Barlow lens...2 or 3 x ?

[Shepdog]

Why does everyone seem to gravitate toward a 2X..i see 3 and even 5 X..isnt more magnification the name of the game?

 

Shep

[johninderby]

The 2X is the most useful for visual as it seems to give you a better range of usable magnification.using the eyepoeces most have. Too much magnification can give you worse views. Just one of those things that experience teaches you.

5X is really only for imaging. Had 3X and never used it so sold it. 

Edited October 8, 2020 by johninderby

[Shepdog]

You gotts be the most helpful dude on this site

[Louis D]

I have a 3x that I bought first and have almost never used since buying a 2x.  It's just too much power for most conditions.  Power isn't so much the name of the game, it's aperture.  If you want to increase power while maintaining the quality of the view, you also have to increase the aperture of your scope.  That's why large Dobs are so popular.

[Shepdog]

Are you in the U.S Lois?

Thank you btw 

[Jiggy 67]

It’s not all about magnification, it can be about brightness in which case aperture is King, the more aperture, the more light into the scope and the brighter objects are

[Shepdog]

lol I cant find the thumbs up emogi Jiggy ..thank ya

[Louis D]

2 hours ago, Shepdog said:

Are you in the U.S Lois?

Thank you btw 

Yep, Texas.  Yee-haw, y'all. 🤠

[Shepdog]

Bet the views are great out west ..and a dob will def be my next scope

[Starwatcher2001]

Next scope???  Oh, oh... you've caught the astronomy fever. 😀

If you take a powerful magnifying glass and look at a newspaper picture you'll get a bigger image, but no more detail as the image is just made made up of coloured dots (or they were when I was a kid!) It's a similar thing with telescopes. After magnifying to a certain point you just see what was already there and no further detail. To make matters worse, because the same amount of light is spread across a bigger area, it becomes dimmer.  (Point a flashlight directly down and you'll get a bright, tight beam. Now shine it at an angle and as the area increases it becomes dimmer).

The only way to overcome this is to grab more of those photons and therefore a brighter image to start with. The simplest way is to have a bigger aperture, as others have said. Other things like flocking the inside of the tube, keeping stray light out and using eyepieces with good coatings, all help.

[Louis D]

14 hours ago, Shepdog said:

Bet the views are great out west

We certainly have lots of clear, stable nights.  However, I'm near enough to the Gulf that the high heat and humidity all night long during the summer can make observing miserable.  Winters are nice compared to up north.  No jet stream or subfreezing temperatures to deal with.