What eyepiece to get? 114mm

[borapanda]

Hi everyone!

I have a Celestron Astromaster 114 eq (114/1000mm), and I do use it whenever I can, but I'm still quite the newbie when it comes to observing.

My point is, I'd like to observe the planets, but  I dont't think the standard eyepieces that came with my telescope (10 mm and 20 mm) are powerful enough for that. For reference, the "furthest" I could see were the rings of Saturn , but they were very small and faint too.  

Are there any specific eyepieces you could recommend? :) And of course, any tipps and advice are also very much appreciated.

Thanks, Sophie.

[Cosmic Geoff]

You could buy better eyepieces of higher powers (the BST Starguiders are often recommended) but a set of these would cost a significant amount compared with the original cost of the telescope.

I hate to bring bad news, but I found an independent review of this telescope: https://telescopicwatch.com/celestron-astromaster-114eq-review/  which is very unflattering.  If this is the telescope you have, I suggest that any purchase of eyepieces be made with the replacement of the 114eq by a better telescope kept firmly in mind.

You should moderate your expectations.  Even with my 127mm Maksutov, which I suggest is a much better quality instrument, I could rarely see much planetary detail, and I eventually got more out of it by attaching a planetary camera than I ever saw by eye..

 

[RT65CB-SWL]

Hi @borapanda/Sophie and welcome to SGL. 

If you click: Resources --> Astronomy tools --> FOV Calculator that is at the top of the page, that will give you some idea of what to expect. I have attached two screenshots below to give you an idea of what to expect Saturn would look like with your stock e/p's. at the bottom. I think the most practical focal length eyepiece would be 6mm.

Another thing to bear in mind is the planets are quite low down in the sky for northern hemisphere observers at the time of writing and will be for a few more years, so the views are not going to be that good.

Edited June 8, 2019 by Philip R

[pandoraefretum]

About the Celestron Astromaster 114 eq : Not a great scope... ditch it and start again !

[Ricochet]

I would think a 7-8mm would give the best planetary performance but that you might want to push to 6-7mm to get a bit more image scale. The 6mm Baader Classic Ortho and 8mm BST Starguider are all good choices at around the £50 mark. 

If you just want to spend a small amount of money on eyepieces that are optically superior (but no higher magnification) to the ones supplied with your scope then the 10 and 23mm Aspheric eyepieces available on eBay direct from China fit the bill. You can also look at the barlow sold by FLO as "Astro Essentials" which is nice optically without breaking the bank, although paired with a 10mm eyepiece you might find your telescope cannot handle the magnification. 

[RT65CB-SWL]

This may be compatible...

...if you are looking for something on a budget.

Edited June 6, 2019 by Philip R

[borapanda]

Thank you all for the replies :) I don't have the budget to buy a new scope for now, so I'm trying to bring out the best I can.