Information overload - can you help

[ashes]

Sky-Watcher  SKYMAX-102 Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope OTA
102mm, f/13, F / 1300mm
Eyepieces (1.25"): 10mm & 25mm (x2 barlow  and wide view)
1.25"/31.7mm Star Diagonal
Mobile attachment
Camera attachment
And some assorted filters

The last couple of nights whilst the skies over the UK have been clear I have been out and here in Derby its been pretty clear and dark where I am viewing, spent time reading and watching things on youtube and like most I wasn't expecting hubble like images from this small focal scope 🤣 but I was expecting to see something a little more clearly. Maybe its me, I chose the wrong kind of scope, looking at the starfield they are so small with the x2 barlow, I had better views with my binoculars. Is it a case of this scope is mainly for planets?

Is there better stronger eyepeices, I know that you can only go so far.

I would appreciate your advice.

Edited August 21, 2023 by ashes

[Cosmic Geoff]

What is your level of experience? What do you expect stars to look like?

A star should look like a point of light, irrespective of the telescope's field of view, or the magnification. Anything else is scatter or diffraction in the optics.

Maybe if you look for double stars or globular clusters or planetary nebulae you will find those of greater interest. 

The 10mm kit eyepieces are generally acknowledged not to be much good, and deserving of an upgrade of the same focal length.

[Zermelo]

Hello, and welcome to SGL.

Have you seen this post?

 

[Mandy D]

28 minutes ago, ashes said:

Sky-Watcher  SKYMAX-102 Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope OTA
102mm, f/13, F / 1300mm
Eyepieces (1.25"): 10mm & 25mm (x2 barlow  and wide view)
1.25"/31.7mm Star Diagonal
Mobile attachment
Camera attachment
And some assorted filters

The last couple of nights whilst the skies over the UK have been clear I have been out and here in Derby its been pretty clear and dark where I am viewing, spent time reading and watching things on youtube and like most I wasn't expecting hubble like images from this small focal scope 🤣 but I was expecting to see something a little more clearly. Maybe its me, I chose the wrong kind of scope, looking at the starfield they are so small with the x2 barlow, I had better views with my binoculars. Is it a case of this scope is mainly for planets?

Is there better stronger eyepeices, I know that you can only go so far.

I would appreciate your advice.

That is a fairly long focal length and slow focal ratio, so objects are going to appear dim and large. I recommend that you do not start with the Barlow in, just use the 25 mm eyepiece and look at the Moon, learning how to properly focus and view things before moving on to fainter objects. Once you are happy with your view of the Moon, try the Barlow with the 25 mm eyepiece. Also, are you using the diagonal as without it you might not achieve focus (I'm not familiar with this scope). Stars should always appear small in any telescope. They don't magnify noticeably like the Moon as they are just too far away. A scope focused on the Moon is properly focused for all celestial objects, no matter their distance.

Unless the scope is defective, the Skymax-102 is generally acknowledged as a good piece of kit.

[wulfrun]

Probably worth mentioning that the "seeing" has been really poor last couple of nights, despite the clear nights. Nothing you can do about that except wait for better conditions and stick to low power meantime.

[ashes]

3 hours ago, Zermelo said:

Have you seen this post?

I did and it made me smirk inwardly, surely most people will have the good common sense to know that a small telescope has immeasurably less visual prowess, compared to something like the Hubble or Jame Webb kind of power window, Myself I claim nothing, I am here to learn, from those who know more. My experience is limited to watching, buying, putting the equipment together and reading.

[ashes]

Is there a filter that cuts out the light, especially on brighter night skies too. The stars appear as suggested, its just my lack of experence, having only had a few nights out with my scope, tweaking and ajusting here and there. I want this to a hobby that obsorbs, and in time takes me new and interesting places, I initially purchased this compact scope because I travel to Lanzorarte most years and I love the skies there., and this is small enough to take with me, in time as my interest developes I will increase my foot print into what I get next.

Regarding the eyepieces I would love to here some recomendations, don't go crazy on me, as I am still trying to keep to a budget whilst learning

[Cosmic Geoff]

16 minutes ago, ashes said:

Is there a filter that cuts out the light, especially on brighter night skies too.

