Eyepiece advice

[meanster99]

Hi All,

Thanks for seeing me! Just joined the lounge and looking for some advice. 

I am a few-weeks-old newbie, recently bought a Skywatcher Heritage 130P f/5 Dob (bought for my 8 year old but having too much fun with it myself!) and looking to upgrade the eyepieces that came with it (the generic Super 10mm and Super 25mm). I also bought a Celestron 2x Barlow and Celestron Omni 4mm Plossl within a few days of buying the scope.

I live in Sydney, Australia, in an area with quite bad light pollution and little visible sky (about 45 deg in the East/South East) - trees and houses block most of the sky from my balcony. However, I've been fortunate enough to have Jupiter, Saturn and Mars, and the moon visible from my balcony late at night/early morning for the last few weeks and have made the most of it! So much so, that I'm wanting to improve things as best I can with eyepieces, while also planning for the future when I have a bigger scope and better view (and even just taking my 130P out into the middle of nowhere on occasion).

I wear glasses and have astigmatism but tend to take my glasses off whenever I look through an eyepiece. Short eye relief doesn't seem to bother me, yet. Using the 10mm with my Barlow, or just the 4mm (or even just the 10mm) I can see the bands and GRS on Jupiter, I can almost make out the Cassini division on Saturn and the moon is obviously full of detail (Mars has no surface features visible - desperately waiting for the opposition in July!). I've probably been blessed with good seeing over a few nights of the last few weeks.

Anyway, I have about $500 AUD (Australian Dollars) that I could potentially spend on upgrading my eyepieces and wanted some advice (I know I could put this money towards a better scope, but I just want to get the most from my 130P right now, while keeping an eye on the future). From the limited research I've been able to do, I had come to the conclusion I should buy a high-end eyepiece for planetary viewing (maybe a 7mm Televue DeLite), a blue 80A filter and maybe even replace my current Celestron 2x Barlow with a TV 2x Barlow or maybe even one of their Powermates (or their 3x Barlow).

I can't seem to find many second-hand resources here in Oz, so am looking to buy new, unless something better is presented to me.

Given all the info above (happy to provide further details if required), what would you recommend?

 

[happy-kat]

Great telescope isn't it.

My most used eyepiece is my 16mm 68 degrees. I'm not a personal fan of chasing magnification as that can just mean bigger and blurry, I prefer crisp even if smaller. So for me I'd get a quality mid range as useful on DSO and anything else and a 30-32mm for maximising fov.

[rwilkey]

Hi Meanster, and welcome to SGL!  As hinted by Happy-Kat above, magnification is not the key to better views, most stargazing is done at lower powers and a middle range ep will serve your purpose better.  However if you want good, clear magnification I have found the William Optics 6mm SPL unbeatable.  A good middle range ep such as the 16mm 68 degree that Happy-Kat suggests is a good one, for this range I have the TV Nagler, but it is quite expensive.  Happry hunting!

[happy-kat]

I do have that William Optics 6mm SPL and when conditions allow it is very nice in use. The 16mm is a Maxvision but they are not obtainable new anymore but I expect similar might be found like the Explorer Scientific range. I do have a barlow but it is just a 1.6x and so far has had only a little use. The Vixen SLV are quite nice too, there is a 15mm in the range though I have only the 10mm. There's a cheap Vixen NPL 30mm holding the rear useful for the initial target search.

[meanster99]

Hi happy-kat & rwilkey,

Many thanks for the quick responses. I do understand that magnification is not always the key to better views, but in my limited experience, it has been, at least for planets. The 10mm with the Barlow (so 5mm) has been a necessary minimum for me for planets, and my limited field of view (of the sky) and conditions haven't allowed for much else anyway. Ideally, I'd purchase a high to mid range 6-8mm, a 15mm and maybe a 30mm for max fov. The 4mm Omni has been good for me with this scope and I've actually thought I could squeeze a little more magnification out of it (I've read the 130P mirrors can be inconsistent, so maybe I've got a great one?!).

