Eyepiece advice for new Heritage 150p

[GrillBoss]

After playing around with a Celestron 70AZ (a gift) and enjoying some lunar viewing, I went ahead and ordered a Heritage 150p, a red headlamp and a copy of Turn Left at Orion to take this hobby to a step higher level.  I purchased a Celestron Xcel-LX in 12mm for my refractor and am very happy with how it performed.  It was a huge improvement from the 10mm eyepiece that came with the 70AZ and I am looking forward to using it with the new Heritage 150p.  

I want to get a couple more eyepieces for the new scope and am leaning towards staying with the Xcel-LX as they suit my budget and I have seen them recommended online for my scope.  My first question is regarding reaching higher magnifications for lunar and planetary viewing.  I would like to achieve magnifications of 150x or even higher.  150x is achieved with 5mm EP and has exit pupil of 1mm by my calculations.   With a fast F5 scope like the Heritage 150p, can I use a Barlow 2x effectively?  Is the weight too much for the small scope?  The Barlow weighs 157 grams and the 9mm weighs 180 grams, so total of 337 grams. 

If the weight is not an issue, would I be better off with buying a Barlow 2x and a Xcel-LX 9mm, vs a Xcel-LX 5mm?  Obviously the Barlow (if practical) could be used with my current 12mm Xcel-LX as well.  

One more eyepiece question is in regards to wide field viewing of some DSOs.  I live in a Bortle class 4 area on a farm so I have pretty good opportunities to view DSOs.  What EP would be a good choice for viewing DSOs with a Heritage 150p?

Thanks in advance for your help everyone.

[RT65CB-SWL]

Hi @GrillBoss and welcome to SGL. 

Though I don't own any of them, these are popular e/p's with some SGL'ers if you are on a tight budget...
https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bst-starguider-eyepieces.html

[wulfrun]

The focuser should cope with 337g. I've used an Explore Scientific focal extender plus 20mm/68, combined weight 460g and it coped OK. Not the most sensible use and possibly some slight flex but I didn't find it problematic.

If you want the widest FOV, lowest power EP you could do worse than a 32mm Plössl (6.4mm exit pupil). A more expensive option might be something like an Explore Scientific 24mm/68 (4.8mm exit pupil) for just over 2-degree FOV, about the same as the 32mm Plössl would give.

[cajen2]

I have the same scope and use a Vixen NPL 30mm for wider FOV. It's a beautiful, sharp EP with long eye relief....a step up from a bog-standard Plossl. My other EOs are an OVL zoom, a BST Starguider 8mm and a Svbony 6mm UWA redline. All work well on the 150.

I'm waiting for delivery on an ES Focal reducer (Barlow) and a 14mm Pentax XW...😛

[bomberbaz]

2 hours ago, wulfrun said:

The focuser should cope with 337g. I've used an Explore Scientific focal extender plus 20mm/68, combined weight 460g and it coped OK. Not the most sensible use and possibly some slight flex but I didn't find it problematic.

If you want the widest FOV, lowest power EP you could do worse than a 32mm Plössl (6.4mm exit pupil). A more expensive option might be something like an Explore Scientific 24mm/68 (4.8mm exit pupil) for just over 2-degree FOV, about the same as the 32mm Plössl would give.

this would be my option if you have the funds, the slightly cheaper alternative is the 62 degree version at 26mm, main difference being a slightly larger exit pupil at 5.2, both EP have very good glass Explore Scientific 62° Series Eyepieces | First Light Optics

I like using barlows, some don't. In this case the 9mm that you alluded to one would give you the 4.5mm (x 167) and the 12mm you already have a very useful 6mm (x 125).  I use the ES focal extender, (work differently to a barlow but gives the same result) lovely bit of kit and imho well worth the money. Explore Scientific 2x / 3x / 5x Barlow / Focal Extender 1.25" | First Light Optics

This would give you five ep equivalent. 1 low power, 2 medium and two higher. 

[MiladyB]

I'm finding the BST Starguider 8mm is a lovely eyepiece in the Heritage150p. Even my husband is impressed with the views we've had through it, and he is not at all into astro.

MiladyB x

Edited December 13, 2021 by MiladyB
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