this is often unsteady - bad seeing. Sometimes (rarely) the atmosphere is very steady and you can use high powers with a very steady constant image. Usually you 'catch the moments of good seeing' as you observe for a period. If you keep playing with the focuser you'll never catch these moments.
• contrast - with bright smaller objects like planets, you need to allow your eyes time to adjust to start seeing the fainter details. Observing for maybe half an hour will allow this to happen.

[Scott1990]

Hi guys thanks for your feedback its been a great help i think ive got to the route of my problem know thanks agen ?