The problem here in Australia is that we only have a handful of retailers and they normally only offer Celestron, Meade, Baader or TV. I constantly read about other eyepiece brands that just don't seem to be available here. I could import them of course, but that comes with its own problems and may work out more expensive anyway.

But given my budget, and my immediate desire for planetary observation, would the TV DeLites be overkill for the 130P, or should I settle on a different brand available in Oz (suggestions would be great!). Am I trying to push the 130P too far by buying TVs - would I be better to spend less money on mid-range eps and get one or two extra (my budget as I had planned it only allowed for a 7mm TV Delite and a TV 2x Barlow).

As always, this is so subjective, but hoping to at least find out what the limits of the 130P are, so that I can make the best purchase decision possible (given that I will upgrade the scope within the next year or two).

[happy-kat]

You already own a barlow so if me I would stick with using that and look at another eyepiece instead.

[meanster99]

Thanks happy-kat. I had read (and it makes sense) that the optical chain is only as strong as the weakest link, so sticking with the Celestron x2 Barlow would necessarily mean I shouldn't go overboard with quality of eps? (I do use my Barlow a lot for AP with my webcam, even though I know the 130P isn't really an AP scope, but I also use it with my current eps for visual also - obviously may not need to use it if I use my budget well and purchase a range of eps). Although as I wanted the best I could get for my budget, that's why I mentioned replacing the Barlow for a TV one.

I need to act reasonably quickly - it's my 9th wedding anniversary and my wife has approved me spending $500 AUD on stuff for my telescope, but if I leave it too long the sun will set on the arrangement, as happened 8 years ago when I was promised a telescope for my 1st anniversary but procrastinated for so long that I never bought one. Instead of the $2k+ budget I had for the scope then, I've ended up with a $200 scope that I actually bought for my son. Don't want to waste this opportunity this time!!!

[pipnina]

45 minutes ago, meanster99 said:

spending $500 AUD on stuff for my telescope

I personally love my Vixen SLV 10mm. Not cheap but worth every penny as far as I'm concerned! Although you already have an eyepiece in the 6mm range, I believe the SLVs to be much superior to plossls though others may disagree with me.

I really love my maxvision 24mm 82deg EP. Unfortunately it wouldn't fit in your scope however as it is a 2" eyepiece. This appears to be one of the widest eyepieces you could get for your 1.25" focuser: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/all-eyepieces-barlows/explore-scientific-62-series-ler-eyepieces.html

It would be something like that or a 31mm plossl for maximum field of view. A 31mm would give you 20x magnification, a 25~ would give you about 26x magnification. Exit pupils between 5mm and 6.2mm which is about right for the human eye, depending on age.

I'm not sure how far AUD goes but I would be tempted by the SLV 6 and 12mm, and probably that explore scientific 26mm. I would probably look at a right-angled 9x50 finderscope and a telrad as well if you don't already have them (I use them and find it invaluable).

1 hour ago, meanster99 said:

Instead of the $2k+ budget I had for the scope then

Again, I don't know how far 2k AUD goes... But I would be livid if I had the opportunity to get 2 grands worth of astro gear and missed it. That would have gotten you maybe a 12" dob with goto and some eyepieces.

Good luck with whatever new kit you buy

[25585]

I sold and bought another Vixen 10mm LV, liked it even though I own the great Pentax XW 10mm as well.

SLV, like the LV range are good for Barlowing. Always on ebay too.

[Louis D]

Just be aware that at lower powers, your astigmatism may intrude and produce spiky stars and blur extended objects.  You may want to try wearing your glasses with lower powered eyepieces to see if the view improves.  If that is the case, @25585 can give you all sorts of advice on long eye relief, long focal length eyepieces.  A 32mm plossl can be a good start if the eye lens is not too recessed.

[Charic]

2 hours ago, meanster99 said:

Don't want to waste this opportunity this time!!!

The Stars will still be there and the planets will always return, so really, 9th or 15th anniversary, make no rush when buying and choosing equipment.
Its all well and good asking for advice which helps to  put us in the right direction, but only you/we alone will discover whats right after the event?

