Svbony 6mm eyepiece

[usr299]

Hello everyone,

I have a SkyWatcher telescope D=200mm, F=1200mm. I've had it for a while, but didn't have the time to use it much.

Recently, I realized I could see Jupiter and Saturn up in the sky at 2 AM, so I gave it a try. With my only 25mm eyepiece, I was rather disappointed (small and colorless planets), though I was thrilled to spot Saturn's rings.

So, I hurried to buy a more powerful eyepiece, and chose Svbony 6mm (on Amazon), because it was mentioned to provide a great planetary view. I didn't have a chance to look at Saturn or Jupiter yet (the eyepiece just arrived), but I tried it on Mars, and I am quite frustrated: foggy red light, at best focus (when operating the dials that move the small tube holding the eyepiece in or out, I don't know how is it called).

Could you help me understand:

1. Why couldn't I get a better view on Mars?

2. Could the eyepiece be broken? (I read someone returned it after realizing something was wrong with it; me, I cannot tell if it's good or not)

3. Should I return it, and try a 10mm instead?

4. Why does the eyepiece come in 2 parts (I can unscrew it, and hold 2 parts: one with a small peep-hole, and a longer one with wider lens, like here: https://www.amazon.com/images/I/613QgZBcz0L._AC_SL1200_.jpg ). What does each part do? (EDIT: I can actually unscrew the longer part further into top lens and empty tube... so, 3 parts in total)

Thank you very much.

Edited July 25, 2020 by usr299

[John]

This eyepiece is the same as the Skywatcher UWA 6mm and is also available in many other brands.

It should not be in two or three parts - I have no idea why it is pictured that way. It is always used like this:

While not the best eyepiece they are quite good and should work OK in your 200mm F/6 scope delivering a useful 200x magnification. Great for Mars, the Moon, double stars and Saturn. A little too much for Jupiter usually.

The movement in and out is called focusing and it needs to be done very precisely to get sharp views of objects at 200x magnification.

The blurry views could be because:

- the scope was not precisely focused ?

- the seeing conditions were poor ?

- you were observing through a window ?

- the scope had not cooled down (needs about 20-30 minutes) ?

- the eyepiece was misted up ?

- lack of experience using the scope at high magnifications ?

Collimation of the scope optics is another possible cause but I wonder if the issues above should be considered first before diving into adjusting the collimation ?

 

[banjaxed]

I have the Skywatcher version which is the same as yours and it has given me some great views of Jupiter and Saturn in my 200 Dob. John has provided you with a list of possible causes that you need to check out. I am sure you will sort it out.

[Louis D]

Try working your way up to higher powers to see if the image starts to break down instead of jumping from 25mm to 6mm straight away.  A Skywatcher/Celestron/Meade zoom eyepiece might be a good option to help gauge the seeing conditions.