Which eyepiece will be best to view planets through an 8 inch dob?

[Yellow dwarf]

With Saturn and Jupiter coming round to opposition in just over a month, I really need some advice on eyepieces. I have an 8 inch, F/6 dobsonian, and I’m really finding it difficult to decide which eyepiece I should buy to get the best planetary views out of it. I currently own a 7.5mm plossl and a 2x barlow, giving 160x and 320x magnification respectively. However, judging by advice given by people in this forum, a specialist planetary eyepiece in between seems like a good idea. Any advice would really be appreciated, and ideally the cost of this eyepiece would be below £50.

[Jiggy 67]

Field of view isn’t particularly important for the planets but contrast is, you want to see the different bands on Jupiter for example so I think these may be good for you. I would recommend the 6mm or 8mm because you could use it with your Barlow but with the 6 you would probably at the extreme of magnification 

 

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/vixen-eyepieces/vixen-npl-eyepieces.html

Edited June 27, 2021 by Jiggy 67

[faulksy]

very good choice by jiggy. but  the baader orthos are probably close on the best you will get hold of and in budget

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/baader-planetarium/baader-classic-ortho-bco-eyepiece.html

[wookie1965]

I love my BST starguider 8mm really punches above its weight,  may be better going to your local astronomical society if they are doing in person events and trying a couple of the eyepieces, its a very emotive choice eyepieces what's good for one person isnt good for another. 

I bought a Baader hyperion I could not get on with it, I got a 6mm "TMB" and I love it I have a mixture of eyepieces "Meade Japan" , Televue plossl 11mm I did have a 20mm    but sold that , Vixen, BST Starguiders 25,15,8mm and two "TMB"s all get used for different objects especially double and multiple stars and I have a Tal x2 Barlow, I caught Saturn a couple of nights ago low  in the 8mm BST it looked stunning   I have seen the cassini division with it in better position and seeing.

So to the point get the eyepiece that you will get on with and suitable to your needs I hope this helps.

[IB20]

1 hour ago, faulksy said:

very good choice by jiggy. but  the baader orthos are probably close on the best you will get hold of and in budget

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/baader-planetarium/baader-classic-ortho-bco-eyepiece.html

Agree 100% with this recommendation. The BCO 10mm is an amazingly good eyepiece. It showed some fantastic detail on Mars in the recent opposition when paired with my 8” dob. Can be used with a 2x barlow really nicely too. Not just planets either, it excels on the moon and double stars too. I’ve recently used it in an 80mm refractor for white solar viewing with a Herschel wedge and it gives excellent views. Exceptional value and performance at <£50. 

Edited June 27, 2021 by IB20

[Yellow dwarf]

Thanks for the replies everyone, the BCO 6mm seems like a good choice, as I can use it when seeing is good.(I’m still getting used to my dob so tracking above 200x magnification may be a bit tricky)

[CraigT82]

BCOs are very good for the money, but with the 6mm the eye relief is tight, and the FoV is small which may make for uncomfortable viewing and lots of nudging with the dob. How do you find your 7.5mm plossl? Are you able to view through it for extended periods of time? If you can then you should be fine with the BCO 6mm. If you find it a bit uncomfortable you may want to look at the BST eyepieces (but there isn't a 6mm BST unfortunately only 5mm and 8mm) 

[faulksy]

1 hour ago, wookie1965 said:

I love my BST starguider 8mm really punches above its weight,  may be better going to your local astronomical society if they are doing in person events and trying a couple of the eyepieces, its a very emotive choice eyepieces what's good for one person isnt good for another. 

I bought a Baader hyperion I could not get on with it, I got a 6mm "TMB" and I love it I have a mixture of eyepieces "Meade Japan" , Televue plossl 11mm I did have a 20mm    but sold that , Vixen, BST Starguiders 25,15,8mm and two "TMB"s all get used for different objects especially double and multiple stars and I have a Tal x2 Barlow, I caught Saturn a couple of nights ago low  in the 8mm BST it looked stunning   I have seen the cassini division with it in better position and seeing.

So to the point get the eyepiece that you will get on with and suitable to your needs I hope this helps.

like you say paul. the bst and all other variants are good. i found they gave a warm colour to almost everything i looked at. but that was over 10 years ago. maybe things have changed ?

[wookie1965]

12 minutes ago, faulksy said:

like you say paul. the bst and all other variants are good. i found they gave a warm colour to almost everything i looked at. but that was over 10 years ago. maybe things have changed ?

I have had mine for about 6 years would not part with them and the 15mm was voted best in the bunch in "Sky At Night Magazine" 

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

25 minutes ago, wookie1965 said:

I have had mine for about 6 years would not part with them and the 15mm was voted best in the bunch in "Sky At Night Magazine" 

The 8mm BST gets a thumbs up from me too. It's seen action in 8" f6 and 6" f5 newtonians, 120mm f5 refractor, a 102mm Maksutov and 102mm f7 refractor. It won't be replaced any time soon.

The 15mm did the job too. Only replaced after being seduced by an OVL 16mm 82° Nirvana-ES that is a very worthy replacement.

I took a punt and several weeks ago ordered an Altair Lightwave 9mm LER 1.25 inch Planetary.

Early this morning was the first use on the gas giants through the 102mm f7 refractor and I must say it was superb. Seeing wasn't great so high powers were a bit mushy but the 9mm saved the day. I'd previously used it for high power lunar observation via a GSO 2.5x ED barlow and the 9mm delivered.

I'm tempted to try the Altair Lightwave 5mm LER and see if it out performs the current BST 5mm.

 

Edited June 27, 2021 by ScouseSpaceCadet

[Yellow dwarf]

4 hours ago, CraigT82 said:

BCOs are very good for the money, but with the 6mm the eye relief is tight, and the FoV is small which may make for uncomfortable viewing and lots of nudging with the dob. How do you find your 7.5mm plossl? Are you able to view through it for extended periods of time? If you can then you should be fine with the BCO 6mm. If you find it a bit uncomfortable you may want to look at the BST eyepieces (but there isn't a 6mm BST unfortunately only 5mm and 8mm) 

I find the 7.5mm plossl alright to view with, it was fine viewing the moon, and the ring nebula in Lyra. I didn’t have to do too much nudging of the telescope.

[Louis D]

During the Mars opposition, I found I was getting far superior views through my Arcturus binoviewer with a pair of vintage B&L SWA microscope eyepieces.  I use the nosepiece from a Meade 140 2x Barlow screwed into the front of the binoviewer to reach focus in my Dob.  I swapped back and forth with various Pentax and Televue wide fields in mono-mode, but the overwhelming difference in brightness made it impossible for my aging eyes to see any significant details.  With two eyes, the view suddenly looked with those images taken by astrophotographers who stack hundreds to thousands of frames.