NexStar 130SLT Accessory suggestions ?

[GiL Young 5]

Hello all. Thank you for taking a moment to read this & offer your suggestions/ advice. I'm sure my basic question has been asked many times: "In your opinion or experience, what are the first, most important, necessary accessories I should add in order to maximize the the use and ease of a newly acquired Celestron Nexstar 127 SLT ? I have a power supply adapter, 9mm,10mm, 25mm eyepieces, 2x Barlow and 90 degree diagonal mirror adaptor. With a modest budget and a 2 week deadline, I've researched numerous reviews and narrowed some choices to additional Plossl eyepieces, an assortment of filters or a dew shield. All of and these can probably be purchased within my budget but I'm even willing to take the plunge on an upgrade to a better mount, which I have no idea where to start. Any and all suggestions, advice and opinions are gladly appreciated. Thank you all, from across the pond in northeastern US. 

[cloudsweeper 6,386]

Hi Gil - that's a great 'scope you've got!  I had one, and regret selling it on.  The mount is fine.  I'd strongly recommend a dewshield for it, and eyepieces at either end of what you have.  A 32mm (giving x47) would squeeze some more field of view out of it, and a 7mm planetary type would also be useful, giving x214.

Have fun!

Doug.

[GiL Young 5]

Thanks for the quick reply, Doug ! Being completely new to this I must ask: What's the difference between Plossl's and "regular" eyepieces ?  And you'd suggest using the 2x Barlow along with the (2) extra eyepieces ?  At any rate, I don't think the addition of the dew shield, a 32mm and a 7mm planetary type will break my budget. (brand suggestions ?) Thanks again !

[cloudsweeper 6,386]

36 minutes ago, GiL Young said:

Thanks for the quick reply, Doug ! Being completely new to this I must ask: What's the difference between Plossl's and "regular" eyepieces ?  And you'd suggest using the 2x Barlow along with the (2) extra eyepieces ?  At any rate, I don't think the addition of the dew shield, a 32mm and a 7mm planetary type will break my budget. (brand suggestions ?) Thanks again !

It's a huge topic (eyepieces) - Plossls are fairly basic, but can give clean, contrasty images.  One big reason for going for something a bit dearer is field of view.  I'd recommend hunting round suppliers' sites to get a flavour of what's out there.  As they get more expensive, they tend to have more glass elements and better "correction".

The range of five eyepieces (EPs) would give you a good span of mags.  Something around x100 would be a good addition.  You could Barlow the 32mm, then have the Barlow for other uses as you advance in the hobby.  (Or you could get a 15mm EP.)  No point Barlowing the more powerful EPs - that would exceed the mag the 'scope is capable of.

Celestron Omnis are nice basic EPs; also Revelation Plossls.  Many members here like the Starguider series.  And Celestron XCel LXs are very good, and not too dear.

You'll no doubt discover that this great hobby can play havoc with your wallet!

Again - have fun!

Doug.

 

Edited October 24, 2020 by cloudsweeper

[Starwatcher2001 181]

Hiya Gil. You sound keen and that's great, but it's often the case that after spending some time under the stars with a new scope you'll discover the things that work for you best, and the things that don't. Quite a lot of us started out by buying a lot of kit and then finding out that we don't use particular bits of it much, or particular eyepieces don't work for us. I suspect that few are using the same accessories that they started out with. For example I discovered that I've got astimatism and that limits the eyepieces I can use. The converse is also true that you may find out that a particular eyepiece would fill a gap in your collection.

The most important things to me when observing are dew shield (already mentioned), a comfy chair, warm clothes, light-weight table to put my junk on, good dimmable red-light, good star map, a plan of things I want to look at, and a cheap dictaphone for recording my observations.

[GiL Young 5]

Truly appreciate your input and, yes, I'm anxious to begin viewing the universe. Reading further into other, similar topics I believe I already have just about everything it takes. Here in the Northeastern US, Autumn nights are already a cool & cloudy so, other than a dew shield:  warmth, comfort and patience are at the top of my list. Once again, thanks for your input and I'll meet you on the astral plane. 

~ GiL

Edited October 25, 2020 by GiL Young