Depends what is causing the light pollution. Once upon a time, street-lighting used lamps that emitted a few narrow-band wavelengths easily filtered out. With modern white LEDs it's useless, except that a filter that costs more than your scope outfit might offer a slight improvement.

If you are observing gaseous nebulae, narrow-band filters e.g 'OIII' will offer a distinct improvement.

[Elp]

20 minutes ago, ashes said:

eyepieces

BST Starguiders are generally considered one of the best budget ones.

[RT65CB-SWL]

Hi @ashes and welcome to SGL. 

I have a ‘re-modded’ ETX105. It is about the same specifications as your ‘scope.

May I ask what you were viewing?

Mak’s and SCT’s are excellent for lunar and planetary observations, but as said above, long focal lengths do make things appear dimmer, especially with DSO’s. If your eyes are not fully dark adapted, this may be part of the problem. Some use averted vision, which simply means don’t try and concentrate on the centre, look slightly off centre, if that makes sense.

The summer months are not the best months for observation, as the night skies are not totally dark. Also, bear in mind there have been wildfires worldwide and you maybe viewing through the particulates trapped in the upper atmosphere. After a rain shower or storm should clear things up a bit.

Just now, ashes said:

Is there a filter that cuts out the light, especially on brighter night skies too. The stars appear as suggested, its just my lack of experence, having only had a few nights out with my scope, tweaking and ajusting here and there. I want this to a hobby that obsorbs, and in time takes me new and interesting places, I initially purchased this compact scope because I travel to Lanzorarte most years and I love the skies there., and this is small enough to take with me, in time as my interest developes I will increase my foot print into what I get next.

Regarding the eyepieces I would love to here some recomendations, don't go crazy on me, as I am still trying to keep to a budget whilst learning

I have a Baader Planetarium neodymium filter. I refer to it as my Swiss-army knife filter. I also use an Explore Scientific UHC filter and Olll. They can make huge difference and pleasant viewing experience.

Regarding eyepieces, don’t buy a set. Many SGL’ers have positive reviews and vibes about these... https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bst-starguider-eyepieces.html but not sure about these... https://www.firstlightoptics.com/vixen-eyepieces/vixen-npl-eyepieces.html

You could also/may consider an zoom eyepiece. Usually 8-24mm is the preferred choice. Saves a lot of faffing about when swapping out to get a higher magnification or filter... when you find the ‘sweet spot’. Only downside is the field of view can or may be narrower to an eyepiece of a fixed length.

 

[ashes]

21 minutes ago, RT65CB-SWL said:

You could also/may consider an zoom eyepiece. Usually 8-24mm is the preferred choice. Saves a lot of faffing about when swapping out to get a higher magnification or filter... when you find the ‘sweet spot’. Only downside is the field of view can or may be narrower to an eyepiece of a fixed length.

 

22 minutes ago, RT65CB-SWL said:

don’t buy a set. Many SGL’ers have positive reviews and vibes about these

 

37 minutes ago, Elp said:

BST Starguiders are generally considered one of the best budget ones.

All great advice thank you for taking the time and effort to respond, unfortunately now you have gone down this path I will be here all the more often to pick your brains, I like the idea of purchasing a zoom eye peice and individual items to suit my needs, even better if iI can do this with a budget that doesn't have the wife rattling the cage of how much I am pouring into this new hobby🤣before she goes to the spa for the weekend hmm

[RT65CB-SWL]

About zoom e/p’s. Like everything else, there is the good, the bad & the ugly.

This is popular amongst many SGL’ers... https://www.firstlightoptics.com/baader-planetarium/baader-hyperion-zoom-eyepiece.html

You could also pair it with its matching Barlow lens too... https://www.firstlightoptics.com/baader-planetarium/baader-hyperion-zoom-barlow.html

What I particularly like about the Baader Planetarium zoom, (though I don’t own one), is that it is one of the very few that is dual-fit, (i.e. you can use it either as 1.25” or 2”). I did borrow one from a member of my local astro society/club a few years ago and was damn good in my ETX105.

