What can I upgrade?

[BentleyMiller86]

Seen as its cloudy again.... I have been thinking about my scope and its components which are:

Celestron AstroMaster 76EQ

10mm (with 2x Barlow) and 20mm Eye piece

Pentax K3-II with adapter, I borrow the 2x Barlow so I can achieve focus

I can get an absolutely stunning view of the moon, and I want to move on to Jupiter and Saturn soon are there any bits and bobs (i.e. better Barlow's and eye pieces) I can buy to improve my basic setup?

Cheers

Rob

[Charic]

I owned the Celestron 127EQ. The best upgrade for me was a 200mm Skywatcher Skyliner?

I know far more about the hobby now, and no matter what I try to adjust or tweak, the Celestron 127EQ does not cut the mustard. 

Don't spend too much on your present scope, just  learn to live with the basic scope you have for now.

My first view of the Moon looked ok with the 127 scope, but no comparison to what I can see now, and Jupiter has no detail, but could just make out the dots? Moons! Now I can see  Moon shadows (transits)on the face of Jupiter when conditions allow.

[Knighty2112]

A good planetary EP between 8mm to 4.5mm should be OK, but as you're max magnification on your scope is x180 then you won't get much more with EPs than that, and that is on good nights too. If your planning to do astrophotography then apart from some shots of the moon, then I doubt you will get much else from this setup if you are using the original stand with it. 

[BentleyMiller86]

It is pretty basic, but Its was bought for me out of the blue, I would like to get a better scope but for now at least its not an option. Maybe a Birthday present! So I would like to get the best out of this while its my only option!

With regards to eye pieces, I take it the smaller the mm the bigger the magnification i.e. 4.5mm Eye piece will deliver more magnification then an 8mm?

I am only just starting out and its a lot to pick up on quickly!

[Charic]

There's plenty to see/draw from the Moon, its a fascinating target, but beyond that , the scope has  limitations for astronomy!. It should work well  enough during the day on  fixed distant targets, if you can seethe horizon?

Dont give/up despair just yet. I was so excited getting my first scope,  but quickly realised its potential, and as for the GEM mount, I made my mind up  the first night.

Take your time in deciding what you really want from your next scope, even visit a club/society to see what they use, this will give you a better, and hopefully a visual clue as to what you can expect when you  purchase the next scope.

I understand the scope may have been gifted too you, but don't let that deter you  your time will come, enjoy what you have for now,.

[BentleyMiller86]

I will be looking in to a computerized & motor scope, Even finding the moon is a pain with this one! to be fair Astronomy is a 20 year old obsession that I am only just beginning to explore I wouldn't have an issue spending upwards of 1.5k on a scope, I don't need to consider if it would be worth it... it would! If the right motivation had been given to me during my school years it would have been my career

I want something eventually for DSO photography so any tips on what to save up for would be welcome

[Charic]

5 hours ago, BentleyMiller86 said:

I want something eventually for DSO photography so any tips on what to save up for would be welcome

......many folk recommend this book for starting down the astrophotography route, I own a copy myself. http://www.firstlightoptics.com/books/making-every-photon-count-steve-richards.html

Whatever you choose for your future requirements, like building a house, an astrophotography system requires a solid, stable,  base/mounting system. You should be prepared for the additional costs of getting this part right, sometimes costing far more than the telescope itself?

[Waldemar]

9 hours ago, BentleyMiller86 said:

I will be looking in to a computerized & motor scope, Even finding the moon is a pain with this one! to be fair Astronomy is a 20 year old obsession that I am only just beginning to explore I wouldn't have an issue spending upwards of 1.5k on a scope, I don't need to consider if it would be worth it... it would! If the right motivation had been given to me during my school years it would have been my career

I want something eventually for DSO photography so any tips on what to save up for would be welcome

It's never too late ...!

 

3 hours ago, Charic said:

......many folk recommend this book for starting down the astrophotography route, I own a copy myself. http://www.firstlightoptics.com/books/making-every-photon-count-steve-richards.html

Whatever you choose for your future requirements, like building a house, an astrophotography system requires a solid, stable,  base/mounting system. You should be prepared for the additional costs of getting this part right, sometimes costing far more than the telescope itself?

Yes... read, read, read...
knowledge and a good, solid mount is the base for any future venture.

 

[ronin]

At 700mm focal length you should see a reasonable Jupiter at 70x, in which case a 10mm eyepiece (which I appreciate you already have). Which would imply a better 10mm eyepiece or if you wanted the BST 8mm. The BST being a good eyepiece for any future scope. The 8mm would give 87x. I do not tend to go for barlows myself so I will stick to talking of single eyepieces.

Saturn will need more, I would suggest something up in the 120x region. A 6mm would give 116x for that consider the Altair Lightwave 6mm eyepiece (prices vary £45-55).

Check the scope out and set it up as well as possible, get the collimation spot on, this includes the mechanical positioning, alignment and setting of all mirrors. Having it all as it should ideal will be I suspect give the easiest improvement.

For future astrophotography it is both complex and easy: The "easy" being you want a good solid equitorial mount with at least motors and preferably goto, then you need a good scope generally "small", thinking here of an ED 70mm refractor or the 130PDS. The "difficult" is which mount and which scope, since you can start "inexpensive" and improve over time but that gets costly. My advice is get a bigger mount at the start and use that as the basis for "now" and any reasonable future upgrade, that is the item you will likely need to upgrade when you want to upgrade any other AP item. Thinking of say 70mm Ed to 80mm APO.

[Louis D]

If you're having trouble finding the moon, add a Rigel Quickfinder to it.  That will help immensely.  If you can't crank your neck around to use it, try a green laser sight that mounts on a rail like those found on ebay for cheap.  They even come with a momentary switch attached to a coiled cord making them very easy to use.

[billyharris72]

As others have said, a shorter focal length eyepiece would be worth having for better view of Jupiter and Saturn. Jupiter does not respond well to pushing the scope to its maximum magbnification, so I would think something around 6mm (for a magnification of x117 and a, exit pupil of 0.65mm) would be as far as you would want to go. You could pick up a deceny Plossl in that size for about £20; it will get you some nice views and you'll still have it if you ever decide to upgrade the scope.

[swamp thing]

If you wish to do astro imaging in the future I would be reluctant to suggest that you spend much money on your present set up.
Save your cash up to put it towards an imaging rig in the future.