What new eyepiece to purchase

[AstroNebulee]

Hi

I have a celestron astromaster 130eq, also a 2x barlow lens, 20mm plossl and 10mm eyepieces. What other size ep would all of you fine people suggest I purchase next. My scope has a useful magnification of x307 so would a 7.5mm ep barlowed x2 be acceptable, I'm interested in viewing planets mostly 

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

Ignore the Celestron marketing specs. The useful realistic maximum magnification range is more like 180-240x when one considers factors such as rising warm air, moisture, volatile atmospheric conditions, sky brightness, light pollution, and the altitude of the object. At the moment the planets are relatively low in the sky, although this year Mars will reach opposition in October, increasing in visual size to 24.2 arc seconds, magnitude -2.6 and 44° altitude, so I'm praying for a nice autumn!

A 7mm eyepiece would be a decent compromise. Useful on its own, providing 92x and 184x barlowed.

A Sky-Watcher UWA 58° won't break the bank.

A 130mm reflector is a nice starter scope for viewing open star clusters and will give a glimpse of other deep sky objects, especially at a dark site, so consider in the future a 25mm 60° eyepiece for a wider field of view.

Magnification isn't all. You're missing out on so many other objects by concentrating on planets and restricting your observing opportunities. A secondhand Celestron XCel 25mm was used a lot when I owned 130/650.

If you haven't already, install a free phone app like Stellarium or Sky Safari to help you find your way around the sky.

 

[AstroNebulee]

2 hours ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

Ignore the Celestron marketing specs. The useful realistic maximum magnification range is more like 180-240x when one considers factors such as rising warm air, moisture, volatile atmospheric conditions, sky brightness, light pollution, and the altitude of the object. At the moment the planets are relatively low in the sky, although this year Mars will reach opposition in October, increasing in visual size to 24.2 arc seconds, magnitude -2.6 and 44° altitude, so I'm praying for a nice autumn!

A 7mm eyepiece would be a decent compromise. Useful on its own, providing 92x and 184x barlowed.

A Sky-Watcher UWA 58° won't break the bank.

A 130mm reflector is a nice starter scope for viewing open star clusters and will give a glimpse of other deep sky objects, especially at a dark site, so consider in the future a 25mm 60° eyepiece for a wider field of view.

Magnification isn't all. You're missing out on so many other objects by concentrating on planets and restricting your observing opportunities. A secondhand Celestron XCel 25mm was used a lot when I owned 130/650.

If you haven't already, install a free phone app like Stellarium or Sky Safari to help you find your way around the sky.

 

Hi thank you 

I realise now the marketing specs aren't all they are cracked up to be and are much lower. I think I will go for the 7.5mm ep for now then get a 25mm ep soon, as I think I just a newbie and interested in the planets and lunar activity at the moment but I guess a lot of newbies start that way, once I've exhausted my appetite for planet viewing the dso are high in my list. Yes I was reading somewhere online that Mars moves closer to earth in October so I too are hoping for clear skies then. I have the stellirium software on my laptop and star walk 2 installed on my phone and have the book turn left at orion on order for my birthday. Thank you again for your help