 

Just a few images of my ‘re-modded’ ETX105...

 

Edited August 22, 2023 by RT65CB-SWL

[Clarkey]

I would agree with @RT65CB-SWL that the Baader zoom is very good and I would also recommend it. If you are on a tight budget, there is a Svbony version. Although not not as good as the Baader, it is much cheaper and still gives reasonable views.

I'm not sure what mount you have, but you could consider a small widefield scope instead of eyepiece upgrades. The Mak is always going to have a fairly limited field of view so a small refractor or reflector could be an option. They can be picked up pretty cheaply second hand on SGL and Astro Buy and Sell. Most second hand kit is in excellent condition as Astronomers tend to look after their kit.

Another option would be to see if there is a local astro club near you. Get a chance to look through a few scopes and talk to some like-minded folk.

[AstroMuni]

@ashes The choice of scope is ultimately down to what interests you in the world of astronomy. Some of us are interested on moon & planets while others are interested in Deep sky objects (DSOs). And there are still more folk who are interested in stars (double, binary etc).

Now that you have acquired a scope, my suggestion would be to get to know it and make the most of what is possible with it. Do NOT buy more items until you have figured out the shortcomings that you are not happy with. If you ask here about the shortcomings, you will get the full range of answers 🙂 and as a group we are quite good at convincing each other to buy more!

 

 

[Matt Ikaruga]

As a relative beginner myself, albeit with a few short lived times with scopes over the years, I can share your frustration but let me try and help from a very naive perspective.

My first scope in the modern era (crappy one as a kid, did nothing much useful!) was a poor Celestron. But I managed, somehow, to find and view Saturn after a couple of nights. It blew my mind. But I felt flat. The rest of the stars were just a mess of points in the sky to me. I didn't know what to do next, I'd seen the most visually stunning easy object so what else was there to look at.

I literally went back to the drawing board, reassessed the whole hobby. Realised the scope had too many shortcomings and I needed GoTo because I have other hobbies therefore time is limited. I got a SW  Heritage 130p as a stop gap while I sort something more eye catching out. And was wowed by the clarity even with the bundles eyepieces, but got even more frustrated with sweeping around the skies trying to find targets. I found a few certainly but I ever more wanted GoTo. I looked about  I managed to get a great deal on a Nexstar 5se from Tring Astro in about 2016/17.

Putting it mildly I regret selling that. I bought some lovely eyepieces and used it a lot. And I finally found what I'd been after. Globular clusters and small misty patches. They blew my mind. Even a target like the Plaides absolutely rocks in the right eyepiece.

Sadly I often fall out of love with my hobbies and I sold it to a gent from a club. It went to a great home. I kept the eyepieces I bought though, the T-adaptor I'd used for a spot of astrophotography (that I did very badly indeed!) and the Heritage 130p because I knew the passion would come back.

Late 2021 and the bug hit me again. I'll keep this short, I bought an Astro Fi 6. Finally this would answer a lot of my questions I thought, would show me the sights I wanted to see and be a breeze to work. Frankly I got so annoyed with the alignment issues I was getting (not to mention the first mount needed replacing because the wifi was borked on it) that I packed it away early 2022. But on the rare occasion I got it aligned, it showed me some wonderful sights.

Cue July 2023 and the bug has me good & proper again. I've since removed it from the loft, had a few nights in the last week with it, got it aligned and worked out some of it's quirks to the point that I can be up and running in less than 15 mins aligned and ready to go. I can't wait for the darker nights now and to see those wonderful globular clusters again.

And I even managed to bag M81 and M82 on Monday night on a whim of hopefulness. Again, they blew my tiny mind. I could just about make out the features. Just. Beautiful. I'm awaiting the darker skies now, experiment with the 130p tube on the mount and get a better understanding of the skies.

 

My overall point of this jabber is that this can take time. it may take a number of setup iterations to truly 'land' but it is about taking your time, some subtle upgrades as others have mentioned and learn your scope. I was looking at that myself in 2021. Try to find other thread of people chatting about the scope, any photography done through the scope and then learn your tool. Really learn it. It will deliver even if you have to have a little reset of expectations again.