focusing problem

[algol]

don't mean to be a pest guys but when i hit high mag which is 130 x for me i cant get the scope to focus, on DSO's that is, for example m13 i cant resolve it its blurred at high mag whereas saturn is clear.

any tips guys and gals?

[John]

You should be able to resolve the outer stars of M13 with your scope - they will appear as tiny sparkling points of light against the unresolved portions of the cluster which will appear cloud / misty.

You don't need really high power to do this - medium power (say 80x in your scope) seems to work well on globular clusters.

If your seeing is not so good it will, as ever , make it harder to resolve stars in globular clusters.

John

[Joe Bloggs]

130 mag is probably too high for M13 with the scope youre using, the best views i got lastnight of this was at about 70x Mag(F/10 C8). However on saturn it was good upto around 120xmag. So you're not doing anything wrong, its just that the light gathering of a 130 newt on M13 would be dim anyway ( i could barely see it when i used a newt at 5") so you probably would be best to stick around 50x for things like M13. But with things like the ring neb you can crank it up.

[spacemonkey]

Make sure your scope is properly collimated. You say Saturn is clear, but how much detail are you seeing in the belts? If it just looks like a creamy white disk with a ring, that could mean your collimation is out - you should see different colour belts on the disk as well, and the Cassini division should be visible at that magnification.

Regards, Dave

[Andrew*]

Sooo many possibilities and variables in this question. Poor seeing, poor collimation, poor optics*, misted eyepiece, dewed optics, uncooled optics, cloud or mist in the way, a veil draped over the scope...

Okay, maybe I've run out of ideas but you get the gist!

*Possibly the eyepiece or barlow you are using are not up to the job... I take it you were using

the standard 10mm eyepiece and 2x barlow that came with the scope? When you have the readies, try upgrading to some decent plossls. You can get great deals second hand or in a set.

HTH

Andrew

[algol]

yeah i think its a combo of poor view, lp problem and poor optics, bog standard 10mm and barlow.

waiting for tax return now and then purchasing the rev ep kit off steve at FLO very nice price for six ep's and six filters in a spiffy case lol

[philsail1]

Hello "Algol"

When you say you can't achieve focus on your scope - I take it the focus has still got some "travel" either way? (It's not either fully "in" or fully "out"?

If you've still got room to move the eyepeiece in and out a bit, then it sounds like something someone else on here has suggested.

I had the Skywatcher 130P and found it a cracking scope!

Regards,

Philsail1

[Starflyer]

I found the barlow supplied with the 130pm to be quite poor. The 2x TAL one that FLO sells is a big improvement.

Cheers,

Ian