It will take time, and thinking that a certain eyepiece alone  will make a huge difference  will soon bring you back down to Earth, just look at my sold list in my signature, thinking that they would make this scope much better, only to find that whats left performs as good as as it will get on this scope for my eyes and viewing conditions.?

Your scope will capture photons and produce an image at the focal point, just about any eyepiece will let you view that image but some eyepieces allow you too view the image with a little more comfort, with regards to the field of view and the eye relief. 

I would personally let your son find the limits to what a 130 scope can achieve and possibly obtain a larger apertured scope for visual observations, if your being gifted? You wont regret a larger scope, just not too large though that you cant move it or transport it to a darker site !

I have rwilkey to blame for the majority of my eyepieces? the BST's the Panaview and the 6mm SPL................I have no regrets, except that the BST is not available in 6mm guise, this is where the 6mm SPL comes into play, but these eyepieces work well on my scope, though they should work well on your scope too, but your 130mm has a little less ability  than the 200, and the 200mm has less than a 250mm and so on. 

You own ability to observe and see things either directly or averted and the overall external conditions all can play  havoc or make for a good session. There's no  perfect system for all situations.

Whatever you choose, enjoy the process.

[Louis D]

1 hour ago, Charic said:

The Stars will still be there and the planets will always return, so really, 9th or 15th anniversary, make no rush when buying and choosing equipment.

Except I've found that as I age, my eyes aren't what they used to be, so getting observing time in while young is ideal.

[celestron8g8]

Welcome to the forum . I too have astigmatism in my right eye and I rarely wear glasses while viewing cause focus can help with that for me . I have a set of Celestron Ultima EPs' that are now out of production but if you can find a 18mm or 7.5mm Ultima used in great condition you can get those fairly cheap . However my two favorite EPs' are the Celestron 25mm Plossi older version and Celestron 32mm Plossi . Along with a Ultima 2x barlow these two EPs' give me great views of planets and stars and galaxies . I use the 32mm for galaxies with and without the barlow however the scope is a Celestron C8 SCT . Mainly what i'm getting at is a good barlow , and two EPs' in the range of 32mm and 25mm can give you excellent views of all night sky objects . You don't really need several different EPs' to start , those can be added in future purchases . My complete EP set is Ultimas 18mm , 10mm and 7.5mm , Ultima 2x barlow , Celestron 32mm and 25mm and 12.5mm Plossi all in 1.25" , and I have a Stellarvue 32mm Plossi and celestron diagonal in 2" size . I have many other accessories including a IR 25mm and crosshair EP but those are when I imaged in the past . Be wise to your fundings , don't sell your self short on quality cause you'll be disappointed . Some things can be found on ebay or www.astromart.com or in classifieds of astronomy forums at good prices . Just make sure the optics are in good shape with no mold or mildew or scratches . Most amateur astronomers usually take good care of their EPs' . However if you can afford new then that's a good choice also . Good luck and keep us updated ! Clear Skies ! And just a Hint about Mars . If you can find a decent Mars filter for your EP it will help you see detail on Mars . 

[25585]

 For a long time I only had 3 eps; 32mm Erfle, 20mm Erfle & a 13mm Nagler original. And a 2x Barlow. I bought the Nagler because it was much much better than using the Barlow. 

But I do recommend an Ultra High Contrast filter or OIII filter. Either or both will enhance your viewing much more than increasing magnification. UHC is more general, OIII is for nebulae. 

I'll leave it to others for brand recommendations

[happy-kat]

The good news is that even with your limited choice of eyepiece brand in Australia you at least have some quality ones to draw from. There have been some very useful eyepiece review threads by members, might be helpful for if you get down to a short list.

[25585]

Iceinspace.au is a good information resource. 

[meanster99]

Thanks for all the advice! Lots to get me started. I'll be narrowing down a few options from what is available here in Oz and then research them here and in other forums and then come back with a shortlist for your opinions. Thanks again.