Higher Magnification

[coolhandluke]

Hi Guys

Got my Sktwatcher 8" 200p on fri and managed to see Venus, Jupiter and its moons tonight - WOW! Venus was very bright - a bit too bright and blury (mind you it was only just above the horizon). Jupiter however was great, even though it was on the horizon also. I was using a 10mm EP, I would like to try and get a much bigger image if possible but do not have any higher mag EPs. Does anyone have any ideas which one I should buy to get some good close ups?

Cheers

CoolHandLuke

[Doc]

With a FL of 1200mm your 10mm gave x120 mag.

So you could get a barlow and make your 10mm a 5mm this will give x240.

[coolhandluke]

Is there much difference in the image quality in the 2" EPs? My two are 1.25".

[661-pete]

I would also advise a 2x barlow - will give you a good view of Saturn when it comes into view over the next few months (with the rings rapidly opening up from edge-on).

Venus is usually a telescopic disappointment. At present it's in the gibbous phase (about the same as the moon was tonight) and of course no telescope will show any detail. And I usually find it too bright for comfortable viewing. Look for it from about mid-February to April when it will slim down to a crescent and be well placed.

[lunator]

A good barlow will be very useful. I would also try to pick up a secondhand orthoscopic they can be bought for less than £20 and they will give a good view of planets.

Cheers

Ian

[solo]

Did the 10mm come with the telescope?When I bought my Skywatcher it came with a 10mm, 25mm and a barlow.Which gives magnifications of 48, 96,120 and 240.They are not what you would call decent eyepieces but they're ok to get you going. I've replaced them long ago with Celestron Ultimas,7.5mm, 12.5mm, 18mm, 30mm and barlow. A quantum leap in my opinion, especially the 18mm.

Cheers, John.

[Ant]

2" Eyepeices are always LOW powers and can give some exceptional wide field views.

I would agree with the others, a 2x barlow will be a good investment.

Personally I have a 2x, 3x and 4x barlow - and saving up for a good 5x. You can never have too much stuff!

Usually the Skywatcher comes with a 2 x xbarlow - quality isn't the best , but it'll get you started.

Maybe the Dob's don't come with the barlow...?

Cheers

ant

[John]

I have Skywatcher 200P dobsonian and find that I use my 7mm (171x) and 5mm (240x) eyepieces most often for viewing details on planets. The scope of course is capable of higher powers but my viewing conditions rarely make higher power worthwhile.

As the other posters have said, getting a 2x barlow lens to use with your 10mm eyepiece would make a lot of sense.

John

[coolhandluke]

Thnaks guys, looks like I need to pop out and get a 2x barlow - the scopw only came with the 10mm and 20mm. What sort of money should I be looking at spending for something decent but not over the top?

[John]

Hi,

These barlows are considered to offer good quality for a reasonable outlay:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=talbarlows

I have used the 2x TAL barlow myself and its very good.

John

[The Warthog]

You don't really need all that much. My ep kit is 24, 7.5, and 4.8mm, with a 2x Barlow. I have thought about getting an 18-ish mm ep, but I don't really miss that power. Buying few eps allowed me to go for higher quality.