what eyepieces to use on my 200p

[phill001]

hello folks,

iam new to astronomy and have recently purchased a skywatcher 200p explorer,which i have been told are a decent beginner scope,iam using it with a 2x barlow and a 10mm lense,which was in the package that i bought,iam quite disappointed with the results though,we had a look at venus tonight and i was expecting to see detail of the planet,we are not really getting any detail at all,i dont really have a clue to be honest,the only way to learn is to get out there and have a go.but i do need to have an idea first,can anyone give me some advice please,any help will be greatly appreciated.

kindest regards phill

[Kai]

To be fair Venus will not show alot of detail , Unlike Saturn or Jupiter.

Take the barlow out and swing it around to the Orion Nebula , you should see some "mist" around it.

Did you get any other eyepieces with the scope ???

[phill001]

hello kai,

yes we did get some other lenses,there is a wide angle super 25,and thats it,i understand that i might have to purchase others,but the thing is i dont really have any idea on what the lenses actually do,i really am at the start of astronomy,what does the barlow lense do then kai.

kindest regards phill

[Doc]

As Kai has said Venus is not a great visual planet. It's always covered in cloud so all you see are the phases it goes through very similar to our moon.

10mm will give you a very small field of view with your scope, you really need something in the 25 to 30 mm range so you have a wide field to scan the cluster etc with.

[Doc]

I see we double posted....

Use your 25mm and find M42, M35,36,37,38 all lovely Clusters.

[Kai]

Hi Phil

A barlow will increase your magnification by x amount ie 2x,3x etc but still keep your field of view (fov) the same.

HTH

[phill001]

hello folks,

thanks very much for all your help,i will put the 25mm on and try again.

kindest regards phill

[GazOC]

Hi Phil

A barlow will increase your magnification by x amount ie 2x,3x etc but still keep your field of view (fov) the same.

HTH

No it won't mate, FOV and magnification are directly linked. You x2 the mag and the FOV (in degrees/ arcmins across) gets halved

[John]

hello folks,

thanks very much for all your help,i will put the 25mm on and try again.

kindest regards phill

Hi Phill,

If you are moving your scope outside from a warm place remember to allow time for the scope to cool down - with an 8 inch dobsonian (like yours) it's usable after 20 minutes or so and then gradually improves further as the scope and mirrors cool more. The views while the scope is still warm will be dissapointing.

Use the lowest power eyepiece (the 25mm) first and then move up in power gradually as conditions allow. Your 10mm eyepiece plus the 2x barlow lens is giving 240x magnification which is a lot for an 8" dobsonian scope unless it is fully cooled and the conditions are very good.

John

[phill001]

hello john,

its not so much the details that i was disappointed with really,which although i was,it was actually the size of the planet,i expected it to look quite a lot larger through a scope of this size,which is why i thought i might be putting in the wrong eyepieces.

kindest regards phill

[John]

Phil,

I know what you mean - some of the views can be a little dissapointing when you are starting out - especially given the wonderful pictures of these objects on the web and in books and magazines - the view though the average amateur telescope just can't match those in most cases.

Jupiter is good as is Saturn. The Moon is awesome through virtually any scope and there are some impressive star clusters to be seen. Otherwise the views are probably best described as "subtle" unless you own a really large scope. What makes up for this though, in my opinion, is that you are seeing these objects direct with your own eyes and once you know a little about the objects these faint glimpses become fascinating in themselves.

It's not really generally a hobby of quick wins though !.

John

[phill001]

hello john,

thats fine,as long as i know what to expect,otherwise i could be trying allsorts of different lenses,just to find things are no better and throwing money down the drain,should i still be able to see saturn through a telescope like the one i have then,or am i asking to much.

kindest regards phill

[John]

.....should i still be able to see saturn through a telescope like the one i have then,or am i asking to much.

I used to get fine views of Saturn and some of its moons through my 200P Phill - at the moment the rings are almost edge on to us so the planet looks a little odd but you should be able to make it out clearly.

John

[thing]

I would get yourself a good 2 inch (that's the barrel diameter, it will fit on yours if you take the 1.25 adapter off) 30 mil eyepiece. This will give you around x33 magnification but you will get some superb views sweeping across the sky with that one. I have an 8" Newt like yours and it's the eyepiece i use the most.

[John]

Sorry Phill - I've just realised that you have the 200P Explorer which is an equatorially mounted scope, not a dobsonian - sorry about that :oops:

The advice is still relevent though.

John

[phill001]

hello john,

thats ok mate,youve been a great help to me in my new hobby,by the sound of things iam gonna need all the help i can get :withstupid: