Doubles - what magnification do you use?

[Mr Spock]

For me that’s too long. I’d need something at least down to 3mm. 

[Stu]

47 minutes ago, Mr Spock said:

For me that’s too long. I’d need something at least down to 3mm. 

With the x2.25 barlow you are down to 3.2mm which is quite handy.

[Spile]

That is the thing about the zoom. I just rack up the power until it splits but I never make a note of the magnification I am using.

[John]

On 15/12/2021 at 10:21, Ags said:

I hear the hyperflex 7-2-21.5 is quite good on doubles, particularly with the Baader Q barlow.

Yes indeed it is

 

[Voyager 3]

16 hours ago, John said:

Yes indeed it is

 

I think it indeed was your voice that he heard  . 😁

[chiltonstar]

On 15/12/2021 at 10:21, Ags said:

I hear the hyperflex 7-2-21.5 is quite good on doubles, particularly with the Baader Q barlow.

Certainly works very well with my 180 Mak. Otherwise I tend to use x270 (10mm Baader Ortho) for a very clean view.

The Double-double? Lowest  about x70 for me. Best?....x270.

Chris

Edited December 18, 2021 by chiltonstar
Typo

[Whistlin Bob]

On 14/12/2021 at 23:12, John said:

the nice thing about using a decent quality zoom eyepiece for double star observing

Completely agree. 

I really enjoy zooming all the way out and then slowly back in and watching the companion gradually emerge. Even better, with unevenly spaced triples this happens twice!  For example, at 24mm, Iota Cass looks like a single in my dob, but has elongation by 20mm and splits shortly after. Then as you get down to 12mm or so it elongates again and by 8mm it's clearly a triple. Love it! 😀

It's possible i need to get out more...🤔

[7170]

I usually go up to 233x, but sometimes up to 560x if seeing allows.  In the past I used to use zooms quite a bit but have gravitated back to fixed eyepieces. I like to take detailed notes and do find it hard to estimate the actual magnification in the cold and dark with a zoom sometimes.

[F15Rules]

On 15/12/2021 at 12:34, Stu said:

With the x2.25 barlow you are down to 3.2mm which is quite handy.

Me too. I often use a Baader 2.25x Hyperion zoom Barlow with my Carton 7-21mm zoom..that gives 3.11mm equivalent, or 334x in my FS128, and a great power for closer doubles like Alnitak and Delta Cygni, separations 2.4" and 2.7" respectively.

On steady nights these look magical at 300x +..

Dave

[Mr Spock]

I have plenty of eyepieces, so I'll stick to fixed focal lengths.

In addition, my Meade 140 Apo Barlow gives x2.4 for extra options. My 250 is 1200mm focal length and the 102mm 714mm focal length, giving endless permutations.

[wookie1965]

My go to Eyepieces are the BST 15mm and a old Vixen silver top 10mm if I need anything lower I have a couple of TMB`s but I like to Barlow the 10mm in my Tal 2x as it gives really clear views.